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.”