Proverbs 8
Amplified Bible
The Commendation of Wisdom
8 Does not wisdom call,
And understanding lift up her voice?
2
On the top of the heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, wisdom takes her stand;
3
Beside the gates, at the entrance to the city,
At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:
4
“To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is directed to the sons of men.
5
“O you naive or inexperienced [who are easily misled], understand prudence and seek astute common sense;
And, O you [closed-minded, self-confident] fools, understand wisdom [seek the insight and self-discipline that leads to godly living].(A)
6
“Listen, for I will speak excellent and noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.
7
“For my mouth will utter truth,
And wickedness is repulsive and loathsome to my lips.
8
“All the words of my mouth are in righteousness (upright, in right standing with God);
There is nothing contrary to truth or perverted (crooked) in them.
9
“They are all straightforward to him who understands [with an open and willing mind],
And right to those who find knowledge and live by it.
10
“Take my instruction rather than [seeking] silver,
And take knowledge rather than choicest gold,
11
“For wisdom is better than rubies;
And all desirable things cannot compare with her.(B)
12
“I, [godly] wisdom, reside with prudence [good judgment, moral courage and astute common sense],
And I find knowledge and discretion.(C)
13
“The [reverent] fear and worshipful awe of the Lord includes the hatred of evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way,
And the perverted mouth, I hate.
14
“Counsel is mine and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, power and strength are mine.
15
“By me kings reign
And rulers decide and decree justice.(D)
16
“By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge and govern rightly.
17
“I love those who love me;
And those who seek me early and diligently will find me.(E)
18
“Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness (right standing with God).(F)
19
“My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield is better than choicest silver.
20
“I, [Wisdom, continuously] walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
21
That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth and true riches,
And that I may fill their treasuries.
22
“The Lord created and possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old [were accomplished].
23
“From everlasting I was established and ordained,
From the beginning, before the earth existed, [I, godly wisdom, existed].(G)
24
“When there were no ocean depths I was born,
When there were no fountains and springs overflowing with water.
25
“Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was born;(H)
26
While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,
Or the first of the dust of the earth.
27
“When He established the heavens, I [Wisdom] was there;
When He drew a circle upon the face of the deep,
28
When He made firm the skies above,
When the fountains and springs of the deep became fixed and strong,
29
When He set for the sea its boundary
So that the waters would not transgress [the boundaries set by] His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth—(I)
30
Then I was beside Him, as a master craftsman;
And I was daily His delight;
Rejoicing before Him always,(J)
31
Rejoicing in the world, His inhabited earth,
And having my delight in the sons of men.(K)
32
“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,
For blessed [happy, prosperous, to be admired] are they who keep my ways.(L)
33
“Heed (pay attention to) instruction and be wise,
And do not ignore or neglect it.
34
“Blessed [happy, prosperous, to be admired] is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
35
“For whoever finds me (Wisdom) finds life
And obtains favor and grace from the Lord.
36
“But he who fails to find me or sins against me injures himself;
All those who hate me love and court death.”
Proverbs 8
The Message
Lady Wisdom Calls Out
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.
12-21 “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!
22-31 “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.
32-36 “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.”
Proverbs 8
New American Standard Bible
The Commendation of Wisdom
8 Does not (A)wisdom call,
And understanding [a]raise her voice?
2 On top of (B)the heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 Beside the (C)gates, at the opening to the city,
At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:
4 “To you, people, I call,
And my voice is to [b]mankind.
5 You (D)naive ones, understand prudence;
And, you (E)fools, understand [c]wisdom!
6 Listen, for I will speak (F)noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal (G)right things.
7 For my (H)mouth will proclaim truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing (I)crooked or perverted in them.
9 They are all (J)straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who (K)find knowledge.
10 Accept my (L)instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is (M)better than [d]jewels;
And (N)all desirable things cannot compare with her.
12 “I, wisdom, (O)dwell with prudence,
And I find (P)knowledge and discretion.
13 The (Q)fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
(R)Pride, arrogance, (S)the evil way,
And the (T)perverted mouth, I hate.
14 (U)Advice is mine and (V)sound wisdom;
I am understanding, (W)power is mine.
15 By me (X)kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
17 I (Y)love those who love me;
And (Z)those who diligently seek me will find me.
18 (AA)Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring (AB)wealth and righteousness.
19 My fruit is (AC)better than gold, even pure gold;
And my yield better than (AD)choice 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 (AE)fill their treasuries.
22 “The Lord [e]created me (AF)at the beginning of His way,
Before His works [f]of old.
23 From eternity I was [g](AG)established,
From the beginning, (AH)from the earliest times of the earth.
24 When there were no (AI)ocean depths, I was born,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
25 (AJ)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was born;
26 While He had not yet made the earth and the [h]fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
27 When He (AK)established the heavens, I was there;
When (AL)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 [i]fixed,
29 When (AM)He set a boundary for the sea
So that the water would not violate His [j]command,
When He marked out (AN)the foundations of the earth;
30 Then (AO)I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was His delight daily,
[k]Rejoicing always before Him,
31 [l]Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having (AP)my delight in the sons of mankind.
32 “Now then, sons, (AQ)listen to me,
For (AR)blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 (AS)Listen to instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
34 (AT)Blessed is the person who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
35 For (AU)one who finds me finds life,
And (AV)obtains favor from the Lord.
36 But one who [m]sins against me (AW)injures himself;
All those who (AX)hate me (AY)love death.”
Footnotes
- Proverbs 8:1 Lit give
- Proverbs 8:4 Lit sons of mankind
- Proverbs 8:5 Lit heart
- Proverbs 8:11 Lit corals
- Proverbs 8:22 Or possessed
- Proverbs 8:22 Lit from then
- Proverbs 8:23 Or consecrated
- Proverbs 8:26 Lit outside places
- Proverbs 8:28 Lit strong
- Proverbs 8:29 Lit mouth
- Proverbs 8:30 Or Playing
- Proverbs 8:31 Or Playing
- Proverbs 8:36 Or misses me
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.