of wisdom is:
obtain Wisdom;
at the cost of all you have,
obtain Understanding.
Esteem her, and she will exalt you.
She will honor you if you embrace her.
She will place a garland of grace upon your head,
a crown of splendor she will bestow upon you.
Proverbs 8:1–11 TNK
Does not Wisdom call out?
Does not Understanding
raise her voice?
On the city walls above the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates leading into the city,
in the entryways she cries aloud:
“To you, O people, I call,
my voice beckons to the children
of the earth.
You simpletons, gain cunning;
fools, gain common sense.
Listen, for I have something
important to say,
when I open my lips,
what is right pours forth.
My mouth declares the truth,
for wickedness is abhorrent to my lips.
All the words from my mouth are just,
not one of them is crooked or perverse.
To the discerning, they are all straight,
to those attaining knowledge,
they are right.
Acquire my instruction instead of silver,
knowledge of me rather than finest gold.
For Wisdom is more precious
than rosy pearls,
and nothing you most desire can compare with her.”
Proverbs 8:12–21 TNK
I, Wisdom, dwell with discretion,
and I obtain judicious knowledge.
To revere Yahweh is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance,
wicked behavior and perverse speech.
Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
understanding and power belong to me.
By me royalty reigns
and rulers regulate justly;
by me princes govern
as do all nobles.
I love those who love me;
and those who seek me find me.
With me are riches and honor,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
My fruit is better than gold,
even the finest,
and my yield surpasses
the choicest silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
to bestow wealth on those who love me,
to make their treasuries replete.
Proverbs 8:22–31 TNK
Wisdom declares:
The Lord begot me, the first-born
of his way,
before his deeds of old.
From eternity I was poured forth,
from the beginning, before the foundation of the earth.
When the watery abyss did not exist I was given birth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled,
before the hills, I came to birth;
before he made the earth and the fields,
even the first particles of the world.
I was there when he fixed the heavens firmly in place,
when he scored a circumference on the face of the abyss,
when he made firm
the cloudy skies above,
when he strengthened the fountains
of the deep,
when he assigned the sea its boundary
so that the waters would not overstep his command,
when he marked out the foundations
of the earth,
then I was at his side as an artisan
delighting him day after day,
ever dancing in his presence,
playfully dancing everywhere
in his world,
and delighting in the children
of the earth.
Proverbs 8:32–36 TNK
Wisdom delivers her discourse:
Now then my children, listen to me,
blessed are those who keep my ways.
Give heed to my instruction and become wise,
do not reject it.
Blessed is whoever listens for me,
watching daily at my doorstep,
waiting day by day at my gateway.
For whoever encounters me finds life,
obtaining favor from Yahweh;
but whoever misses me meets self-injury,
all who despise me court death.
Proverbs 9:1–6, 11 TNK
Wisdom has constructed
her own house,
she has chiseled her seven columns,
she has slaughtered her livestock,
mixed her spiced wine,
and prepared her table.
She has dispatched her maids
and announced from the city heights:
“Whoever is simple? Come this way!”
To those lacking judgment,
she proclaims:
“Come, feast on my food,
and imbibe the spiced wine
which I mixed!
Leave your simple ways
at the doorway and live,
and enter the path to understanding.
For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.”
Isaiah 11:1–3 TNK
A shoot will sprout from
the stump of Jesse,
from his burgeoning roots
a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of Yahweh, she shall rest
upon