Proverbs 8:2-32
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 8
2On top of the heights beside the way, Where the paths meet, she takes her stand; 3Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she cries out: 4'To you, people, I call, And my voice is to mankind. 5You naive ones, understand prudence; And, you fools, understand wisdom! 6Listen, for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips will reveal right things. 7For my mouth will proclaim truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them. 9They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. 10Accept my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold. 11For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her. 12'I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion. 13The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride, arrogance, the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate. 14Advice is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine. 15By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice. 16By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly. 17I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. 18Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness. 19My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold; And my yield better than choice silver. 20I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, 21To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. 22'The Lord created me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. 23From eternity I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. 24When there were no ocean depths, I was born, When there were no springs abounding with water. 25Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was born; 26While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world. 27When He established the heavens, I was there; When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, 28When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed, 29When He set a boundary for the sea So that the water would not violate His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; 30Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was His delight daily, Rejoicing always before Him, 31 Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of mankind. 32'Now then, sons, listen to me, For blessed are those who keep my ways.King James Version
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 8
2At the heights overlooking the road, at the crossroads, she takes her stand. 3Beside the gates leading into the city, at the main entrance, she cries out: 4"People, I call out to you; my cry is to the children of Adam. 5Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced; develop common sense, you who are foolish. 6Listen, for I speak of noble things, and what my lips say is right. 7For my mouth tells the truth, and wickedness is detestable to my lips. 8All the words from my mouth are righteous; none of them are deceptive or perverse. 9All of them are clear to the perceptive, and right to those who discover knowledge. 10Accept my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. 11For wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can equal it. 12I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness and have knowledge and discretion. 13To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech. 14I possess good advice and sound wisdom; I have understanding and strength. 15It is by me that kings reign and rulers enact just law; 16by me, princes lead, as do nobles and all righteous judges. 17I love those who love me, and those who search for me find me. 18With me are riches and honor, lasting wealth and righteousness. 19My fruit is better than solid gold, and my harvest than pure silver. 20I walk in the ways of righteousness, along the paths of justice,
21giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.
22"The Lord acquired me at the beginning of his creation, before his works of long ago.
23I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began.
24I was born when there were no watery depths and no springs filled with water.
25Before the mountains were established, prior to the hills, I was given birth—
26before he made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth.
27I was there when he established the heavens, when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,
28when he placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out,
29when he set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate his command, when he laid out the foundations of the earth.
30I was a skilled craftsman beside him. I was his delight every day, always rejoicing before him.
New Living Translation
Chapter 8
2On the hilltop along the road, she takes her stand at the crossroads. 3By the gates at the entrance to the town, on the road leading in, she cries aloud, 4'I call to you, to all of you! I raise my voice to all people. 5You simple people, use good judgment. You foolish people, show some understanding. 6Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you. Everything I say is right, 7for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception. 8My advice is wholesome. There is nothing devious or crooked in it. 9My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge. 10Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. 11For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.
12'I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.
13All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.
14Common sense and success belong to me. Insight and strength are mine.
15Because of me, kings reign, and rulers make just decrees.
16Rulers lead with my help, and nobles make righteous judgments.
17'I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me.
18I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice.
19My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver!
20I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice.
21Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries.
22'The Lord formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else.
23I was appointed in ages past, at the very first, before the earth began.
24I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters.
25Before the mountains were formed, before the hills, I was born —
26before he had made the earth and fields and the first handfuls of soil.
27I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans.
28I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established springs deep in the earth.
29I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth’s foundations,
30I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence.
31And how happy I was with the world he created; how I rejoiced with the human family!
English Standard Version
Chapter 8
2On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; 3beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: 4"To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. 5O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. 6Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, 7for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. 9They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. 10 Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, 11 for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. 12"I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. 13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. 14I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. 15By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; 16by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. 17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. 18 Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. 19My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver. 20I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, 21granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries. 22 "The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 23Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 24When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, 26before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. 27When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man. 32"And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways.New International Version
Chapter 8
2At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; 3beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: 4"To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. 5You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. 6Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. 7My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. 8All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. 9To the discerning all of them are right; they are upright to those who have found knowledge. 10Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold,
11for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
12"I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion.
13To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
14Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power.
15By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just;
16by me princes govern, and nobles—all who rule on earth.
17I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
18With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.
19My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.
20I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice,
21bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full.
22"The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old;
23I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
24When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water;
25before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth,
26before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth.
27I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,
New King James Version
