Proverbs 8
8
Wisdom’s Appeal
1Doesn’t wisdom#Pr 1:20–21; 9:3,13–15 call out?
Doesn’t understanding make her voice heard?
2At the heights overlooking the road,
at the crossroads, she takes her stand.
3Beside the gates#Jb 29:7 leading into the city,
at the main entrance, she cries out:
4“People, I call out to you;
my cry is to the children of Adam.
5Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced;
develop common sense, you who are foolish.
6Listen, for I speak of noble things,
and what my lips say is right.
7For my mouth tells the truth,#Ps 37:30
and wickedness is detestable to my lips.
8All the words from my mouth are righteous;
none of them are deceptive or perverse.#Dt 32:5; Pr 2:15; Php 2:15
9All of them are clear to the perceptive,#Pr 14:6
and right to those who discover knowledge.
10Accept my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.#Pr 3:14–15; 8:19; 16:16
11For wisdom is better than jewels,#Jb 28:12–19
and nothing desirable can equal it.#Pr 3:15; 20:15
12I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness
and have knowledge and discretion.#Pr 1:4
13To fear the Lord is to hate evil.#Pr 16:6
I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct,
and perverse speech.
14I possess good advice and sound wisdom;#8:14 Or resourcefulness
I have understanding and strength.#Ec 7:19
15It is by me that kings reign#2Ch 1:10; Dn 2:21; Rm 13:1
and rulers enact just law;
16by me, princes lead,
as do nobles and all righteous judges.#8:16 Some Hb mss, LXX read nobles who judge the earth
17I love those who love me,#1Sm 2:30; Jn 14:21
and those who search for me find me.#Pr 1:28; 2:4–5; Jms 1:5
18With me are riches and honor,#Pr 3:16
lasting wealth and righteousness.#Ps 112:3; Mt 6:33
19My fruit is better than solid gold,
and my harvest than pure silver.#Jb 28:15; Pr 3:14; 8:10; 16:16
20I walk in the ways of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.
22“The Lord acquired#8:22 Or possessed, or made me
at the beginning of his creation,#8:22 Lit way
before his works of long ago.#Gn 1:1; Jb 28:26–28; Ps 104:24
23I was formed#8:23 Or consecrated before ancient times,
from the beginning, before the earth began.#Jn 1:1–3; 17:5
24I was born
when there were no watery depths#Gn 1:2; Pr 3:20
and no springs filled with water.
25Before the mountains were established,
prior to the hills,#Ps 90:2 I was given birth —
26before he made the land, the fields,
or the first soil on earth.
27I was there when he established the heavens,#Pr 3:19
when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,#Jb 26:10
28when he placed the skies above,
when the fountains of the ocean gushed out,
29when he set a limit for the sea
so that the waters would not violate his command,#Jb 38:8–11; Ps 104:9
when he laid out the foundations of the earth.#Jb 38:4–5; Ps 104:5
30I was a skilled craftsman#8:30 Or a confidant, or a child, or was constantly beside him.#Jb 28:20–27; 38–39; Pr 3:19–20; Jr 10:12; 51:15; Zch 13:7; Jn 1:2–3
I was his#8:30 LXX; MT omits his delight every day,
always rejoicing before him.
31I was rejoicing in his inhabited world,#Jb 38:4–7
delighting in the children of Adam.#Heb 2:6–8
32“And now, sons, listen to me;
those who keep my ways are happy.#Ps 119:1–2; 128:1; Lk 11:28
33Listen to instruction and be wise;#Pr 4:1
don’t ignore it.
34Anyone who listens to me is happy,#Pr 3:13
watching at my doors every day,
waiting by the posts of my doorway.
35For the one who finds me finds life#Pr 4:4,22; 7:2; 9:11; 12:28; Jn 17:3
and obtains favor from the Lord,#Pr 3:4; 12:2; 13:13; 18:22
36but the one who misses me#8:36 Or who sins against me harms himself;#Pr 15:32
all who hate me love death.”#Pr 11:19; 21:6
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Proverbs 8: CSB
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