Proverbs 9:10-18

New International Reader's Version

¹⁰ If you want to become wise, you must begin by respecting the Lord.
    To know the Holy One is to gain understanding.
¹¹ Through wisdom, you will live a long time.
    Years will be added to your life.
¹² If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you.
    If you make fun of others, you alone will suffer.

¹³ The woman called Foolishness is wild.
    She is childish and knows nothing.
¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house.
    She sits at the highest point of the city.
¹⁵ She calls out to those who pass by.
    She calls out to those who go straight on their way. She says,
¹⁶ “Let all who are childish come to my house!”
    She speaks to those who have no sense.
¹⁷ She says, “Stolen water is sweet.
    Food eaten in secret tastes good!”
¹⁸ But they don’t know that dead people are there.
    They don’t know that her guests are deep in the place of the dead.