Old/New Testament
The Appeal of Wisdom[a]
8 Does not wisdom call out?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
2 At the top[b] of the prominent places along the way,
at the intersection[c] of the paths she has taken her stand;
3 beside the gates opening into[d] the city,
at the entrance of the doorways she cries out:[e]
4 “To you, O people,[f] I call out,
and my voice calls[g] to all mankind.[h]
5 You who are naive, discern[i] wisdom!
And you fools, understand discernment![j]
6 Listen, for I will speak excellent things,[k]
and my lips will utter[l] what is right.
7 For my mouth[m] speaks truth,[n]
and my lips[o] hate wickedness.[p]
8 All the words of my mouth are righteous;[q]
there is nothing in them twisted[r] or crooked.
9 All of them are clear[s] to the discerning
and upright to those who find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction[t] rather than[u] silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is better than rubies,
and desirable things cannot be compared[v] to her.
12 “I, wisdom, have dwelt[w] with prudence,[x]
and I find[y] knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate[z] evil;
I hate arrogant pride[aa] and the evil way
and perverse utterances.[ab]
14 Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me;[ac]
I possess understanding and might.
15 By me kings reign,
and by me[ad] potentates[ae] decree[af] righteousness;
16 by me princes rule,
as well as nobles and[ag] all righteous judges.[ah]
17 I will love[ai] those who love me,
and those who seek me diligently will find me.
18 Riches and honor are with me,
long-lasting wealth and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than the purest gold,[aj]
and my harvest[ak] is better than choice silver.
20 I walk in the path of righteousness,
in the pathway of justice,
21 that I may cause[al] those who love me to inherit wealth,
and that I may fill[am] their treasuries.[an]
22 The Lord created[ao] me as the beginning[ap] of his works,[aq]
before his deeds of long ago.
23 From eternity I have been fashioned,[ar]
from the beginning, from before the world existed.[as]
24 When there were no deep oceans[at] I was born,[au]
when there were no springs overflowing[av] with water;
25 before the mountains were set in place—
before the hills—I was born,[aw]
26 before he made the earth and its fields,[ax]
or the top soil[ay] of the world.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he marked out the horizon[az] over the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above,
when he secured the fountains of the deep,[ba]
29 when he gave the sea his decree[bb]
that the waters should not pass over his command,[bc]
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 then I was[bd] beside him as a master craftsman,[be]
and I was his delight[bf] day by day,
rejoicing before him at all times,
31 rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth,[bg]
and delighting[bh] in its people.[bi]
32 “So now, children,[bj] listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Listen to my instruction[bk] so that you may be wise,[bl]
and do not neglect it.
34 Blessed is the one[bm] who listens to me,
watching[bn] at my doors day by day,
waiting[bo] beside my doorway.[bp]
35 For the one who finds me has found[bq] life
and received[br] favor from the Lord.
36 But the one who misses me[bs] brings harm[bt] to himself;[bu]
all who hate[bv] me love death.”
The Consequences of Accepting Wisdom or Folly[bw]
9 Wisdom has built her house;
she has carved out its seven pillars.[bx]
2 She has prepared her meat,[by] she has mixed her wine;
she also has arranged her table.[bz]
3 She has sent out her female servants;
she calls out[ca] on the highest places[cb] of the city.
4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here.”
To those[cc] who lack understanding,[cd] she has said,[ce]
5 “Come, eat[cf] some of my food,
and drink some of the wine I have mixed.[cg]
6 Abandon your foolish ways[ch] so that you may live,[ci]
and proceed[cj] in the way of understanding.”
7 Whoever corrects[ck] a mocker is asking for[cl] insult;[cm]
whoever reproves a wicked person receives[cn] abuse.
8 Do not reprove[co] a mocker or[cp] he will hate you;
reprove a wise person and he will love you.
9 Give instruction[cq] to a wise person,[cr] and he will become wiser still;
teach[cs] a righteous person and he will add to his[ct] learning.
10 The beginning[cu] of wisdom is to fear the Lord,[cv]
and acknowledging[cw] the Holy One[cx] is understanding.
11 For because[cy] of me your days will be many,
and years will be added[cz] to your life.
12 If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage,[da]
but if[db] you have mocked,[dc] you alone must[dd] bear it.[de]
13 The woman called Folly[df] is brash,[dg]
she is naive[dh] and does not know[di] anything.[dj]
14 And she has sat down at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
15 calling out[dk] to those who are passing by her[dl] in the way,[dm]
who go straight[dn] on their way.
16 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,”
To those who lack understanding[do] she has said,[dp]
17 “Stolen waters[dq] are sweet,
and food obtained in secret[dr] is pleasant!”
18 But they do not realize[ds] that the dead[dt] are there,
that her guests are in the depths of the grave.[du]
A Living Letter
3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? We don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we?[a] 2 You yourselves are our letter,[b] written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, 3 revealing[c] that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us,[d] written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets[e] but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. 5 Not that we are adequate[f] in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy[g] is from God, 6 who made us adequate[h] to be servants of a new covenant[i] not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry
7 But if the ministry that produced death—carved in letters on stone tablets[j]—came with glory, so that the Israelites[k] could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face[l] (a glory[m] which was made ineffective),[n] 8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be?[o] 9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation,[p] how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness[q] excel[r] in glory! 10 For indeed, what had been glorious now[s] has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it.[t] 11 For if what was made ineffective[u] came with[v] glory, how much more has what remains[w] come in glory! 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness,[x] 13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites[y] from staring[z] at the result[aa] of the glory that was made ineffective.[ab] 14 But their minds were closed.[ac] For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read.[ad] It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away.[ae] 15 But until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds,[af] 16 but when one[ag] turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.[ah] 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present,[ai] there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord,[aj] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another,[ak] which is from[al] the Lord, who is the Spirit.[am]
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