Study Desk

I, Wisdom, share a home with shrewdness and have knowledge and discretion.⁽ⁱ⁾

To fear the Lord is to hate evil.^(j) I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.

I possess good advice and competence;^[b] I have understanding and strength.^(k)

It is by me that kings reign^(l) and rulers enact just law;

by me, princes lead, as do nobles and all righteous judges.^[c]

I love those who love me,^(m) and those who search for me find me.⁽ⁿ⁾

With me are riches and honor,^(o) lasting wealth and righteousness.^(p)

My fruit is better than solid gold, and my harvest than pure silver.^(q)

I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice,

giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

"The Lord made^[d] me at the beginning of His creation,^[e] before His works of long ago.^(r)

I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began.^(s)

I was born when there were no watery depths^(t) and no springs filled with water.

I was delivered before the mountains and hills were established,^(u)

before He made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth.

I was there when He established the heavens,^(v) when He laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,^(w)

when He placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out,

when He set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate His command,^(x) when He laid out the foundations of the earth.^(y)

I was a skilled craftsman^[f] beside Him.^(z) I was His^[g] delight every day, always rejoicing before Him.

I was rejoicing in His inhabited world,^(aa) delighting in the human race.^(ab)

"And now, my sons, listen to me; those who keep my ways are happy.^(ac)

Listen to instruction and be wise;^(ad) don't ignore it.

Anyone who listens to me is happy,^(ae) watching at my doors every day, waiting by the posts of my doorway.

For the one who finds me finds life^(af) and obtains favor from the Lord ,^(ag)

but the one who misses me^[h] harms himself;^(ah) all who hate me love death."^(ai)

Wisdom has built her house;^(a) she has carved out her seven pillars.

She has prepared her meat;^(b) she has mixed her wine;^(c) she has also set her table.^(d)

She has sent out her female servants;^(e) she calls out from the highest points of the city:^(f)

"Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!" To the one who lacks sense,^(g) she says,

"Come, eat my bread,^(h) and drink the wine I have mixed.

Leave inexperience behind, and you will live; pursue the way of understanding.

The one who corrects a mocker will bring dishonor on himself; the one who rebukes a wicked man will get hurt.^[a]

Don't rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you;⁽ⁱ⁾ rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.^(j)

Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will learn more.^(k)

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,^(l) and the knowledge of the Holy One^(m) is understanding.

For by Wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.

If you are wise, you are wise for your own benefit;⁽ⁿ⁾ if you mock, you alone will bear the consequences."

The woman Folly is rowdy;^(o) she is gullible and knows nothing.^(p)

She sits by the doorway of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city,

calling to those who pass by, who go straight ahead on their paths:^(q)

"Whoever is inexperienced, enter here!" To the one who lacks sense, she says,

"Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten secretly is tasty!"^(r)

But he doesn't know that the departed spirits are there,^(s) that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.^(t)

Solomon's proverbs:^(a) A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son, heartache to his mother.^(b)

Ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone, but righteousness rescues from death.^(c)

The Lord will not let the righteous go hungry,^(d) but He denies the wicked what they crave.^(e)

Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches.^(f)

The son who gathers during summer is prudent; the son who sleeps during harvest is disgraceful.^(g)

Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.^(h)

The remembrance of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.⁽ⁱ⁾

A wise heart accepts commands,^(j) but foolish lips will be destroyed.

The one who lives with integrity lives securely,^(k) but whoever perverts his ways will be found out.^(l)

A sly wink of the eye^(m) causes grief, and foolish lips will be destroyed.

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,⁽ⁿ⁾ but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.^(o)

Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses.^(p)

Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of the one who lacks sense.^(q)

The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool hastens destruction.^(r)

A rich man's wealth is his fortified city;^(s) the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

The labor of the righteous leads to life; the activity of the wicked leads to sin.^(t)

The one who follows instruction is on the path to life, but the one who rejects correction goes astray.^(u)

The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.^(v)

When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is wise.^(w)

The tongue of the righteous is pure silver; the heart of the wicked is of little value.^(x)

The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.^(y)

The Lord 's blessing enriches,^(z) and struggle adds nothing to it.^[a](aa)

As shameful conduct is pleasure for a fool,^(ab) so wisdom is for a man of understanding.

What the wicked dreads will come to him,^(ac) but what the righteous desire will be given to them.^(ad)

When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more,^(ae) but the righteous are secure forever.^(af)

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,^(ag) so the slacker is to the one who sends him on an errand.

The fear of the Lord prolongs life,^[b](ah) but the years of the wicked are cut short.^(ai)

The hope of the righteous is joy,^(aj) but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.^(ak)

The way of the Lord is a stronghold for the honorable, but destruction awaits the malicious.^(al)

The righteous will never be shaken, but the wicked will not remain on the earth.^(am)

The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom,^(an) but a perverse tongue will be cut out.^(ao)

The lips of the righteous know what is appropriate,^(ap) but the mouth of the wicked, only what is perverse.^(aq)

Dishonest scales are detestable to the Lord ,^(a) but an accurate weight is His delight.^(b)

When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.^(c)

The integrity of the upright guides them,^(d) but the perversity of the treacherous destroys them.^(e)

Wealth is not profitable on a day of wrath, but righteousness rescues from death.^(f)

The righteousness of the blameless clears his path, but the wicked person will fall because of his wickedness.

The righteousness of the upright rescues them, but the treacherous are trapped by their own desires.^(g)

When the wicked man dies, his expectation comes to nothing, and hope placed in wealth^[a][b] vanishes.^(h)

The righteous one is rescued from trouble; in his place, the wicked one goes in.⁽ⁱ⁾

With his mouth the ungodly destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.

When the righteous thrive, a city rejoices,^(j) and when the wicked die, there is joyful shouting.

A city is built up by the blessing of the upright,^(k) but it is torn down by the mouth of the wicked.^(l)