²² “The Lord formed me from the beginning,
    before he created anything else.

¹⁹ By wisdom the Lord founded the earth;
    by understanding he created the heavens.

²⁴ O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
    In wisdom you have made them all.
    The earth is full of your creatures.

²⁶ He made the laws for the rain
    and laid out a path for the lightning.
²⁷ Then he saw wisdom and evaluated it.
    He set it in place and examined it thoroughly.
²⁸ And this is what he says to all humanity:
‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;
    to forsake evil is real understanding.’”