Proverbs 9
New Living Translation
9 Wisdom has built her house;
she has carved its seven columns.
2 She has prepared a great banquet,
mixed the wines, and set the table.
3 She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come.
She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.
4 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple.
To those who lack good judgment, she says,
5 “Come, eat my food,
and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live;
learn to use good judgment.”
7 Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return.
Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.
8 So don’t bother correcting mockers;
they will only hate you.
But correct the wise,
and they will love you.
9 Instruct the wise,
and they will be even wiser.
Teach the righteous,
and they will learn even more.
10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
11 Wisdom will multiply your days
and add years to your life.
12 If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit.
If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.
Folly Calls for a Hearing
13 The woman named Folly is brash.
She is ignorant and doesn’t know it.
14 She sits in her doorway
on the heights overlooking the city.
15 She calls out to men going by
who are minding their own business.
16 “Come in with me,” she urges the simple.
To those who lack good judgment, she says,
17 “Stolen water is refreshing;
food eaten in secret tastes the best!”
18 But little do they know that the dead are there.
Her guests are in the depths of the grave.[a]
Footnotes
- 9:18 Hebrew in Sheol.
Proverbs 9
Common English Bible
“Woman Wisdom’s” invitation
9 Wisdom built her house;
she has carved out her seven pillars.
2 She slaughtered her animals,
mixed her wine,
and set her table.
3 She sends out her female servants; she issues an invitation
from the top of the city heights:
4 “Whoever is naive turn aside here,”
she says to those who lack sense.
5 “Come, eat my food,
and drink the wine I have mixed.
6 Abandon your simplistic ways and live;
walk in the way of understanding.”
Wise advice
7 Whoever instructs the cynic gets insulted;
whoever corrects the wicked gets hurt.
8 Don’t correct the impudent, or they will hate you;
correct the wise, and they will love you.
9 Teach the wise, and they will become wiser;
inform the righteous, and their learning will increase.
10 The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord;
the knowledge of the holy one is understanding.
11 Through me your days will be many;
years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, it is to your benefit;
if you are cynical, you will bear it all alone.
“Woman Folly’s” invitation
13 Woman Folly is noisy;
she’s stupid and doesn’t even know it.
14 She sits at the doorway of her house,
on a seat at the city heights.
15 She invites those who pass by on the path,
those going straight on their way.
16 “Whoever is naive, come in here,”
she says to those who lack sense.
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
food eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But they don’t know that the dead are there;
her guests are in the depths of the grave.[a]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 9:18 Heb Sheol
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible