8  Does not ^lwisdom call?

Does not ^munderstanding raise her voice?

2  On ⁿthe heights beside the way,

at the crossroads she takes her stand;

3  beside ^othe gates in front of ^pthe town,

at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

4  “To you, O ^qmen, I call,

and my cry is to ^qthe children of man.

5  O ^rsimple ones, learn ^sprudence;

O ^tfools, learn sense.

6  Hear, for I will speak ^unoble things,

and from my lips will come ^vwhat is right,

7  for my ^wmouth will utter truth;

wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8  All the words of my mouth are righteous;

there is nothing ^xtwisted or crooked in them.

9  They are all ^ystraight to him who understands,

and right to those who find knowledge.

10  ^zTake my instruction instead of silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold,

11  ^afor wisdom is better than jewels,

and ^ball that you may desire cannot compare with her.

12  “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

and I find knowledge and ^cdiscretion.

13  ^dThe fear of the Lord is ^ehatred of evil.

^fPride and arrogance and the way of evil

and ^gperverted speech I hate.

14  I have ^hcounsel and ⁱsound wisdom;

I have insight; ^jI have strength.

15  By me ^kkings reign,

and rulers decree what is just;

16  by me princes rule,

and nobles, all who govern justly.¹

17  ^lI love those who love me,

and ^mthose who seek me diligently find me.

18  ⁿRiches and honor are with me,

^oenduring wealth and ^orighteousness.

19  My fruit is ^pbetter than ^qgold, even fine gold,

and my yield than ^rchoice silver.

20  I walk in the way of righteousness,

in the paths of justice,

21  granting an inheritance to those who love me,

and filling their treasuries.

22  ^s“The Lord ^tpossessed² me at the beginning of his work,³

the first of his acts ^uof old.

23  Ages ago I was ^vset up,

at the first, ^wbefore the beginning of the earth.

24  When there were no ^xdepths I was ^ybrought forth,

when there were no springs abounding with water.

25  Before the mountains ^zhad been shaped,

^abefore the hills, I was brought forth,

26  before he had made the earth with its fields,

or the first of the dust of the world.

27  When he ^bestablished the heavens, I was there;

when he drew ^ca circle on the face of the deep,

28  when he ^dmade firm the skies above,

when he established⁴ the fountains of the deep,

29  when he ^eassigned to the sea its ^flimit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out ^gthe foundations of the earth,

30  then ^hI was beside him, like a master workman,

and I was daily his^{5 i}delight,

rejoicing before him always,

31  ^jrejoicing in his ^kinhabited world

and delighting in the children of man.

32  “And now, ^lO sons, listen to me:

^mblessed are those who keep my ways.

33  ⁿHear instruction and be wise,

and do not neglect it.

34  ^oBlessed is the one who listens to me,

watching daily at my gates,

waiting beside my doors.

35  For ^pwhoever finds me ^qfinds life

and ^robtains favor from the Lord,

36  but he who fails to find me ^sinjures himself;

all who ^thate me ^ulove death.”

9  ^vWisdom has built her house;

she has hewn her ^wseven ^xpillars.

2  She has ^yslaughtered her beasts; she has ^zmixed her wine;

she has also ^aset her table.

3  She has ^bsent out her young women to ^ccall

from ^dthe highest places in the town,

4  ^e“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

^fTo him who lacks sense she says,

5  “Come, ^geat of my bread

and ^hdrink of ^zthe wine I have mixed.

6  Leave ⁱyour simple ways,¹ and ^jlive,

^kand walk in the way of insight.”

7  Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,

and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.

8  ^lDo not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;

^mreprove a wise man, and he will love you.

9  Give instruction² to a wise man, and he will be ⁿstill wiser;

teach a righteous man, and he will ^oincrease in learning.

10  ^pThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and ^qthe knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

11  For by me ^ryour days will be multiplied,

and years will be added to your life.

12  ^sIf you are wise, you are wise for yourself;

if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

13  ^tThe woman Folly is ^uloud;

she is seductive³ and ^vknows nothing.

