Proverbs 8:14-31

14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power.
15 By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just;
16 by me princes govern, and nobles—all who rule on earth.[a]
17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
18 With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.
19 My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice,
21 bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full.
22 “The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works,[b][c]before his deeds of old;
23 I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water;
25 before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth.
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30 Then I was constantly[d] at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.

Cross References 24

  • 1. S Job 9:4; Proverbs 21:22; Ecclesiastes 7:19
  • 2. S Psalms 2:10; Daniel 2:21; Romans 13:1
  • 3. S 2 Chronicles 1:10; Proverbs 29:4
  • 4. S 1 Samuel 2:30; Psalms 91:14; John 14:21-24
  • 5. S 1 Chronicles 16:11; S Proverbs 1:28; Proverbs 3:13-18; Matthew 7:7-11; James 1:5
  • 6. S 1 Kings 3:13; Proverbs 3:16
  • 7. S Deuteronomy 8:18; Matthew 6:33
  • 8. S Job 28:17-19
  • 9. S Proverbs 3:13-14; Proverbs 10:20
  • 10. S Psalms 5:8
  • 11. Proverbs 15:6; Proverbs 24:4
  • 12. S Genesis 7:11
  • 13. S Job 38:6
  • 14. S Job 15:7
  • 15. S Psalms 90:2
  • 16. S Job 26:7; Proverbs 3:19
  • 17. S Job 22:14
  • 18. S Job 36:29
  • 19. S Genesis 1:7; S Job 9:8; S Job 26:10
  • 20. S Genesis 1:9; Job 38:10; S Psalms 16:6
  • 21. S Job 38:8; Psalms 104:9
  • 22. S 1 Samuel 2:8; S Job 38:5
  • 23. Proverbs 3:19-20; Revelation 3:14; John 1:1-3
  • 24. S Job 28:25-27; Job 38:4-38; Psalms 16:3; Psalms 104:1-30; Proverbs 30:4; John 1:1-4; Colossians 1:15-20

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; other Hebrew manuscripts "all righteous rulers"
  • [b]. Or "way" ; or "dominion"
  • [c]. Or "The " Lord"possessed me at the beginning of his work" ; or "The " Lord"brought me forth at the beginning of his work"
  • [d]. Or "was the artisan" ; or "was a little child"
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