Proverbs 8

^1-11 Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling?
    Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?
She’s taken her stand at First and Main,
    at the busiest intersection.
Right in the city square
    where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,
“You—I’m talking to all of you,
    everyone out here on the streets!
Listen, you idiots—learn good sense!
    You blockheads—shape up!
Don’t miss a word of this—I’m telling you how to live well,
    I’m telling you how to live at your best.
My mouth chews and savors and relishes truth—
    I can’t stand the taste of evil!
You’ll only hear true and right words from my mouth;
    not one syllable will be twisted or skewed.
You’ll recognize this as true—you with open minds;
    truth-ready minds will see it at once.
Prefer my life-disciplines over chasing after money,
    and God-knowledge over a lucrative career.
For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth;
    nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.

Listen as Wisdom calls out!
    Hear as understanding raises her voice!

On the hilltop along the road,
    she takes her stand at the crossroads.

By the gates at the entrance to the town,
    on the road leading in, she cries aloud,

“I call to you, to all of you!
    I raise my voice to all people.

You simple people, use good judgment.
    You foolish people, show some understanding.

Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you.
    Everything I say is right,

for I speak the truth
    and detest every kind of deception.

My advice is wholesome.
    There is nothing devious or crooked in it.

My words are plain to anyone with understanding,
    clear to those with knowledge.

Choose my instruction rather than silver,
    and knowledge rather than pure gold.

For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies.
    Nothing you desire can compare with it.

“I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity;
    Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.
The Fear-of-God means hating Evil,
    whose ways I hate with a passion—
    pride and arrogance and crooked talk.
Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics;
    I am both Insight and the Virtue to live it out.
With my help, leaders rule,
    and lawmakers legislate fairly;
With my help, governors govern,
    along with all in legitimate authority.
I love those who love me;
    those who look for me find me.
Wealth and Glory accompany me—
    also substantial Honor and a Good Name.
My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary;
    the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.
You can find me on Righteous Road—that’s where I walk—
    at the intersection of Justice Avenue,
Handing out life to those who love me,
    filling their arms with life—armloads of life!

“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment.
    I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.

All who fear the Lord will hate evil.
    Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance,
    corruption and perverse speech.

Common sense and success belong to me.
    Insight and strength are mine.

Because of me, kings reign,
    and rulers make just decrees.

Rulers lead with my help,
    and nobles make righteous judgments.^[a]

“I love all who love me.
    Those who search will surely find me.

I have riches and honor,
    as well as enduring wealth and justice.

My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold,
    my wages better than sterling silver!

I walk in righteousness,
    in paths of justice.

Those who love me inherit wealth.
    I will fill their treasuries.

“God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—
    before he did anything else.
I was brought into being a long time ago,
    well before Earth got its start.
I arrived on the scene before Ocean,
    yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.
Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,
    I was already there, newborn;
Long before God stretched out Earth’s Horizons,
    and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,
And set Sky firmly in place,
    I was there.
When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,
    built the vast vault of Heaven,
    and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,
When he drew a boundary for Sea,
    posted a sign that said no trespassing,
And then staked out Earth’s Foundations,
    I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.
Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,
    always enjoying his company,
Delighted with the world of things and creatures,
    happily celebrating the human family.

“The Lord formed me from the beginning,
    before he created anything else.

I was appointed in ages past,
    at the very first, before the earth began.

I was born before the oceans were created,
    before the springs bubbled forth their waters.

Before the mountains were formed,
    before the hills, I was born—

before he had made the earth and fields
    and the first handfuls of soil.

I was there when he established the heavens,
    when he drew the horizon on the oceans.

I was there when he set the clouds above,
    when he established springs deep in the earth.

I was there when he set the limits of the seas,
    so they would not spread beyond their boundaries.
And when he marked off the earth’s foundations,

    I was the architect at his side.
I was his constant delight,
    rejoicing always in his presence.

And how happy I was with the world he created;
    how I rejoiced with the human family!

“So, my dear friends, listen carefully;
    those who embrace these my ways are most blessed.
Mark a life of discipline and live wisely;
    don’t squander your precious life.
Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me,
    awake and ready for me each morning,
    alert and responsive as I start my day’s work.
When you find me, you find life, real life,
    to say nothing of God’s good pleasure.
But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul;
    when you reject me, you’re flirting with death.”