14  She sits at the door of her house;

she takes a seat on ^wthe highest places of the town,

15  calling to those who pass by,

who are ^xgoing straight on their way,

16  ^y“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

And to him who lacks sense she says,

17  ^z“Stolen water is sweet,

and ^abread eaten in secret is pleasant.”

18  But he does not know ^bthat the dead⁴ are there,

that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

^dA wise son makes a glad father,

^ebut a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

2  ^fTreasures gained by wickedness do not profit,

^gbut righteousness delivers from death.

3  ^hThe Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,

ⁱbut he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

4  A slack hand ^jcauses poverty,

^kbut the hand of the diligent makes rich.

5  He who ^lgathers in summer is a prudent son,

but he who sleeps in harvest is ^ma son who brings shame.

6  Blessings are on the head of the righteous,

but ⁿthe mouth of the wicked conceals violence.¹

7  ^oThe memory of the righteous is a blessing,

but ^pthe name of the wicked will rot.

8  ^qThe wise of heart will receive commandments,

but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

9  ^rWhoever walks in integrity walks securely,

but he who makes his ways crooked ^swill be found out.

10  Whoever ^twinks the eye causes trouble,

and a babbling fool will come to ruin.

11  ^uThe mouth of the righteous is ^va fountain of life,

but the mouth of the wicked ⁿconceals violence.

12  Hatred stirs up strife,

but ^wlove covers all offenses.

13  On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,

but ^xa rod is for the back of him who ^ylacks sense.

14  The wise ^zlay up knowledge,

but ^athe mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

15  ^bA rich man’s wealth is his strong city;

the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

16  The wage of the righteous leads ^cto life,

the gain of the wicked to sin.

17  Whoever heeds instruction is on ^dthe path to life,

but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

18  The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,

and whoever utters slander is a fool.

19  ^eWhen words are many, transgression is not lacking,

^fbut whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

20  The tongue of the righteous is ^gchoice silver;

the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

21  The lips of the righteous feed many,

but fools die for ^hlack of sense.

22  ⁱThe blessing of the Lord makes rich,

and he adds no sorrow with it.²

23  Doing wrong is ^jlike a joke to a fool,

but ^kwisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.

24  ^lWhat the wicked dreads ^mwill come upon him,

but ⁿthe desire of the righteous will be granted.

25  When ^othe tempest passes, the wicked is no more,

but ^pthe righteous is established forever.

26  Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

so is the sluggard to those who send him.

27  ^qThe fear of the Lord prolongs life,

^rbut the years of the wicked will be short.

28  ^sThe hope of the righteous brings joy,

^tbut the expectation of the wicked will perish.

29  ^uThe way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless,

but destruction to evildoers.

30  ^vThe righteous will never be removed,

but ^wthe wicked will not dwell in the land.

31  ^xThe mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,

but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

32  The lips of the righteous ^yknow what is acceptable,

but the mouth of the wicked, ^zwhat is perverse.

11  ^aA false balance is an abomination to the Lord,

^bbut a just weight is his delight.

2  ^cWhen pride comes, then comes disgrace,

but with ^dthe humble is wisdom.

3  ^eThe integrity of the upright guides them,

^fbut the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.

4  ^gRiches do not profit in the day of wrath,

^hbut righteousness delivers from death.

5  The righteousness of the blameless ⁱkeeps his way straight,

but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.

6  ^hThe righteousness of the upright delivers them,

but the treacherous ^jare taken captive by their lust.

7  When the wicked dies, his ^khope will perish,

and ^lthe expectation of wealth¹ perishes too.

8  ^mThe righteous is delivered from trouble,

and the wicked walks into it instead.

9  With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,

but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

10  ⁿWhen it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,

and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.

11  By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,

but ^oby the mouth of the wicked ^pit is overthrown.

12  Whoever ^qbelittles his neighbor lacks sense,

but a man of understanding remains silent.

