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The Commendation of Wisdom

¹ Does not ^(C1)wisdom call,
And understanding ^(F1)lift up her voice?

² On top of ^(C1)the heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

³ Beside the ^(C1)gates, at the opening to the city,
At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

⁴ "To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.

⁵ "O ^(F1)(C1)naive ones, understand prudence;
And, O ^(C2)fools, understand ^(F2)wisdom.

⁶ "Listen, for I will speak ^(C1)noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal ^(C2)right things.

⁷ "For my ^(C1)mouth will utter truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸ "All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing ^(C1)crooked or perverted in them.

⁹ "They are all ^(C1)straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who ^(C2)find knowledge.

¹⁰ "Take my ^(C1)instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.

¹¹ "For wisdom is ^(C1)better than ^(F1)jewels;
And ^(C2)all desirable things cannot compare with her.

¹² "I, wisdom, ^(C1)dwell with prudence,
And I find ^(C2)knowledge and discretion.

¹³ "The ^(C1)fear of the LORD is to hate evil;
^(C2)Pride and arrogance and ^(C3)the evil way
And the ^(C4)perverted mouth, I hate.

¹⁴ "^(C1)Counsel is mine and ^(C2)sound wisdom;
I am understanding, ^(C3)power is mine.

¹⁵ "By me ^(C1)kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.

¹⁶ "By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.

¹⁷ "I ^(C1)love those who love me;
And ^(C2)those who diligently seek me will find me.

¹⁸ "^(C1)Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring ^(C2)wealth and righteousness.

¹⁹ "My fruit is ^(C1)better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than ^(C2)choicest silver.

²⁰ "I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,

²¹ To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may ^(C1)fill their treasuries.

²² "The LORD possessed me ^(C1)at the beginning of His way,
Before His works ^(F1)of old.

²³ "From everlasting I was ^(F1)(C1)established,
From the beginning, ^(C2)from the earliest times of the earth.

²⁴ "When there were no ^(C1)depths I was ^(F1)brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.

²⁵ "^(C1)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was ^(F1)brought forth;

²⁶ While He had not yet made the earth and the ^(F1)fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.

²⁷ "When He ^(C1)established the heavens, I was there,
When ^(C2)He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

²⁸ When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became ^(F1)fixed,

²⁹ When ^(C1)He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not transgress His ^(F1)command,
When He marked out ^(C2)the foundations of the earth;

³⁰ Then ^(C1)I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was daily His delight,
^(F1)Rejoicing always before Him,

^31 (F1)Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having ^(C1)my delight in the sons of men.

³² "Now therefore, O sons, ^(C1)listen to me,
For ^(C2)blessed are they who keep my ways.

³³ "^(C1)Heed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.

³⁴ "^(C1)Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.

³⁵ "For ^(C1)he who finds me finds life
And ^(C2)obtains favor from the LORD.

³⁶ "But he who ^(F1)sins against me ^(C1)injures himself;
All those who ^(C2)hate me ^(C3)love death."