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8Does not wisdom call,
and does not understanding raise her voice?
²On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
³beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
⁴“To you, O people, I call,
and my cry is to all that live.
⁵O simple ones, learn prudence;
acquire intelligence, you who lack it.
⁶Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and from my lips will come what is right;
⁷for my mouth will utter truth;
wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
⁸All the words of my mouth are righteous;
there is nothing twisted or crooked in them.
⁹They are all straight to one who understands
and right to those who find knowledge.
¹⁰Take my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold;
¹¹for wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.
¹²I, wisdom, live with prudence,
and I attain knowledge and discretion.
¹³The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
¹⁴I have good advice and sound wisdom;
I have insight, I have strength.
¹⁵By me kings reign,
and rulers decree what is just;
¹⁶by me rulers rule,
and nobles, all who govern rightly.
¹⁷I love those who love me,
and those who seek me diligently find me.
¹⁸Riches and honor are with me,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,
and my yield than choice silver.
²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
²¹endowing with wealth those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.

²²The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of long ago.
²³Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
²⁴When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
²⁵Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth—
²⁶when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world’s first bits of soil.
²⁷When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
²⁸when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
²⁹when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth, ³⁰then I was beside him, like a master worker;
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
³¹rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race. ³²“And now, my children, listen to me:
happy are those who keep my ways.
³³Hear instruction and be wise,
and do not neglect it.
³⁴Happy is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my gates,
waiting beside my doors.
³⁵For whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the Lord;
³⁶but those who miss me injure themselves;
all who hate me love death.” 9Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
²She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
³She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
⁴“You that are simple, turn in here!”
To those without sense she says,
⁵“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
⁶Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.” ⁷Whoever corrects a scoffer wins abuse;
whoever rebukes the wicked gets hurt.
⁸A scoffer who is rebuked will only hate you;
the wise, when rebuked, will love you.
⁹Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will gain in learning.
¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
¹¹For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
¹²If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
if you scoff, you alone will bear it. ¹³The foolish woman is loud;
she is ignorant and knows nothing.
¹⁴She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the high places of the town,
¹⁵calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
¹⁶“You who are simple, turn in here!”
And to those without sense she says,
¹⁷“Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
¹⁸But they do not know that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol. 10The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise child makes a glad father,
but a foolish child is a mother’s grief.
²Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
but righteousness delivers from death.
³The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
⁴A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
⁵A child who gathers in summer is prudent,
but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.
⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
⁷The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
but the name of the wicked will rot.
⁸The wise of heart will heed commandments,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
⁹Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but whoever follows perverse ways will be found out.
¹⁰Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,
but the one who rebukes boldly makes peace.
¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
¹²Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.
¹³On the lips of one who has understanding wisdom is found,
but a rod is for the back of one who lacks sense.
¹⁴The wise lay up knowledge,
but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.
¹⁵The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
¹⁶The wage of the righteous leads to life,
the gain of the wicked to sin.
¹⁷Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,
but one who rejects a rebuke goes astray.
¹⁸Lying lips conceal hatred,
and whoever utters slander is a fool.
¹⁹When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but the prudent are restrained in speech.
²⁰The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
the mind of the wicked is of little worth.
²¹The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for lack of sense.
²²The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it.
²³Doing wrong is like sport to a fool,
but wise conduct is pleasure to a person of understanding.
²⁴What the wicked dread will come upon them,
but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
²⁵When the tempest passes, the wicked are no more,
but the righteous are established forever.
²⁶Like vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes,
so are the lazy to their employers.
²⁷The fear of the Lord prolongs life,
but the years of the wicked will be short.
²⁸The hope of the righteous ends in gladness,
but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.
²⁹The way of the Lord is a stronghold for the upright,
but destruction for evildoers.
³⁰The righteous will never be removed,
but the wicked will not remain in the land.
³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.
11A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
but an accurate weight is his delight.
²When pride comes, then comes disgrace;
but wisdom is with the humble.
³The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
⁴Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.
⁵The righteousness of the blameless keeps their ways straight,
but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.
⁶The righteousness of the upright saves them,
but the treacherous are taken captive by their schemes.
⁷When the wicked die, their hope perishes,
and the expectation of the godless comes to nothing.
⁸The righteous are delivered from trouble,
and the wicked get into it instead.
⁹With their mouths the godless would destroy their neighbors,
but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices;
and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
¹¹By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
¹²Whoever belittles another lacks sense,
but an intelligent person remains silent.
¹³A gossip goes about telling secrets,
but one who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a confidence.
¹⁴Where there is no guidance, a nation falls,
but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
¹⁵To guarantee loans for a stranger brings trouble,
but there is safety in refusing to do so.
¹⁶A gracious woman gets honor,
but she who hates virtue is covered with shame.
The timid become destitute,
but the aggressive gain riches.
¹⁷Those who are kind reward themselves,
but the cruel do themselves harm.
¹⁸The wicked earn no real gain,
but those who sow righteousness get a true reward.
¹⁹Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live,
but whoever pursues evil will die.
²⁰Crooked minds are an abomination to the Lord,
but those of blameless ways are his delight.
²¹Be assured, the wicked will not go unpunished,
but those who are righteous will escape.
²²Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman without good sense.
²³The desire of the righteous ends only in good;
the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
²⁴Some give freely, yet grow all the richer;
others withhold what is due, and only suffer want.
²⁵A generous person will be enriched,
and one who gives water will get water.
²⁶The people curse those who hold back grain,
but a blessing is on the head of those who sell it.
²⁷Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,
but evil comes to the one who searches for it.
²⁸Those who trust in their riches will wither,
but the righteous will flourish like green leaves.
²⁹Those who trouble their households will inherit wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise.
³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
but violence takes lives away.
³¹If the righteous are repaid on earth,
how much more the wicked and the sinner!