Proverbs 8 Holman Christian Standard Bible

Wisdom’s Appeal

8 Doesn’t Wisdom^(A) 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^(B) at the entry to^[a] the city,
at the main entrance, she cries out:
⁴“People, I call out to you;
my cry is to mankind.
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,^(C)
and wickedness is detestable to my lips.
⁸All the words of my mouth are righteous;
none of them are deceptive or perverse.^(D)
⁹All of them are clear to the perceptive,^(E)
and right to those who discover knowledge.
¹⁰Accept my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.^(F)
¹¹For wisdom is better than jewels,^(G)
and nothing desirable can compare with it.^(H)
¹²I, Wisdom, share a home with shrewdness
and have knowledge and discretion.^(I)
¹³To fear the Lord is to hate evil.^(J)
I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct,
and perverse speech.
¹⁴I possess good advice and competence;^[b]
I have understanding and strength.^(K)
¹⁵It is by me that kings reign^(L)
and rulers enact just law;
¹⁶by me, princes lead,
as do nobles and all righteous judges.^[c]
¹⁷I love those who love me,^(M)
and those who search for me find me.^(N)
¹⁸With me are riches and honor,^(O)
lasting wealth and righteousness.^(P)
¹⁹My fruit is better than solid gold,
and my harvest than pure silver.^(Q)
²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
²¹giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.

²²“The Lord made^[d] me
at the beginning of His creation,^[e]
before His works of long ago.^(R)
²³I was formed before ancient times,
from the beginning, before the earth began.^(S)
²⁴I was born
when there were no watery depths^(T)
and no springs filled with water.
²⁵I was delivered
before the mountains and hills were established,^(U)
²⁶before He made the land, the fields,
or the first soil on earth.
²⁷I was there when He established the heavens,^(V)
when He laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,^(W)
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,^(X)
when He laid out the foundations of the earth.^(Y)
³⁰I was a skilled craftsman^[f] beside Him.^(Z)
I was His^[g] delight every day,
always rejoicing before Him.
³¹I was rejoicing in His inhabited world,^(AA)
delighting in the human race.^(AB)

³²“And now, my sons, listen to me;
those who keep my ways are happy.^(AC)
³³Listen to instruction and be wise;^(AD)
don’t ignore it.
³⁴Anyone who listens to me is happy,^(AE)
watching at my doors every day,
waiting by the posts of my doorway.
³⁵For the one who finds me finds life^(AF)
and obtains favor from the Lord,^(AG)
³⁶but the one who misses me^[h] harms himself;^(AH)
all who hate me love death.”^(AI)