¹¹ “I am Wisdom, I am better than jewels;
    nothing you want can compare with me.
¹² I am Wisdom, and I have insight;
    I have knowledge and sound judgment.
¹³ To honor the Lord is to hate evil;
    I hate pride and arrogance,
    evil ways and false words.
¹⁴ I make plans and carry them out.
    I have understanding, and I am strong.
¹⁵ I help kings to govern
    and rulers to make good laws.
¹⁶ Every ruler on earth governs with my help,
    officials and nobles alike.
¹⁷ I love those who love me;
    whoever looks for me can find me.
¹⁸ I have riches and honor to give,
    prosperity and success.
¹⁹ What you get from me is better than the finest gold,
    better than the purest silver.
²⁰ I walk the way of righteousness;
    I follow the paths of justice,
²¹ giving wealth to those who love me,
    filling their houses with treasures.

²² “The Lord created me first of all,
    the first of his works, long ago.
²³ I was made in the very beginning,
    at the first, before the world began.
²⁴ I was born before the oceans,
    when there were no springs of water.
²⁵ I was born before the mountains,
    before the hills were set in place,
²⁶ before God made the earth and its fields
    or even the first handful of soil.
²⁷ I was there when he set the sky in place,
    when he stretched the horizon across the ocean,
²⁸ when he placed the clouds in the sky,
    when he opened the springs of the ocean
²⁹ and ordered the waters of the sea
    to rise no further than he said.
I was there when he laid the earth's foundations.
³⁰ I was beside him like an architect,^[a]
    I was his daily source of joy,
    always happy in his presence—
³¹ happy with the world
    and pleased with the human race.

³² “Now, young people, listen to me.
    Do as I say, and you will be happy.
³³ Listen to what you are taught.
    Be wise; do not neglect it.
³⁴ Those who listen to me will be happy—
    those who stay at my door every day,
    waiting at the entrance to my home.
³⁵ Those who find me find life,
    and the Lord will be pleased with them.
³⁶ Those who do not find me hurt themselves;
    anyone who hates me loves death.”