Proverbs — Chapter 8

It is Wisdom calling,Understanding raising heraher See note at 1.20. voice.

She takes her stand at the topmost heights,By the wayside, at the crossroads,

Near the gates at the city entrance;At the entryways, she shouts,

“O human race, I call to you;My cry is to all mortals.

O simple ones, learn shrewdness;O dullards, instruct your minds.

Listen, for I speak noble things;Uprightness comes from my lips.

My mouth utters truth;Wickedness is abhorrent to my lips.

All my words are just,None of them perverse or crooked;

All are straightforward to anyone with intelligence,And right to those who have attained knowledge.

Accept my discipline rather than silver,Knowledge rather than choice gold.

For wisdom is better than rubies;No goods can equal her.

“I, Wisdom, live with Prudence;I attain knowledge and foresight.

To fear GOD is to hate evil;I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way,And duplicity in speech.

Mine are counsel and resourcefulness;I am understanding; courage is mine.

Through me kings reignAnd rulers decree just laws;

Through me princes rule,Great men and all the righteous judges.brighteous judges According to some Heb. mss. and printed editions, “judges of the earth.”

Those who love me I love,And those who seek me will find me.

Riches and honor belong to me,Enduring wealth and success.

My fruit is better than gold, fine gold,And my produce better than choice silver.

I walk on the way of righteousness,On the paths of justice.

I endow those who love me with substance;I will fill their treasuries.

cWisdom recounts her existence and role prior to the Creation (see also 3.19–20). “I was created at the beginning of GOD’s courseAs the first of the works of old.

In the distant past I was fashioned,At the beginning, at the origin of earth.

There was still no deep when I was brought forth,No springs rich in water;

Before [the foundations of] the mountains were sunk,Before the hills I was born.

Earth and fields had not yet been made,Or the world’s first clumps of clay.

I was there when the heavens were set into place;When the horizon was fixed upon the deep;

When the heavens above were made firm,And the fountains of the deep gushed forth;

When the sea was assigned its limits,So that its waters never transgress God’s command;When the foundations of the earth were fixed,

I was with [God] as a confidant,dconfidant Or “protégée.” A source of delight every day,Rejoicing before [God] at all times,

Rejoicing in God’s inhabited world,Finding delight with mortals.

Now, children, listen to me;Happy are they who keep my ways.

Heed discipline and become wise;Do not spurn it.

Happy is the one who listens to me,Coming early to my gates each day,Waiting outside my doors.

For one who finds me finds lifeAnd obtains favor from GOD.

But one who misses me self-destructs;All who hate me love death.”