箴言 9
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
智慧和愚昧
9 智慧建造她的房屋，
鑿出七根柱子。
2 她宰了牲口，
調了美酒，
設了宴席，
3 派婢女出去邀請賓客，
自己在城中高處呼喊：
4 「愚昧人啊，到這裡來吧！」
她又對無知者說：
5 「來吃我做的飯，
嚐嚐我調的酒吧！
6 你們要拋棄愚昧，就能存活，
要轉向悟性之道。」
7 糾正嘲諷者，必自招羞辱；
責備惡人，必自招傷害。
8 不要責備嘲諷者，免得他恨你；
要責備智者，他必愛你。
9 教導智者，他就更有智慧；
指教義人，他就更有見識。
10 智慧始於敬畏耶和華，
認識至聖者便是明智。
11 智慧可增添你的年日，
加添你的壽數。
12 人有智慧，自得益處；
人好嘲諷，自食惡果。
13 愚昧的女人喧嚷，蒙昧，無知。
14 她坐在自己的家門口，
坐在城中高處的座位上，
15 招呼著行色匆匆的過客：
16 「愚昧人啊，到這裡來吧！」
她又對無知者說：
17 「偷喝的水甜，偷吃的餅香。」
18 他們卻不知她那裡鬼影幢幢，
她的客人已落在陰間的深處。
Proverbs 9
New Catholic Bible
Wisdom and Folly
Chapter 9
At God’s Banquet[a]
1 Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2 She has slain her animals and mixed her wine,
and she has spread her table.
3 She has sent forth her maidservants
and proclaimed from the heights of the city,
4 “Let those who are simple[b] turn in here.”
To the person without understanding she says,
5 “Come and partake of my food,
and taste the wine that I have prepared!
6 Abandon foolishness so that you may live;
walk in the way of understanding.
A Parenthesis about the Arrogant[c]
7 “If you correct an arrogant man, you invite insults;
if you rebuke a wicked man, you incur abuse.
8 If you reprove an insolent man, he will hate you;
if you reprove a wise man, he will love you.
9 Instruct a wise man, and he will become wiser still;
teach a righteous man, and he will advance in learning.
10 [d]“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,[e]
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, it is to your advantage;
if you are arrogant, you alone will bear the blame.”
Folly Sits at the Door of Her House[f]
13 The woman Folly[g] acts impulsively;
she is undisciplined and lacking in knowledge.
14 She sits at the door of her house,
upon a seat commanding the city,
15 calling out to the passers-by
who are hurrying on their straight way,
16 “You who are simple, turn in here.”
To the fool she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret tastes good.”
18 But little does he know that the dead are there
and that her guests are headed for the netherworld.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 9:1 This beautiful poem once again presents Wisdom as a person. She invites men and women to a feast in her house, the seven pillars of which symbolize perfection. The theme of the feast at which the wise are gathered was dear to antiquity; Christ, too, will speak to us of guests invited to the royal feast (see Mt 22:2; Lk 14:16). Reading this fascinating invitation, Christians will be reminded of the Eucharistic Supper where Christ offers them the word and the bread. It is the sign and foreshadowing of the royal feast to which are called all human beings, and where all will experience the joy of God.
- Proverbs 9:4 Simple: see note on Prov 1:4.
- Proverbs 9:7 This parenthesis about the arrogant continues the reflections already set forth in the preceding chapters. In the manner of certain psalms, the author attacks scoffers and abandons them to their lot. For they are those who eschew the meaning of their lives, the respect for others, and the consideration of God as if they were fleeing from their true destiny, their value as human beings. This is folly.
- Proverbs 9:10 These three verses summarize the message that is found in the first nine chapters.
- Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: see note on Prov 1:7.
- Proverbs 9:13 In contrast with Wisdom, who is God’s hostess, here is a picture full of irony. Folly holds her banquet too, but she can offer only stolen water, bread eaten in secret, and, in the end, death, the sojourn in the land of oblivion and hopelessness (i.e., the netherworld). This comparison of Wisdom and Folly, this contrast of the two banquets, recalls the opposition of the two ways: here we are called to make our choice.
- Proverbs 9:13 The description of Folly in this verse links her to the adulteress of Prov 2:16; 7:10ff.