13  Whoever ^rgoes about slandering reveals secrets,

but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

14  Where there is ^sno guidance, a people falls,

^sbut in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

15  ^tWhoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm,

but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.

16  ^uA gracious woman gets honor,

and ^vviolent men get riches.

17  ^wA man who is kind benefits himself,

but a cruel man hurts himself.

18  The wicked earns deceptive wages,

but one who ^xsows righteousness gets a sure reward.

19  Whoever is steadfast in righteousness ^ywill live,

but ^zhe who pursues evil will die.

20  Those of ^acrooked heart are ^ban abomination to the Lord,

but those of ^cblameless ways are ^dhis delight.

21  ^eBe assured, ^fan evil person will not go unpunished,

but ^gthe offspring of the righteous will be delivered.

22  Like ^ha gold ring in a pig’s snout

is a beautiful woman without discretion.

23  The desire of the righteous ends only in good,

ⁱthe expectation of the wicked in wrath.

24  ^jOne gives ^kfreely, yet grows all the richer;

another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

25  ^lWhoever brings blessing ^mwill be enriched,

and ⁿone who waters will himself be watered.

26  ^oThe people curse him who holds back grain,

but ^pa blessing is on the head of him who ^qsells it.

27  Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,²

but evil comes to ^rhim who searches for it.

28  Whoever ^strusts in his riches will fall,

but the righteous will ^tflourish like a green leaf.

29  Whoever ^utroubles his own household will ^vinherit the wind,

and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

30  The fruit of the righteous is ^wa tree of life,

and whoever ^xcaptures souls is wise.

31  If ^ythe righteous is repaid on earth,

how much more the wicked and the sinner!

12  Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but he who ^zhates reproof is ^astupid.

2  A good man ^bobtains favor from the Lord,

but a man of evil devices he condemns.

3  No one is established by wickedness,

but the root of ^cthe righteous will never be moved.

4  ^dAn excellent wife is ^ethe crown of her husband,

but she who ^fbrings shame is like ^grottenness in his bones.

5  ^hThe thoughts of the righteous are just;

the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

6  The words of the wicked ⁱlie in wait for blood,

but ^jthe mouth of the upright delivers them.

7  ^kThe wicked are ^loverthrown and are no more,

^mbut the house of the righteous will stand.

8  A man is commended according to his good sense,

but one of twisted mind is ⁿdespised.

9  Better to be lowly and have a servant

than to play the great man and lack bread.

10  ^oWhoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast,

but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

11  ^pWhoever works his land ^qwill have plenty of bread,

^rbut he who follows ^sworthless pursuits lacks sense.

12  Whoever is wicked covets ^tthe spoil of evildoers,

but the root of the righteous bears fruit.

13  An evil man is ensnared ^uby the transgression of his lips,¹

^vbut the righteous escapes from trouble.

14  From the fruit of his mouth ^wa man is satisfied with good,

^xand the work of a man’s hand comes back to him.

15  ^yThe way of a fool is right in his own eyes,

but a wise man listens to advice.

16  ^zThe vexation of a fool is known at once,

but the prudent ignores an insult.

17  ^aWhoever speaks² the truth gives honest evidence,

but ^ba false witness utters deceit.

18  ^cThere is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,

but the tongue of the wise brings ^dhealing.

19  Truthful lips endure forever,

but ^ea lying tongue is but for a moment.

20  Deceit is in the heart of ^fthose who devise evil,

but those who plan peace have joy.

21  ^gNo ill befalls the righteous,

but the wicked are filled with trouble.

22  ^hLying lips are ⁱan abomination to the Lord,

^jbut those who act faithfully are his delight.

23  ^kA prudent man conceals knowledge,

^kbut the heart of fools proclaims folly.

24  ^lThe hand of the diligent will rule,

while the slothful will be ^mput to forced labor.

25  ⁿAnxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,

but a good word makes him glad.

26  One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor,³

but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

27  ^oWhoever is slothful will not roast his game,

but the diligent man will get precious wealth.⁴

28  ^pIn the path of righteousness is life,

and in its pathway there is no death.