- Thou shalt proclaim wisdom, that understanding may be obedient to
thee.
- For she is on lofty eminences, and stands in the midst of the
ways.
- For she sits by the gates of princes, and sings in the entrances,
saying,
- You, O men, I exhort; and utter my voice to the sons of men.
- O ye [a] simple, understand subtlety,
and ye that are untaught, imbibe knowledge.
- Hearken to me; for I will speak solemn truths; and will
produce right sayings from my lips.
- For my throat shall meditate truth; and false lips are an
abomination before me.
- All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing
in them wrong or perverse.
- They are all evident to those that understand, and right to those
that find knowledge.
- Receive instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than
tried gold.
- For wisdom is better than precious stones; and no valuable
substance is of equal worth with it.
- I wisdom have dwelt with counsel and knowledge,and I have
called upon understanding.
- The 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.
- Counsel and safety are mine: prudence is mine, and strength is
mine.
- By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
- By me nobles become great, and monarchs by me rule over the earth.
- I love those that love me; and they that seek me shall find
me.
- Wealth and glory belong to me; yea, abundant possessions and
righteousness.
- It is better to have my fruit than to have gold
and precious stones; and my produce is better than choice silver.
- I walk in ways of righteousness, and am conversant with
the paths of judgment;
- that I may divide substance to them that love me, and may fill
their treasures with good things. If I declare to you the things that
daily happen, I will remember also to recount the things of old.
- The Lord made me the beginning of his ways for his works.
- He established me [b] before time
was in the beginning, before he made the earth:
- even before he made the depths; before the fountains of water came
forth:
- before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, he begets
me.
- The Lord made countries and uninhabited tracts, and the
highest inhabited parts of the world.
- When he prepared the heaven, I was present with him; and when he
[c] prepared his throne upon the winds:
- and when he strengthened the clouds above; and when he secured the
fountains of the earth:
- [d] and when he strengthened the
foundations of the earth:
- I was by him, [e] suiting myself
to him, I was that wherein he took delight; and daily I rejoiced
in his presence continually.
- For he rejoiced when he had completed the world, and rejoiced
among the children of men.
- Now then, my son, hear me: [d] blessed is the man who shall hearken to
me, and the mortal who shall keep my ways;
- watching daily at my doors, waiting at the posts of my
entrances.
- For my outgoings are the outgoings of life, and in them
is prepared favour from the Lord.
- But they that sin against me act wickedly against their own souls:
and they that hate me love death.
[a] For the use of a!kakoj and panou~rgoj in
this book, see Appendix.
[b] Gr. before the age.
[c] Or, marked out.
[d] See Appendix.
[e] Or, arranging all things.
[English translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee
Brenton (1807-1862) originally published by Samuel Bagster & Sons,
Ltd., London, 1851]