Proverbs 8:3-26

³For she sits by the gates of princes, And sings in the entrances, saying,

⁴You, O men, I exhort; And utter my voice to the sons of men.

⁵O ye simple, understand subtlety, And ye that are untaught, imbibe knowledge.

⁶Hearken to me; for I will speak solemn truths; And will produce right sayings from my lips.

⁷For my throat shall meditate truth; And false lips are an abomination before me.

⁸All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing in them wrong or perverse.

⁹They are all evident to those that understand, And right to those that find knowledge.

¹⁰Receive instruction, and not silver; And knowledge rather than tried gold.

¹¹For wisdom is better than precious stones; And no valuable substance is of equal worth with it.

¹²I wisdom have dwelt with counsel and knowledge, And I have called upon understanding.

¹³The fear of the Lord hates unrighteousness, And insolence, and pride, and the ways of wicked men; And I hate the perverse ways of bad men.

¹⁴Counsel and safety are mine: Prudence is mine, and strength is mine.

¹⁵By me kings reign, And princes decree justice.

¹⁶By me nobles become great, And monarchs by me rule over the earth.

¹⁷I love those that love me; And they that seek me shall find me.

¹⁸Wealth and glory belong to me; Yea, abundant possessions and righteousness.

¹⁹It is better to have my fruit than to have gold and precious stones; And my produce is better than choice silver.

²⁰I walk in ways of righteousness, And am conversant with the paths of judgment;

²¹That I may divide substance to them that love me, And may fill their treasures with good things.

^21aIf I declare to you the things that daily happen, I will remember also to recount the things of old.

²²The Lord made me the beginning of his ways for his works.

²³He established me before time was in the beginning, Before he made the earth:

²⁴even before he made the depths; Before the fountains of water came forth:

²⁵Before the mountains were settled, And before all hills, he begets me.

²⁶The Lord made countries and uninhabited tracts, And the highest inhabited parts of the world.