Old/New Testament
Chapter 8
The Discourse of Wisdom[a]
1 Does not Wisdom call,
and Understanding raise her voice?(A)
2 On the top of the heights along the road,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
3 By the gates at the approaches of the city,
in the entryways she cries aloud:
4 “To you, O people, I call;
my appeal is to you mortals.
5 You naive ones, gain prudence,
you fools,[b] gain sense.
6 Listen! for noble things I speak;
my lips proclaim honest words.
7 [c]Indeed, my mouth utters truth,
and my lips abhor wickedness.
8 All the words of my mouth are sincere,
none of them wily or crooked;
9 All of them are straightforward to the intelligent,
and right to those who attain knowledge.
10 Take my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 [For Wisdom is better than corals,
and no treasures can compare with her.(B)]
12 I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence,
and useful knowledge I have.
13 [The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil;]
Pride, arrogance, the evil way,
and the perverse mouth I hate.(C)
14 Mine are counsel and advice;
Mine is strength; I am understanding.[d]
15 By me kings reign,
and rulers enact justice;
16 By me princes govern,
and nobles, all the judges of the earth.
17 Those who love me I also love,
and those who seek me find me.
18 With me are riches and honor,(D)
wealth that endures, and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
and my yield than choice silver.(E)
20 On the way of righteousness I walk,
along the paths of justice,
21 Granting wealth to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.
22 [e]“The Lord begot me, the beginning of his works,
the forerunner of his deeds of long ago;(F)
23 From of old I was formed,[f]
at the first, before the earth.(G)
24 [g]When there were no deeps I was brought forth,
when there were no fountains or springs of water;
25 Before the mountains were settled into place,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
26 When the earth and the fields were not yet made,
nor the first clods of the world.
27 When he established the heavens, there was I,(H)
when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
28 When he made firm the skies above,
when he fixed fast the springs of the deep;
29 When he set for the sea its limit,
so that the waters should not transgress his command;
When he fixed the foundations of earth,
30 then was I beside him as artisan;[h](I)
I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
31 Playing over the whole of his earth,
having my delight with human beings.
32 [i]Now, children, listen to me;
happy are they who keep my ways.
33 Listen to instruction and grow wise,
do not reject it!
34 Happy the one who listens to me,
attending daily at my gates,
keeping watch at my doorposts;
35 For whoever finds me finds life,(J)
and wins favor from the Lord;
36 But those who pass me by do violence to themselves;
all who hate me love death.”
Chapter 9
The Two Women Invite Passersby to Their Banquets[j]
Woman Wisdom Issues Her Invitation
1 Wisdom has built her house,[k]
she has set up her seven columns;
2 She has prepared her meat, mixed her wine,
yes, she has spread her table.
3 She has sent out her maidservants; she calls[l]
from the heights out over the city:(K)
4 “Let whoever is naive turn in here;
to any who lack sense I say,
5 Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
6 Forsake foolishness that you may live;[m]
advance in the way of understanding.”
Miscellaneous Aphorisms
7 Whoever corrects the arrogant earns insults;
and whoever reproves the wicked incurs opprobrium.
8 Do not reprove the arrogant, lest they hate you;
reprove the wise, and they will love you.(L)
9 Instruct the wise, and they become still wiser;
teach the just, and they advance in learning.
10 The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.(M)
11 For by me your days will be multiplied
and the years of your life increased.(N)
12 If you are wise, wisdom is to your advantage;
if you are arrogant, you alone shall bear it.
Woman Folly Issues Her Invitation
13 [n]Woman Folly is raucous,(O)
utterly foolish; she knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house
upon a seat on the city heights,
15 Calling to passersby
as they go on their way straight ahead:
16 “Let those who are naive turn in here,
to those who lack sense I say,
17 Stolen water is sweet,
and bread taken secretly is pleasing!”[o]
18 Little do they know that the shades are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol![p]
Chapter 3
1 [a](A)Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter,[b] written on our hearts, known and read by all, 3 [c](B)shown to be a letter of Christ administered by us, written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are hearts of flesh.
4 [d]Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that of ourselves we are qualified to take credit for anything as coming from us; rather, our qualification comes from God,(C) 6 who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit;(D) for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.[e]
Contrast with the Old Covenant. 7 [f]Now if the ministry of death,[g] carved in letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not look intently at the face of Moses because of its glory that was going to fade,(E) 8 how much more[h] will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, the ministry of righteousness will abound much more in glory. 10 Indeed, what was endowed with glory has come to have no glory in this respect because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was going to fade was glorious, how much more will what endures be glorious.
12 Therefore, since we have such hope,[i] we act very boldly 13 and not like Moses,[j] who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not look intently at the cessation of what was fading. 14 Rather, their thoughts were rendered dull, for to this present day[k] the same veil remains unlifted when they read the old covenant, because through Christ it is taken away. 15 To this day, in fact, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts,(F) 16 but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed.(G) 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit,[l] and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 [m]All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.(H)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.