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
Legacy Standard Bible
Wisdom and Foolishness Call Out
9 Wisdom has (A)built her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;
2 She has [a](B)slaughtered her cattle, she has (C)mixed her wine;
She has also (D)prepared her table;
3 She has (E)sent out her maidens, she (F)calls
From the (G)tops of the heights of the city:
4 “(H)Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who (I)lacks a heart of wisdom she says,
5 “Come, (J)eat of my bread
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 [b]Forsake your simplicity and (K)live,
And (L)step into the way of understanding.”
7 He who (M)disciplines a scoffer receives disgrace for himself,
And he who reproves a wicked man receives injury for himself.
8 (N)Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you,
(O)Reprove a wise man and he will love you.
9 Give knowledge to a wise man and he will be still wiser,
Make a righteous man know it and he will (P)increase his learning.
10 The (Q)fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For (R)by me your days will become many,
And years of life will be added to you.
12 If you are wise, you are wise (S)for yourself,
And if you (T)scoff, you alone will bear it.
13 The woman of [c]foolishness is (U)boisterous,
A woman of simplicity, and (V)does not know anything.
14 She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by (W)the high places of the city,
15 To call to those who pass by that way,
Who are making their paths straight:
16 “(X)Whoever is simple, let him turn in here,”
And to him who lacks a heart of wisdom she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet;
And (Y)bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the [d]dead are there,
That those she called are in the (Z)depths of Sheol.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 9:2 Lit slaughtered her slaughter
- Proverbs 9:6 Or Forsake the simple ones
- Proverbs 9:13 Insolent foolishness of one who fails in wisdom due to willful sin
- Proverbs 9:18 Lit departed spirits
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