Proverbs 8:4-24
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 8
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.King James Version
Chapter 8
4Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. 5O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. 6Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. 7For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. 9They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. 10Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. 11For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
12I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
13The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
14Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
15By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
16By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
17I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
18Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
19My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
20I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:
21That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 8
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.
New Living Translation
Chapter 8
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.
English Standard Version
Chapter 8
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. 10Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, 11for 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. 13The 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. 17I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. 18Riches 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.New International Version
Chapter 8
4To 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.
12I, 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.
22The 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;
