Proverbs 7; Proverbs 8; Proverbs 9

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Proverbs 7

1 My son, remember what I say, and treasure my commands.

2 Obey my commands, and you will live. Guard my teachings as you would your own eyes.

3 Remind yourself of them; write them on your heart as if on a tablet.

4 Treat wisdom as a sister, and make understanding your closest friend.

5 Wisdom and understanding will keep you away from adultery, away from the unfaithful wife and her pleasing words.

6 Once while I was at the window of my house I looked out through the shutters

7 and saw some foolish, young men. I noticed one of them had no wisdom.

8 He was walking down the street near the corner on the road leading to her house.

9 It was the twilight of the evening; the darkness of the night was just beginning.

10 Then the woman approached him, dressed like a prostitute and planning to trick him.

11 She was loud and stubborn and never stayed at home.

12 She was always out in the streets or in the city squares, waiting around on the corners of the streets.

13 She grabbed him and kissed him. Without shame she said to him,

14 "I made my fellowship offering and took some of the meat home. Today I have kept my special promises.

15 So I have come out to meet you; I have been looking for you and have found you.

16 I have covered my bed with colored sheets from Egypt.

17 I have made my bed smell sweet with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18 Come, let's make love until morning. Let's enjoy each other's love.

19 My husband is not home; he has gone on a long trip.

20 He took a lot of money with him and won't be home for weeks."

21 By her clever words she made him give in; by her pleasing words she led him into doing wrong.

22 All at once he followed her, like an ox led to the butcher, like a deer caught in a trap

23 and shot through the liver with an arrow. Like a bird caught in a trap, he didn't know what he did would kill him.

24 Now, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say.

25 Don't let yourself be tricked by such a woman; don't go where she leads you.

26 She has ruined many good men, and many have died because of her.

27 Her house is on the road to death, the road that leads down to the grave.

Proverbs 8

1 Wisdom calls to you like someone shouting; understanding raises her voice.

2 On the hilltops along the road and at the crossroads, she stands calling.

3 Beside the city gates, at the entrances into the city, she calls out:

4 "Listen, everyone, I'm calling out to you; I am shouting to all people.

5 You who are uneducated, be smarter. You who are foolish, get understanding.

6 Listen, because I have important things to say, and what I tell you is right.

7 What I say is true, I refuse to speak evil.

8 Everything I say is honest; nothing I say is crooked or false.

9 People with good sense know what I say is true; and those with knowledge know my words are right.

10 Choose my teachings instead of silver, and knowledge rather than the finest gold.

11 Wisdom is more precious than rubies. Nothing you could want is equal to it.

12 "I am wisdom, and I am smart. I also have knowledge and good sense.

13 If you respect the Lord, you will also hate evil. I hate pride and bragging, evil ways and lies.

14 I have good sense and advice, and I have understanding and power.

15 I help kings to govern and rulers to make fair laws.

16 Princes use me to lead, and so do all important people who judge fairly.

17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

18 Riches and honor are mine to give. So are wealth and lasting success.

19 What I give is better than the finest gold, better than the purest silver.

20 I do what is right and follow the path of justice.

21 I give wealth to those who love me, filling their houses with treasures.

22 "I, wisdom, was with the Lord when he began his work, long before he made anything else.

23 I was created in the very beginning, even before the world began.

24 I was born before there were oceans, or springs overflowing with water,

25 before the hills were there, before the mountains were put in place.

26 God had not made the earth or fields, not even the first dust of the earth.

27 I was there when God put the skies in place, when he stretched the horizon over the oceans,

28 when he made the clouds above and put the deep underground springs in place.

29 I was there when he ordered the sea not to go beyond the borders he had set. I was there when he laid the earth's foundation.

30 I was like a child by his side. I was delighted every day, enjoying his presence all the time,

31 enjoying the whole world, and delighted with all its people.

32 "Now, my children, listen to me, because those who follow my ways are happy.

33 Listen to my teaching, and you will be wise; do not ignore it.

34 Happy are those who listen to me, watching at my door every day, waiting at my open doorway.

35 Those who find me find life, and the Lord will be pleased with them.

36 Those who do not find me hurt themselves. Those who hate me love death."

Proverbs 9

1 Wisdom has built her house; she has made its seven columns.

2 She has prepared her food and wine; she has set her table.

3 She has sent out her servant girls, and she calls out from the highest place in the city.

4 She says to those who are uneducated, "Come in here, you foolish people!

5 Come and eat my food and drink the wine I have prepared.

6 Stop your foolish ways, and you will live; take the road of understanding.

7 "If you correct someone who makes fun of wisdom, you will be insulted. If you correct an evil person, you will get hurt.

8 Do not correct those who make fun of wisdom, or they will hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you.

9 Teach the wise, and they will become even wiser; teach good people, and they will learn even more.

10 "Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord, and understanding begins with knowing the Holy One.

11 If you live wisely, you will live a long time; wisdom will add years to your life.

12 The wise person is rewarded by wisdom, but whoever makes fun of wisdom will suffer for it."

13 Foolishness is like a loud woman; she does not have wisdom or knowledge.

14 She sits at the door of her house at the highest place in the city.

15 She calls out to those who are passing by, who are going along, minding their own business.

16 She says to those who are uneducated, "Come in here, you foolish people!

17 Stolen water is sweeter, and food eaten in secret tastes better."

18 But these people don't know that everyone who goes there dies, that her guests end up deep in the grave.