down to Death’s inner chambers.
8 It is Wisdom calling,
Understanding raising her voice.
2She takes her stand at the topmost heights,
By the wayside, at the crossroads,
3Near the gates at the city entrance;
At the entryways, she shouts,
4“O men, I call to you;
My cry is to all mankind.
5O simple ones, learn shrewdness;
O dullards, instruct your minds.
6Listen, for I speak noble things;
Uprightness comes from my lips;
7My mouth utters truth;
Wickedness is abhorrent to my lips.
8All my words are just,
None of them perverse or crooked;
9All are straightforward to the intelligent man,
And right to those who have attained knowledge.
10Accept my discipline rather than silver,
Knowledge rather than choice gold.
11For wisdom is better than rubies;
No goods can equal her.
12“I, Wisdom, live with Prudence;
I attain knowledge and foresight.
13To fear the LORD is to hate evil;
I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way,
And duplicity in speech.
14Mine are counsel and resourcefulness;
I am understanding; courage is mine.
15Through me kings reign
And rulers decree just laws;
16Through me princes rule,
Great men and all the a-righteous judges.-a
17Those who love me I love,
And those who seek me will find me.
18Riches and honor belong to me,
Enduring wealth and success.
19My fruit is better than gold, fine gold,
And my produce better than choice silver.
20I walk on the way of righteousness,
On the paths of justice.
21I endow those who love me with substance;
I will fill their treasuries.
22“The LORD created me at the beginning of His course
As the first of His works of old.
23In the distant past I was fashioned,
At the beginning, at the origin of earth.
24There was still no deep when I was brought forth,
No springs rich in water;
25Before [the foundation of] the mountains were sunk,
Before the hills I was born.
26He had not yet made earth and fields,
Or the world’s first clumps of clay.
27I was there when He set the heavens into place;
When He fixed the horizon upon the deep;
28When He made the heavens above firm,
And the fountains of the deep gushed forth;
29When He assigned the sea its limits,
So that its waters never transgress His command;
When He fixed the foundations of the earth,
30I was with Him as a confidant,
A source of delight every day,
Rejoicing before Him at all times,
31Rejoicing in His inhabited world,
Finding delight with mankind.
32Now, sons, listen to me;
Happy are they who keep my ways.
33Heed discipline and become wise;
Do not spurn it.
34Happy is the man who listens to me,
Coming early to my gates each day,
Waiting outside my doors.
35For he who finds me finds life
And obtains favor from the LORD.
36But he who misses me destroys himself;
All who hate me love death.”
9 Wisdom has built her house,
She has hewn her seven pillars.
2She has prepared the feast,
Mixed the wine,
And also set the table.
3She has sent out her maids to announce
On the heights of the town,
4“Let the simple enter here”;
To those devoid of sense she says,
5“Come, eat my food
And drink the wine that I have mixed;
6Give up simpleness and live,
Walk in the way of understanding.”
7To correct a scoffer,
a-Or rebuke a wicked man for his blemish,
Is to call down abuse on oneself.-a
8Do not rebuke a scoffer, for he will hate you;
Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
9Instruct a wise man, and he will grow wiser;
Teach a righteous man, and he will gain in learning.
10The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD,
And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11For through me your days will increase,
And years be added to your life.
12If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
If you are a scoffer, you bear it alone.
13The stupid woman bustles about;
She is simple and knows nothing.
14She sits in the doorway of her house,
Or on a chair at the heights of the town,
15Calling to all the wayfarers
Who go about their own affairs,
16“Let the simple enter here”;
And to those devoid of sense she says,
17“Stolen waters are sweet,
And bread eaten furtively is tasty.”
18He does not know that the shades are there,
That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
10 The proverbs of Solomon:
A wise son brings joy to his father;
A dull son is his mother’s sorrow.
2Ill-gotten wealth is of no avail,
But righteousness saves from death.
3The LORD will not let the righteous go hungry,
But He denies the wicked what they crave.
4Negligent hands cause poverty,
But diligent hands enrich.
5He who lays in stores during the summer is a capable son,
But he who sleeps during the harvest is an incompetent.
6Blessings light upon the head of the righteous,
But lawlessness covers the mouth of the wicked.
7The name of the righteous is invoked in blessing,
But the fame of the wicked rots.
8He whose heart is wise accepts commands,
But he whose speech is foolish comes to grief.
9He who lives blamelessly lives safely,
But he who walks a crooked path will be found out.
10He who winks his eye causes sorrow;
He whose speech is foolish comes to grief.
11The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
But lawlessness covers the mouth of the wicked.
12Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers up all faults.
