Proverbs 8-11
New King James Version
The Excellence of Wisdom
8 Does not (A)wisdom cry out,
And understanding lift up her voice?
2 She takes her stand on the top of the [a]high hill,
Beside the way, where the paths meet.
3 She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the entrance of the doors:
4 “To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
5 O you [b]simple ones, understand prudence,
And you fools, be of an understanding heart.
6 Listen, for I will speak of (B)excellent things,
And from the opening of my lips will come right things;
7 For my mouth will speak truth;
Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness;
Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.
9 They are all plain to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction, and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choice gold;
11 (C)For wisdom is better than rubies,
And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And find out knowledge and discretion.
13 (D)The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
(E)Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And (F)the perverse mouth I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, (G)I have strength.
15 (H)By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All the judges of [c]the earth.
17 (I)I love those who love me,
And (J)those who seek me diligently will find me.
18 (K)Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold,
And my revenue than choice silver.
20 I [d]traverse the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.
22 “The(L) Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
23 (M)I have been established from everlasting,
From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 (N)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was brought forth;
26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the [e]fields,
Or the [f]primal dust of the world.
27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there,
When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He established the clouds above,
When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
29 (O)When He assigned to the sea its limit,
So that the waters would not transgress His command,
When (P)He marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 (Q)Then I was beside Him as [g]a master craftsman;
(R)And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world,
And (S)my delight was with the sons of men.
32 “Now therefore, listen to me, my children,
For (T)blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction and be wise,
And do not disdain it.
34 (U)Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life,
And (V)obtains favor from the Lord;
36 But he who sins against me (W)wrongs his own soul;
All those who hate me love death.”
The Way of Wisdom
9 Wisdom has (X)built her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;
2 (Y)She has slaughtered her meat,
(Z)She has mixed her wine,
She has also [h]furnished her table.
3 She has sent out her maidens,
She cries out from the highest places of the city,
4 “Whoever(AA) is simple, let him turn in here!”
As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
5 “Come,(AB) eat of my bread
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Forsake foolishness and live,
And go in the way of understanding.
7 “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,
And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
8 (AC)Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
(AD)Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
Teach a just man, (AE)and he will increase in learning.
10 “The(AF) fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 (AG)For by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
12 (AH)If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”
The Way of Folly
13 (AI)A foolish woman is [i]clamorous;
She is simple, and knows nothing.
14 For she sits at the door of her house,
On a seat (AJ)by the highest places of the city,
15 To call to those who pass by,
Who go straight on their way:
16 “Whoever(AK) is [j]simple, let him turn in here”;
And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
17 “Stolen(AL) water is sweet,
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that (AM)the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of [k]hell.
Wise Sayings of Solomon
10 The proverbs of (AN)Solomon:
(AO)A wise son makes a glad father,
But a foolish son is the grief of his mother.
2 (AP)Treasures of wickedness profit nothing,
(AQ)But righteousness delivers from death.
3 (AR)The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish,
But He casts away the desire of the wicked.
4 (AS)He who has a slack hand becomes poor,
But (AT)the hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in (AU)summer is a wise son;
He who sleeps in harvest is (AV)a son who causes shame.
6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
7 (AW)The memory of the righteous is blessed,
But the name of the wicked will rot.
9 (AY)He who walks with integrity walks securely,
But he who perverts his ways will become known.
10 He who winks with the eye causes trouble,
But a prating fool will fall.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a well of life,
But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
But (AZ)love covers all sins.
13 Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding,
But (BA)a rod is for the back of him who [n]is devoid of understanding.
14 Wise people store up knowledge,
But (BB)the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
15 The (BC)rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
16 The labor of the righteous leads to (BD)life,
The wages of the wicked to sin.
17 He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,
But he who refuses correction [o]goes astray.
19 (BG)In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But (BH)he who restrains his lips is wise.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
The heart of the wicked is worth little.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
But fools die for lack of [p]wisdom.
22 (BI)The blessing of the Lord makes one rich,
And He adds no sorrow with it.
23 (BJ)To do evil is like sport to a fool,
But a man of understanding has wisdom.
24 (BK)The fear of the wicked will come upon him,
And (BL)the desire of the righteous will be granted.
25 When the whirlwind passes by, (BM)the wicked is no more,
But (BN)the righteous has an everlasting foundation.
26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
So is the lazy man to those who send him.
27 (BO)The fear of the Lord prolongs days,
But (BP)the years of the wicked will be shortened.
28 The hope of the righteous will be gladness,
But the (BQ)expectation of the wicked will perish.
29 The way of the Lord is strength for the upright,
But (BR)destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.
30 (BS)The righteous will never be removed,
But the wicked will not inhabit the [q]earth.
31 (BT)The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
But the perverse tongue will be cut out.
32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.
The Folly of Wickedness
2 When pride comes, then comes (BV)shame;
But with the humble is wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright will guide (BW)them,
But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.
4 (BX)Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But (BY)righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless will [t]direct his way aright,
But the wicked will fall by his own (BZ)wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,
But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.
7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will (CA)perish,
And the hope of the unjust perishes.
8 (CB)The righteous is delivered from trouble,
And it comes to the wicked instead.
9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.
10 (CC)When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices;
And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
11 By the blessing of the upright the city is (CD)exalted,
But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12 He who [u]is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor,
But a man of understanding holds his peace.
14 (CG)Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
16 A gracious woman retains honor,
But ruthless men retain riches.
17 (CI)The merciful man does good for his own soul,
But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
18 The wicked man does deceptive work,
But (CJ)he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
19 As righteousness leads to (CK)life,
So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own (CL)death.
20 Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the blameless in their ways are His delight.
21 (CM)Though they join [x]forces, the wicked will not go unpunished;
But (CN)the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.
22 As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout,
So is a lovely woman who lacks [y]discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked (CO)is wrath.
24 There is one who (CP)scatters, yet increases more;
And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to poverty.
25 (CQ)The generous soul will be made rich,
(CR)And he who waters will also be watered himself.
26 The people will curse (CS)him who withholds grain,
But (CT)blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
29 He who troubles his own house (CX)will inherit the wind,
And the fool will be (CY)servant to the wise of heart.
31 (DA)If the righteous will be [ab]recompensed on the earth,
How much more the ungodly and the sinner.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 8:2 Lit. heights
- Proverbs 8:5 naive
- Proverbs 8:16 MT, Syr., Tg., Vg. righteousness; LXX, Bg., some mss. and editions earth
- Proverbs 8:20 walk about on
- Proverbs 8:26 outer places
- Proverbs 8:26 Lit. beginning of the dust
- Proverbs 8:30 A Jewish tradition one brought up
- Proverbs 9:2 arranged
- Proverbs 9:13 boisterous
- Proverbs 9:16 naive
- Proverbs 9:18 Or Sheol
- Proverbs 10:8 Lit. the foolish of lips
- Proverbs 10:8 be thrust down or ruined
- Proverbs 10:13 Lit. lacks heart
- Proverbs 10:17 leads
- Proverbs 10:21 Lit. heart
- Proverbs 10:30 land
- Proverbs 11:1 deceptive
- Proverbs 11:1 Lit. perfect stone
- Proverbs 11:5 Or make smooth or straight
- Proverbs 11:12 Lit. lacks heart
- Proverbs 11:15 guaranty
- Proverbs 11:15 those pledging guaranty, lit. those who strike hands
- Proverbs 11:21 Lit. hand to hand
- Proverbs 11:22 taste
- Proverbs 11:27 Lit. seeks
- Proverbs 11:30 Lit. takes, in the sense of brings, cf. 1 Sam. 16:11
- Proverbs 11:31 rewarded
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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