VerseAI

NIV

Proverbs 8

  1. 1<pb/><t>Does not wisdom call out?</t> <t>Does not understanding raise her voice?</t>
  2. 2<t>At the highest point along the way,</t> <t>where the paths meet, she takes her stand;</t>
  3. 3<t>beside the gate leading into the city,</t> <t>at the entrance, she cries aloud:</t>
  4. 4<t>“To you, O people, I call out;</t> <t>I raise my voice to all mankind.</t>
  5. 5<t>You who are simple, gain prudence;</t> <t>you who are foolish, set your hearts on it.<f>[15]</f></t>
  6. 6<t>Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say;</t> <t>I open my lips to speak what is right.</t>
  7. 7<t>My mouth speaks what is true,</t> <t>for my lips detest wickedness.</t>
  8. 8<t>All the words of my mouth are just;</t> <t>none of them is crooked or perverse.</t>
  9. 9<t>To the discerning all of them are right;</t> <t>they are upright to those who have found knowledge.</t>
  10. 10<t>Choose my instruction instead of silver,</t> <t>knowledge rather than choice gold,</t>
  11. 11<t>for wisdom is more precious than rubies,</t> <t>and nothing you desire can compare with her. <pb/></t>
  12. 12<t>“I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;</t> <t>I possess knowledge and discretion.</t>
  13. 13<t>To fear the LORD is to hate evil;</t> <t>I hate pride and arrogance,</t> <t>evil behavior and perverse speech.</t>
  14. 14<t>Counsel and sound judgment are mine;</t> <t>I have insight, I have power.</t>
  15. 15<t>By me kings reign</t> <t>and rulers issue decrees that are just;</t>
  16. 16<t>by me princes govern,</t> <t>and nobles—all who rule on earth.<f>[16]</f></t>
  17. 17<t>I love those who love me,</t> <t>and those who seek me find me.</t>
  18. 18<t>With me are riches and honor,</t> <t>enduring wealth and prosperity.</t>
  19. 19<t>My fruit is better than fine gold;</t> <t>what I yield surpasses choice silver.</t>
  20. 20<t>I walk in the way of righteousness,</t> <t>along the paths of justice,</t>
  21. 21<t>bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me</t> <t>and making their treasuries full. <pb/></t>
  22. 22<t>“The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works,<f>[17]</f><f>[18]</f></t> <t>before his deeds of old;</t>
  23. 23<t>I was formed long ages ago,</t> <t>at the very beginning, when the world came to be.</t>
  24. 24<t>When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,</t> <t>when there were no springs overflowing with water;</t>
  25. 25<t>before the mountains were settled in place,</t> <t>before the hills, I was given birth,</t>
  26. 26<t>before he made the world or its fields</t> <t>or any of the dust of the earth.</t>
  27. 27<t>I was there when he set the heavens in place,</t> <t>when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,</t>
  28. 28<t>when he established the clouds above</t> <t>and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,</t>
  29. 29<t>when he gave the sea its boundary</t> <t>so the waters would not overstep his command,</t> <t>and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.</t>
  30. 30<t>Then I was constantly<f>[19]</f> at his side.</t> <t>I was filled with delight day after day,</t> <t>rejoicing always in his presence,</t>
  31. 31<t>rejoicing in his whole world</t> <t>and delighting in mankind. <pb/></t>
  32. 32<t>“Now then, my children, listen to me;</t> <t>blessed are those who keep my ways.</t>
  33. 33<t>Listen to my instruction and be wise;</t> <t>do not disregard it.</t>
  34. 34<t>Blessed are those who listen to me,</t> <t>watching daily at my doors,</t> <t>waiting at my doorway.</t>
  35. 35<t>For those who find me find life</t> <t>and receive favor from the LORD.</t>
  36. 36<t>But those who fail to find me harm themselves;</t> <t>all who hate me love death.”</t>