Proverbs 8

1It is Wisdom calling,Understanding raising her voice.

2She takes her stand at the topmost heights,By the wayside, at the crossroads,

3Near the gates at the city entrance;At the entryways, she shouts,

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

5O simple ones, learn shrewdness;O dullards, instruct your minds.

6Listen, for I speak noble things;Uprightness comes from my lips.

7My mouth utters truth;Wickedness is abhorrent to my lips.

8All my words are just,None of them perverse or crooked;

9All are straightforward to anyone with intelligence,And right to those who have attained knowledge.

10Accept my discipline rather than silver,Knowledge rather than choice gold.

11For wisdom is better than rubies;No goods can equal her.

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

13To fear GOD is to hate evil;I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way,And duplicity in speech.

14Mine are counsel and resourcefulness;I am understanding; courage is mine.

15Through me kings reignAnd rulers decree just laws;

16Through me princes rule,Great men and all the righteous judges.

17Those who love me I love,And those who seek me will find me.

18Riches and honor belong to me,Enduring wealth and success.

19My fruit is better than gold, fine gold,And my produce better than choice silver.

20I walk on the way of righteousness,On the paths of justice.

21I endow those who love me with substance;I will fill their treasuries.

22“I was created at the beginning of GOD’s courseAs the first of the works of old.

23In the distant past I was fashioned,At the beginning, at the origin of earth.

24There was still no deep when I was brought forth,No springs rich in water;

25Before [the foundations of] the mountains were sunk,Before the hills I was born.

26Earth and fields had not yet been made,Or the world’s first clumps of clay.

27I was there when the heavens were set into place;When the horizon was fixed upon the deep;

28When the heavens above were made firm,And the fountains of the deep gushed forth;

29When the sea was assigned its limits,So that its waters never transgress God’s command;When the foundations of the earth were fixed,

30I was with [God] as a confidant, A source of delight every day,Rejoicing before [God] at all times,

31Rejoicing in God’s inhabited world,Finding delight with mortals.

32Now, children, listen to me;Happy are they who keep my ways.

33Heed discipline and become wise;Do not spurn it.

34Happy is the one who listens to me,Coming early to my gates each day,Waiting outside my doors.

35For one who finds me finds lifeAnd obtains favor from GOD.

36But one who misses me self-destructs;All who hate me love death.”