^7 (A)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

^13 (A)Blessed is a person who finds wisdom,
And one who obtains understanding.
¹⁴ For ^[a]her ^(B)profit is better than the profit of silver,
And her produce better than gold.
¹⁵ She is ^(C)more precious than ^[b]jewels,
And nothing you desire compares with her.
^16 [c](D)Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are ^(E)riches and honor.
¹⁷ Her ^(F)ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths are ^(G)peace.
¹⁸ She is a ^(H)tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are those who hold on to her.
¹⁹ The Lord founded the earth ^(I)by wisdom,
He ^(J)established the heavens by understanding.
²⁰ By His knowledge the ^(K)ocean depths were burst open,
And the ^(L)clouds drip with dew.

¹⁰ Listen, my son, and ^(H)accept my sayings,
And the ^(I)years of your life will be many.
¹¹ I have ^(J)instructed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.
¹² When you walk, your ^(K)steps will not be hampered;
And if you run, you ^(L)will not stumble.
^13 (M)Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your ^(N)life.

¹² “I, wisdom, ^(O)dwell with prudence,
And I find ^(P)knowledge and discretion.
¹³ The ^(Q)fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
^(R)Pride, arrogance, ^(S)the evil way,
And the ^(T)perverted mouth, I hate.
^14 (U)Advice is mine and ^(V)sound wisdom;
I am understanding, ^(W)power is mine.
¹⁵ By me ^(X)kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
¹⁶ By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
¹⁷ I ^(Y)love those who love me;
And ^(Z)those who diligently seek me will find me.
^18 (AA)Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring ^(AB)wealth and righteousness.
¹⁹ My fruit is ^(AC)better than gold, even pure gold;
And my yield better than ^(AD)choice silver.
²⁰ I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
²¹ To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may ^(AE)fill their treasuries.

²² “The Lord ^[e]created me ^(AF)at the beginning of His way,
Before His works ^[f]of old.
²³ From eternity I was ^[g](AG)established,
From the beginning, ^(AH)from the earliest times of the earth.
²⁴ When there were no ^(AI)ocean depths, I was born,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
^25 (AJ)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was born;
²⁶ While He had not yet made the earth and the ^[h]fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
²⁷ When He ^(AK)established the heavens, I was there;
When ^(AL)He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
²⁸ When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became ^[i]fixed,
²⁹ When ^(AM)He set a boundary for the sea
So that the water would not violate His ^[j]command,
When He marked out ^(AN)the foundations of the earth;
³⁰ Then ^(AO)I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was His delight daily,
^[k]Rejoicing always before Him,
^31 [l]Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having ^(AP)my delight in the sons of mankind.

³² “Now then, sons, ^(AQ)listen to me,
For ^(AR)blessed are those who keep my ways.
^33 (AS)Listen to instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
^34 (AT)Blessed is the person who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
³⁵ For ^(AU)one who finds me finds life,
And ^(AV)obtains favor from the Lord.
³⁶ But one who ^[m]sins against me ^(AW)injures himself;
All those who ^(AX)hate me ^(AY)love death.”

¹⁰ The ^(A)fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
¹¹ For ^(B)by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
¹² If you are wise, you are wise ^(C)for yourself,
And if you ^(D)scoff, you alone will ^[a]suffer from it.