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Proverbs chapter 9

English Standard Version

1 Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. 2She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 3She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town, 4 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" To him who lacks sense she says, 5"Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. 6Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight." 7Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. 8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. 9Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. 11For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. 12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it. 13 The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. 14She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, 15calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, 16 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" And to him who lacks sense she says, 17 "Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." 18But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
New International Version

1Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. 2She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 3She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, 4"Let all who are simple come to my house!" To those who have no sense she says, 5"Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.
6Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight." 7Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. 8Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.
9Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. 10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.
12If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer. 13Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing. 14She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, 15calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, 16"Let all who are simple come to my house!" To those who have no sense she says, 17"Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!" 18But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.
New American Standard Bible

1Wisdom has built her house, She has carved out her seven pillars; 2She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table; 3She has sent out her attendants, she calls out From the tops of the heights of the city: 4'Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!' To him who lacks understanding she says, 5'Come, eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed. 6 Abandon your foolishness and live, And proceed in the way of understanding.' 7One who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And one who rebukes a wicked person gets insults for himself. 8Do not rebuke a scoffer, or he will hate you; Rebuke a wise person and he will love you. 9Give instruction to a wise person and he will become still wiser; Teach a righteous person and he will increase his insight. 10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. 12If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you alone will suffer from it. 13 A woman of foolishness is boisterous, She has a lack of understanding and knows nothing. 14She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high places of the city, 15Calling to those who pass by, Who are going straight on their paths: 16'Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,' And to him who lacks understanding she says, 17'Stolen water is sweet; And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.' 18But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Christian Standard Bible

1Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out her seven pillars. 2She has prepared her meat; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. 3She has sent out her female servants; she calls out from the highest points of the city: 4"Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!" To the one who lacks sense, she says, 5"Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine I have mixed. 6Leave inexperience behind, and you will live; pursue the way of understanding. 7The one who corrects a mocker will bring abuse on himself; the one who rebukes the wicked will get hurt. 8Don’t rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke the wise, and he will love you.
9Instruct the wise, and he will be wiser still; teach the righteous, and he will learn more. 10"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11For by me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.
12If you are wise, you are wise for your own benefit; if you mock, you alone will bear the consequences." 13Folly is a rowdy woman; she is gullible and knows nothing. 14She sits by the doorway of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, 15calling to those who pass by, who go straight ahead on their paths: 16"Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!" To the one who lacks sense, she says, 17"Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten secretly is tasty!" 18But he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
New Living Translation

1Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns. 2She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. 3She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city. 4'Come in with me,' she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, 5'Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed. 6Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.'
7Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. 8So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. 9Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.
10Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
11Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. 12If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.
13The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t know it. 14She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city. 15She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business. 16'Come in with me,' she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, 17'Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tastes the best!' 18But little do they know that the dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.
King James Version

1Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
2She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table.
3She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
4Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
5Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.
6Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
7He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.
8Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
9Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
11For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.
12If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
13A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
14For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
15To call passengers who go right on their ways:
16Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
17Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
18But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
New King James Version

1Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; 2 She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table. 3She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city, 4“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 5“Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed. 6Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding. 7“He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. 8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. 9Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 10“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. 12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.” 13 A foolish woman is clamorous; She is simple, and knows nothing. 14For she sits at the door of her house, On a seat by the highest places of the city, 15To call to those who pass by, Who go straight on their way: 16“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”; And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 17“Stolen water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” 18But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of hell.

What does Proverbs chapter 9 mean?

Chapter 9 further highlights the distinction between godly wisdom and worldly foolishness. This returns to prior depictions of wisdom as a woman calling to be heard (Proverbs 8:1–4), and a seductive, sinful woman seeking gullible people as her prey (Proverbs 7:7–27). The chapter can be divided into three sections, each with six verses. The first continues to depict Lady Wisdom, the second contrasts the responses mankind has to wisdom, and the last section presents Folly as an inverted version of Wisdom herself.

After depicting Wisdom in detail in chapter 8, Solomon describes her as preparing a large home and a grand feast. The invitation Wisdom offers is for those who lack sense to improve, by obeying God and seeking truth. Those who accept Wisdom's invitation put themselves on a path to life and success. As with other proverbs, this is an expression of common sense, not an overly literal guarantee. Those who pursue truth and godliness are more likely to thrive and less likely to suffer consequences (Proverbs 9:1–6).

The middle portion of the chapter notes the different reactions mankind has to godly wisdom. Those who sincerely seek truth respond to correction with humility and love. They apply the lessons of wisdom to make themselves wiser. In contrast, those who are arrogant will sneer at godliness, and react with hatred and insults to those who correct them. This passage repeats the fundamental idea that true wisdom can only begin when a person properly respects and reveres God (Proverbs 9:7–12).

The chapter ends by describing a twisted mirror image of Wisdom. This woman, Folly, also invites others to join her. Rather than encouraging godliness, Folly lies and says that illicit pleasures are better than God's creations. Those who fall for her seduction fail to see that her path leads to death (Proverbs 9:13–18).

This concludes Solomon's overall praise of wisdom, begun in the later verses of chapter 1. After this, the book of Proverbs records many of the individual statements of wisdom made by Solomon. Each of these is a proverb in and of itself. Most of the rest of the book of Proverbs is a collection of these discrete, common sense generalities.
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