The Excellence of Wisdom

Does not (A)wisdom cry out,
And understanding lift up her voice?
She takes her stand on the top of the [a]high hill,
Beside the way, where the paths meet.
She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the entrance of the doors:
“To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
O you [b]simple ones, understand prudence,
And you fools, be of an understanding heart.
Listen, for I will speak of (B)excellent things,
And from the opening of my lips will come right things;
For my mouth will speak truth;
Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are with righteousness;
Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.
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.”

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 8:2 Lit. heights
  2. Proverbs 8:5 naive
  3. Proverbs 8:16 MT, Syr., Tg., Vg. righteousness; LXX, Bg., some mss. and editions earth
  4. Proverbs 8:20 walk about on
  5. Proverbs 8:26 outer places
  6. Proverbs 8:26 Lit. beginning of the dust
  7. Proverbs 8:30 A Jewish tradition one brought up

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? (A)He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

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And now, O Father, glorify Me together [a]with Yourself, with the glory (A)which I had with You before the world was.

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Footnotes

  1. John 17:5 Lit. alongside

The Eternal Word(A)

In the beginning (B)was the Word, and the (C)Word was (D)with God, and the Word was (E)God. (F)He was in the beginning with God. (G)All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (H)In Him was life, and (I)the life was the light of men. And (J)the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [a]comprehend it.

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:5 Or overcome

18 (A)No one has seen God at any time. (B)The only begotten [a]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

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Footnotes

  1. John 1:18 NU God

16 For (A)by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or (B)dominions or [a]principalities or [b]powers. All things were created (C)through Him and for Him. 17 (D)And He is before all things, and in Him (E)all things consist.

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Footnotes

  1. Colossians 1:16 rulers
  2. Colossians 1:16 authorities

The History of Creation(A)

In the (B)beginning (C)God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was (D)without form, and void; and darkness [a]was on the face of the deep. (E)And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

(F)Then God said, (G)“Let there be (H)light”; and there was light.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 1:2 Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

God’s Supreme Revelation(A)

God, who [a]at various times and (B)in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the [b]worlds; (C)who being the brightness of His glory and the express (D)image of His person, and (E)upholding all things by the word of His power, (F)when He had [c]by Himself [d]purged [e]our sins, (G)sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as (H)He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 1:1 Or in many portions
  2. Hebrews 1:2 Or ages, Gr. aiones, aeons
  3. Hebrews 1:3 NU omits by Himself
  4. Hebrews 1:3 cleansed
  5. Hebrews 1:3 NU omits our

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