New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 Listen as Wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice!
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Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?
2 On the hilltop along the road, she takes her stand at the crossroads.
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She's taken her stand at First and Main, at the busiest intersection.
3 By the gates at the entrance to the town, on the road leading in, she cries aloud,
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Right in the city square where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,
4 “I call to you, to all of you! I raise my voice to all people.
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"You - I'm talking to all of you, everyone out here on the streets!
5 You simple people, use good judgment. You foolish people, show some understanding.
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Listen, you idiots - learn good sense! You blockheads - shape up!
6 Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you. Everything I say is right,
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Don't miss a word of this - I'm telling you how to live well, I'm telling you how to live at your best.
7 for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception.
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My mouth chews and savors and relishes truth - I can't stand the taste of evil!
8 My advice is wholesome. There is nothing devious or crooked in it.
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You'll only hear true and right words from my mouth; not one syllable will be twisted or skewed.
9 My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge.
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You'll recognize this as true - you with open minds; truth-ready minds will see it at once.
10 Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.
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Prefer my life-disciplines over chasing after money, and God-knowledge over a lucrative career.
11 For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.
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For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth; nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.
12 “I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.
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"I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity; Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.
13 All who fear the LORD will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.
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The Fear-of-God means hating Evil, whose ways I hate with a passion - pride and arrogance and crooked talk.
14 Common sense and success belong to me. Insight and strength are mine.
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Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics; I am both Insight and the Virtue to live it out.
15 Because of me, kings reign, and rulers make just decrees.
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With my help, leaders rule, and lawmakers legislate fairly;
16 Rulers lead with my help, and nobles make righteous judgments.
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With my help, governors govern, along with all in legitimate authority.
17 “I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me.
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I love those who love me; those who look for me find me.
18 I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice.
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Wealth and Glory accompany me - also substantial Honor and a Good Name.
19 My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver!
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My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary; the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.
20 I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice.
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You can find me on Righteous Road - that's where I walk - at the intersection of Justice Avenue,
21 Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries.
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Handing out life to those who love me, filling their arms with life - armloads of life!
22 “The LORD formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else.
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"God sovereignly made me - the first, the basic - before he did anything else.
23 I was appointed in ages past, at the very first, before the earth began.
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I was brought into being a long time ago, well before Earth got its start.
24 I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters.
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I arrived on the scene before Ocean, yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.
25 Before the mountains were formed, before the hills, I was born—
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Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape, I was already there, newborn;
26 before he had made the earth and fields and the first handfuls of soil.
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Long before God stretched out Earth's Horizons, and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,
27 I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans.
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And set Sky firmly in place, I was there. When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,
28 I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established springs deep in the earth.
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built the vast vault of Heaven, and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,
29 I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth’s foundations,
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When he drew a boundary for Sea, posted a sign that said, no trespassing, And then staked out Earth's foundations,
30 I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence.
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I was right there with him, making sure everything fit. Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause, always enjoying his company,
31 And how happy I was with the world he created; how I rejoiced with the human family!
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Delighted with the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family.
32 “And so, my children, listen to me, for all who follow my ways are joyful.
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"So, my dear friends, listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways are most blessed.
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise. Don’t ignore it.
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Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don't squander your precious life.
34 Joyful are those who listen to me, watching for me daily at my gates, waiting for me outside my home!
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Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day's work.
35 For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD .
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When you find me, you find life, real life, to say nothing of God's good pleasure.
36 But those who miss me injure themselves. All who hate me love death.”
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But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul; when you reject me, you're flirting with death."