13Wisdom is to be found on the lips of the intelligent,
But a rod is ready for the back of the senseless.
14The wise store up knowledge;
The mouth of the fool is an imminent ruin.
15The wealth of a rich man is his fortress;
The poverty of the poor is his ruin.
16The labor of the righteous man makes for life;
The produce of the wicked man makes for want.
17He who follows discipline shows the way to life,
But he who ignores reproof leads astray.
18He who conceals hatred has lying lips,
While he who speaks forth slander is a dullard.
19Where there is much talking, there is no lack of transgressing,
But he who curbs his tonguea shows sense.
20The tongue of a righteous man is choice silver,
But the mind of the wicked is of little worth.
21The lips of the righteous sustain many,
But fools die for lack of sense.
22It is the blessing of the LORD that enriches,
And no toil can increase it.
23As mischief is sport for the dullard,
So is wisdom for the man of understanding.
24What the wicked man plots overtakes him;
What the righteous desire is granted.
25When the storm passes the wicked man is gone,
But the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
26Like vinegar to the teeth,
Like smoke to the eyes,
Is a lazy man to those who send him on a mission.
27The fear of the LORD prolongs life,
While the years of the wicked will be shortened.
28The righteous can look forward to joy,
But the hope of the wicked is doomed.
29The way of the LORD is a stronghold for the blameless,
But a ruin for evildoers.
30The righteous will never be shaken;
The wicked will not inhabit the earth.
31The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom,
But the treacherous tongue shall be cut off.
32The lips of the righteous know what is pleasing;
The mouth of the wicked [knows] duplicity.
11 False scales are an abomination to the LORD;
An honesta weight pleases Him.
2When arrogance appears, disgrace follows,
But wisdom is with those who are unassuming.
3The integrity of the upright guides them;
The deviousness of the treacherous leads them to ruin.
4Wealth is of no avail on the day of wrath,
But righteousness saves from death.
5The righteousness of the blameless man smooths his way,
But the wicked man is felled by his wickedness.
6The righteousness of the upright saves them,
But the treacherous are trapped by their malice.
7At death the hopes of a wicked man are doomed,
And the ambition of evil men comes to nothing.
8The righteous man is rescued from trouble
And the wicked man takes his place.
9The impious man destroys his neighbor through speech,
But through their knowledge the righteous are rescued.
10When the righteous prosper the city exults;
When the wicked perish there are shouts of joy.
11A city is built up by the blessing of the upright,
But it is torn down by the speech of the wicked.
12He who speaks contemptuously of his fellowman is devoid of sense;
A prudent man keeps his peace.
13A base fellow gives away secrets,
But a trustworthy soul keeps a confidence.
14For want of strategy an army falls,
But victory comes with much planning.
15Harm awaits him who stands surety for another;b
He who spurns pledging shall be secure.
16A graceful woman obtains honor;
Ruthless men obtain wealth.
17A kindly man benefits himself;
A cruel man makes trouble for himself.
18The wicked man earns illusory wages,
But he who sows righteousness has a true reward.
19Righteousness is a prop of life,
But to pursue evil leads to death.
20Men of crooked mind are an abomination to the LORD,
But those whose way is blameless please Him.
21Assuredly,c the evil man will not escape,
But the offspring of the righteous will be safe.
22Like a gold ring in the snout of a pig
Is a beautiful woman bereft of sense.
23What the righteous desire can only be good;
What the wicked hope for [stirs] wrath.
24One man gives generously and ends with more;
Another stints on doing the right thing and incurs a loss.
25A generous person enjoys prosperity;
He who satisfies others shall himself be sated.
26He who withholds grain earns the curses of the people,
But blessings are on the head of the one who dispenses it.
27He who earnestly seeks what is good pursues what is pleasing;
He who is bent on evil, upon him it shall come.
28He who trusts in his wealth shall fall,
But the righteous shall flourish like foliage.
29He who makes trouble for his household shall inherit the wind;
A fool is a slave to the wise-hearted.
30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life;
A wise man captivates people.
31If the righteous on earth get their deserts,
How much more the wicked man and the sinner.
12 He who loves discipline loves knowledge;
He who spurns reproof is a brutish man.
2A good man earns the favor of the LORD,
A man of intrigues, His condemnation.
3A man cannot be established in wickedness,
But the root of the righteous will not be shaken loose.
4A capable wife is a crown for her husband,
But an incompetent one is like rot in his bones.
5The purposes of the righteous are justice,
The schemes of the wicked are deceit.
6The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush,
But the speech of the upright saves them.
7Overturn the wicked and they are gone,
But the