Chronological
The Adulteress’ Trap
7 My son, (A)keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
2 (B)Keep my commandments and live,
And my [a]law (C)as the [b]apple of your eye.
3 (D)Bind them on your fingers;
(E)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend;
5 In order to keep you from the strange woman,
From the foreign woman who [c]flatters with her words.
6 For (F)at the window of my house
I looked out (G)through my lattice,
7 And I saw among the (H)simple,
And discerned among the [d]sons
A young man (I)lacking a heart of wisdom,
8 Passing through the street near (J)her corner;
And he strides along the way to (K)her house,
9 In the (L)twilight, in the evening of that day,
In the [e]middle of the night, and in the thick darkness.
10 And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
(M)Dressed as a harlot and [f]cunning of heart.
11 She is (N)boisterous and rebellious,
Her (O)feet do not dwell at home;
12 Stepping in the streets, stepping (P)in the squares,
And near every corner she (Q)lies in wait.
13 So she seizes him and kisses him
[g]And with a (R)brazen face she says to him:
14 “The sacrifices of (S)peace offerings are with me;
Today I (T)paid my vows.
15 Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your face earnestly, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with (U)coverings,
With colored (V)linens of Egypt.
17 I have sprinkled my bed
With (W)myrrh, aloes, and (X)cinnamon.
18 Come, then, let us drink our fill as lovers until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with the pleasures of love.
19 For [h]my husband is not at home,
He has gone on a journey far away;
20 He took a (Y)bag of silver in his hand,
On the day of the full moon he will come home.”
21 With her abundant [i]persuasions she entices him;
With her (Z)flattering lips she drives him to herself.
22 He suddenly follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or [j]as one in fetters to the discipline of an ignorant fool,
23 Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a (AA)bird hastens to the snare,
And he does not know that it will cost him his [k]soul.
24 So now, my sons, (AB)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
25 Do not let your heart (AC)go astray into her ways,
Do not wander into her pathways.
26 For many are the slain whom she has cast down,
And (AD)numerous are all those killed by her.
27 The ways to Sheol are in her (AE)house,
Descending to the chambers of death.
The Blessing of Wisdom
8 Does not (AF)wisdom call,
And discernment give forth her voice?
2 At the top of (AG)the heights upon the way,
Where the pathways meet, she takes her stand;
3 Beside the (AH)gates, at the opening to the city,
At the entrance of the doors, she makes a shout:
4 “To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
5 O (AI)simple ones, understand prudence;
And, O (AJ)fools, understand a heart of wisdom.
6 Listen, for I will speak (AK)noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal (AL)upright things.
7 For my (AM)mouth will utter truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing (AN)twisted or crooked in them.
9 They are all (AO)straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who (AP)find knowledge.
10 Take my (AQ)discipline and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest fine gold.
11 For wisdom is (AR)better than pearls;
And (AS)all desirable things cannot compare with her.
12 “I, wisdom, (AT)dwell with prudence,
And I find (AU)knowledge and discretion.
13 The (AV)fear of Yahweh is to hate evil;
(AW)Pride and arrogance and (AX)the evil way
And the mouth of [l](AY)perverted words, I hate.
14 (AZ)Counsel is mine and (BA)sound wisdom;
I am understanding, (BB)might is mine.
15 By me (BC)kings reign,
And rulers mark out righteousness.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
17 I (BD)love those who love me;
And (BE)those who earnestly seek me will find me.
18 (BF)Riches and glory are with me,
Enduring (BG)wealth and righteousness.
19 My fruit is (BH)better than fine gold, even pure gold,
And my produce better than (BI)choice silver.
20 I walk in the path of righteousness,
In the midst of the pathways of justice,
21 To give those who love me an inheritance of wealth,
That I may (BJ)fill their treasuries.
22 “Yahweh possessed me (BK)at the beginning of His way,
Before His deeds [m]of old.
23 From everlasting I was [n](BL)installed,
From the beginning, (BM)from the earliest times of the earth.
24 When there were no (BN)depths I was [o]brought forth,
When there were no springs heavy with water.
25 (BO)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was [p]brought forth;
26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields outside,
Nor the first dust of the world.
27 When He (BP)established the heavens, I was there,
When (BQ)He marked out a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became strong,
29 When (BR)He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not pass over His [q]command,
When He marked out (BS)the foundations of the earth;
30 Then (BT)I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was a daily delight,
[r]Rejoicing always before Him,
31 [s]Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
(BU)My delight is in the sons of men.
32 “So now, O sons, (BV)listen to me,
For (BW)blessed are they who keep my ways.
33 (BX)Hear discipline and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
34 (BY)How blessed is the man who hears me,
To watch daily at my doors,
To keep watch at my doorposts.
35 For (BZ)he who finds me finds life
And (CA)obtains favor from Yahweh.
36 But he who [t]sins against me (CB)does violence to his own soul;
All those who (CC)hate me (CD)love death.”
Wisdom and Foolishness Call Out
9 Wisdom has (CE)built her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;
2 She has [u](CF)slaughtered her cattle, she has (CG)mixed her wine;
She has also (CH)prepared her table;
3 She has (CI)sent out her maidens, she (CJ)calls
From the (CK)tops of the heights of the city:
4 “(CL)Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who (CM)lacks a heart of wisdom she says,
5 “Come, (CN)eat of my bread
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 [v]Forsake your simplicity and (CO)live,
And (CP)step into the way of understanding.”
7 He who (CQ)disciplines a scoffer receives disgrace for himself,
And he who reproves a wicked man receives injury for himself.
8 (CR)Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you,
(CS)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 (CT)increase his learning.
10 The (CU)fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For (CV)by me your days will become many,
And years of life will be added to you.
12 If you are wise, you are wise (CW)for yourself,
And if you (CX)scoff, you alone will bear it.
13 The woman of [w]foolishness is (CY)boisterous,
A woman of simplicity, and (CZ)does not know anything.
14 She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by (DA)the high places of the city,
15 To call to those who pass by that way,
Who are making their paths straight:
16 “(DB)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 (DC)bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the [x]dead are there,
That those she called are in the (DD)depths of Sheol.
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