Proverbs 8
1 Does not wisdom call out, and prudence bestow her voice?
You shall proclaim wisdom, that understanding may be obedient to you.
2 At the summits and the tops of exalted places, standing above the ways, in the midst of the paths,
For she is on lofty eminences, and stands in the midst of the ways.
3 beside the gates of the city, at the very doors, she speaks, saying:
For she sits by the gates of princes, and sings in the entrances, [saying],
4 “O men, to you I call out, and my voice is to the sons of men.
You, O men, I exhort; and utter my voice to the sons of men.
5 O little ones, understand discernment. And you who are unwise, turn your souls.
O you simple, understand subtlety, and you that are untaught, imbibe knowledge.
6 Listen, for I will speak about great things, and my lips will be opened, so as to foretell what is right.
Listen to me; for I will speak solemn [truths]; and will produce right [sayings] from my lips.
7 My throat shall practice truth, and my lips shall detest the impious.
For my throat shall meditate truth; and false lips are an abomination before me.
8 All my words are just. There is no depravity in them, and no perversity.
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing in them wrong or perverse.
9 They are upright to those who understand, and equitable to those who discover knowledge.
They are all evident to those that understand, and right to those that find knowledge.
10 Accept my discipline, and not money. Choose the doctrine that is greater than gold.
Receive instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than tried gold.
11 For wisdom is better than all that is most precious, and everything that is desirable cannot compare to her.
For wisdom is better than precious stones; and no valuable substance is of equal worth with it.
12 I, wisdom, dwell in counsel, and I am inside learned thoughts.
I wisdom have lived [with] counsel and knowledge, and I have called upon understanding.
13 The fear of the Lord hates evil. I detest arrogance, and pride, and every wicked way, and a mouth with a double tongue.
The fear of the Lord hates unrighteousness, and insolence, and pride, and the ways of wicked men; and I hate the perverse ways of bad men.
14 Counsel is mine, and equity. Prudence is mine. Strength is mine.
Counsel and safety are mine; prudence is mine, and strength is mine.
15 Through me, kings reign and legislators decree just conditions.
By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
16 Through me, princes rule and the powerful decree justice.
By me nobles become great, and monarchs by me rule over the earth.
17 I love those who love me. And those who stand watch for me until morning shall discover me.
I love those that love me; and they that seek me shall find [me].
18 With me, are wealth and glory, superb riches and justice.
Wealth and glory belong to me; yes, abundant possessions and righteousness.
19 For my fruit is better than gold and precious stones, and my progeny better than choice silver.
[It is] better to have my fruit than [to have] gold and precious stones; and my produce is better than choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of justice, in the midst of the paths of judgment,
I walk in ways of righteousness, and [am] conversant with the paths of judgment;
21 so that I may enrich those who love me, and thus complete their treasures.
that I may divide substance to them that love me, and may fill their treasures with good things. If I declare to you the things that daily happen, I will remember [also] to recount the things of old.
22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made anything, from the beginning.
The Lord made me the beginning of his ways for his works.
23 I was ordained from eternity, and out of antiquity, before the earth was formed.
He established me before time [was] in the beginning, before he made the earth:
24 The abyss did not yet exist, and I was already conceived; neither had the fountains of waters yet erupted.
even before he made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth:
25 The mountains, with their great mass, had not yet been established. Before the hills, I was brought forth.
before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, he begets me.
26 Still he had not made the earth, and the rivers, and the poles of the globe of the earth.
The Lord made countries and uninhabited [tracks], and the highest inhabited parts of the world.
27 I was already present: when he prepared the heavens; when, with a certain law and a circuit, he fortified the abyss;
When he prepared the heaven, I was present with him; and when he prepared his throne upon the winds:
28 when he made firm the sky above, and set free the fountains of waters;
and when he strengthened the clouds above; and when he secured the fountains of the earth:
29 when he encompassed the sea within its limits, and laid down a law for the waters, lest they transgress their limits; when he weighed the foundations of the earth.
decree. and when he strengthened the foundations of the earth:
30 I was with him in composing all things. And I was delighted, throughout every day, by playing in his sight at all times,
I was by him, suiting [myself to him], I was that wherein he took delight; and daily I rejoiced in his presence continually.
31 playing in globe of the earth. And my delight was to be with the sons of men.
For he rejoiced when he had completed the world, and rejoiced among the children of men.
32 Therefore, sons, hear me now. Blessed are those who preserve my ways.
Now then, [my] son, hear me: blessed is the man who shall listen to me, and the mortal who shall keep my ways;
33 Listen to discipline, and become wise, and do not be willing to cast it aside.
[Hear wisdom and be wise, and be not strangers to it. ]
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, and who stands watch at my gates every day, and who observes at the posts of my doors.
watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my entrances.
35 He who finds me, finds life, and he will draw salvation from the Lord.
For my outgoings are the outgoings of life, and [in them] is prepared favor from the Lord.
36 But he who sins against me will wound his own soul. All who hate me love death.”
But they that sin against me act wickedly against their own souls: and they that hate me love death.
