Old/New Testament
The Blessing of Wisdom
8 Does not (A)wisdom call,
And discernment give forth her voice?
2 At the top of (B)the heights upon the way,
Where the pathways meet, she takes her stand;
3 Beside the (C)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 (D)simple ones, understand prudence;
And, O (E)fools, understand a heart of wisdom.
6 Listen, for I will speak (F)noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal (G)upright things.
7 For my (H)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 (I)twisted or crooked in them.
9 They are all (J)straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who (K)find knowledge.
10 Take my (L)discipline and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest fine gold.
11 For wisdom is (M)better than pearls;
And (N)all desirable things cannot compare with her.
12 “I, wisdom, (O)dwell with prudence,
And I find (P)knowledge and discretion.
13 The (Q)fear of Yahweh is to hate evil;
(R)Pride and arrogance and (S)the evil way
And the mouth of [a](T)perverted words, I hate.
14 (U)Counsel is mine and (V)sound wisdom;
I am understanding, (W)might is mine.
15 By me (X)kings reign,
And rulers mark out righteousness.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
17 I (Y)love those who love me;
And (Z)those who earnestly seek me will find me.
18 (AA)Riches and glory are with me,
Enduring (AB)wealth and righteousness.
19 My fruit is (AC)better than fine gold, even pure gold,
And my produce better than (AD)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 (AE)fill their treasuries.
22 “Yahweh possessed me (AF)at the beginning of His way,
Before His deeds [b]of old.
23 From everlasting I was [c](AG)installed,
From the beginning, (AH)from the earliest times of the earth.
24 When there were no (AI)depths I was [d]brought forth,
When there were no springs heavy with water.
25 (AJ)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was [e]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 (AK)established the heavens, I was there,
When (AL)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 (AM)He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not pass over His [f]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 a daily delight,
[g]Rejoicing always before Him,
31 [h]Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
(AP)My delight is in the sons of men.
32 “So now, O sons, (AQ)listen to me,
For (AR)blessed are they who keep my ways.
33 (AS)Hear discipline and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
34 (AT)How blessed is the man who hears me,
To watch daily at my doors,
To keep watch at my doorposts.
35 For (AU)he who finds me finds life
And (AV)obtains favor from Yahweh.
36 But he who [i]sins against me (AW)does violence to his own soul;
All those who (AX)hate me (AY)love death.”
Wisdom and Foolishness Call Out
9 Wisdom has (AZ)built her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;
2 She has [j](BA)slaughtered her cattle, she has (BB)mixed her wine;
She has also (BC)prepared her table;
3 She has (BD)sent out her maidens, she (BE)calls
From the (BF)tops of the heights of the city:
4 “(BG)Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who (BH)lacks a heart of wisdom she says,
5 “Come, (BI)eat of my bread
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 [k]Forsake your simplicity and (BJ)live,
And (BK)step into the way of understanding.”
7 He who (BL)disciplines a scoffer receives disgrace for himself,
And he who reproves a wicked man receives injury for himself.
8 (BM)Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you,
(BN)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 (BO)increase his learning.
10 The (BP)fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For (BQ)by me your days will become many,
And years of life will be added to you.
12 If you are wise, you are wise (BR)for yourself,
And if you (BS)scoff, you alone will bear it.
13 The woman of [l]foolishness is (BT)boisterous,
A woman of simplicity, and (BU)does not know anything.
14 She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by (BV)the high places of the city,
15 To call to those who pass by that way,
Who are making their paths straight:
16 “(BW)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 (BX)bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the [m]dead are there,
That those she called are in the (BY)depths of Sheol.
Ministers of a New Covenant
3 Are we beginning to (A)commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, (B)letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 (C)You are our letter, having been written in our hearts, known and read by all men, 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, (D)ministered to by us, having been written not with ink but with the Spirit of (E)the living God, not on (F)tablets of stone but on (G)tablets of hearts of (H)flesh.
4 And such (I)confidence we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but (J)our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as (K)ministers of a (L)new covenant, not of (M)the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but (N)the Spirit gives life.
7 But if the (O)ministry of death, (P)in letters having been engraved on stones, came [a]with glory, (Q)so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was being brought to an end, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be even more in glory? 9 For if (R)the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the (S)ministry of righteousness abound in glory. 10 For indeed what had been glorious, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if that which was being brought to an end was [b]with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
12 (T)Therefore having such a hope, (U)we use great boldness, 13 and are not like Moses, (V)who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the consequence of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were (W)hardened; for until this very day at the (X)reading of (Y)the old covenant the same veil [c]remains unlifted, because it is brought to an end in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart, 16 but (Z)whenever a person turns to the [d]Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where (AA)the Spirit of the Lord is, (AB)there is freedom. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, (AC)beholding as in a mirror the (AD)glory of the Lord, are being (AE)transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from (AF)the Lord, the Spirit.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.