1 Doth not wisdom call? And understanding give forth her voice? 2 At the head of high places by the way, Between the paths she hath stood, 3 At the side of the gates, at the mouth of the city, The entrance of the openings, she crieth aloud, 4 'Unto you, O men, I call, And my voice [is] unto the sons of men. 5 Understand, ye simple ones, prudence, And ye fools, understand the heart, 6 Hearken, for noble things I speak, And the opening of my lips [is] uprightness. 7 For truth doth my mouth utter, And an abomination to my lips [is] wickedness. 8 In righteousness [are] all the sayings of my mouth, Nothing in them is froward and perverse. 9 All of them [are] plain to the intelligent, And upright to those finding knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For better [is] wisdom than rubies, Yea, all delights are not comparable with it. 12 I, wisdom, have dwelt with prudence, And a knowledge of devices I find out. 13 The fear of Jehovah [is] to hate evil; Pride, and arrogance, and an evil way, And a froward mouth, I have hated. 14 Mine [is] counsel and substance, I [am] understanding, I have might. 15 By me kings reign, and princes decree righteousness, 16 By me do chiefs rule, and nobles, All judges of the earth. 17 I love those loving me, And those seeking me earnestly do find me. 18 Wealth and honour [are] with me, Lasting substance and righteousness. 19 Better [is] my fruit than gold, even fine gold, And mine increase than choice silver. 20 In a path of righteousness I cause to walk, In midst of paths of judgment, 21 To cause my lovers to inherit substance, Yea, their treasures I fill. 22 Jehovah possessed me — the beginning of His way, Before His works since then. 23 From the age I was anointed, from the first, From former states of the earth. 24 In there being no depths, I was brought forth, In there being no fountains heavy [with] waters, 25 Before mountains were sunk, Before heights, I was brought forth. 26 While He had not made the earth, and out-places, And the top of the dusts of the world. 27 In His preparing the heavens I [am] there, In His decreeing a circle on the face of the deep, 28 In His strengthening clouds above, In His making strong fountains of the deep, 29 In His setting for the sea its limit, And the waters transgress not His command, In His decreeing the foundations of earth, 30 Then I am near Him, a workman, And I am a delight — day by day. Rejoicing before Him at all times, 31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth, And my delights [are] with the sons of men. 32 And now, ye sons, hearken to me, Yea, happy are they who keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and slight not. 34 O the happiness of the man hearkening to me, To watch at my doors day by day, To watch at the door-posts of my entrance. 35 For whoso is finding me, hath found life, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah. 36 And whoso is missing me, is wronging his soul, All hating me have loved death!
Proverbs · Young's Literal Translation
Proverbs 8 Young's Literal Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (34)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Proverbs 1:20–21; Matthew 3:3; John 7:37; Proverbs 9:1–3; Acts 1:8
- 2 Proverbs 9:14; Proverbs 9:3
- 3 Job 29:7; Luke 14:21–23; Matthew 22:9; Acts 5:20; John 18:20
- 4 Matthew 11:15; Psalm 50:1; John 3:16; Psalm 49:1–3; Revelation 22:17
- 5 Proverbs 1:22; Acts 26:18; Proverbs 9:4; Revelation 3:17–18; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11
- 6 Colossians 1:26; Matthew 7:28–29; Matthew 13:35; Proverbs 4:2; Proverbs 23:16
- 7 Psalm 37:30; John 8:14; John 17:17; Proverbs 12:22; Job 36:4
- 8 John 7:46; Proverbs 8:13; Psalm 12:6; Deuteronomy 32:5; Isaiah 45:23
- 9 Proverbs 14:6; James 1:5; John 7:17; Psalm 25:12–14; John 6:45
- 10 Proverbs 2:4–5; Psalm 119:127; Psalm 119:72; Proverbs 23:23; Proverbs 3:13–15
- 11 Proverbs 3:14–15; Proverbs 4:5–7; Proverbs 16:16; Psalm 119:127; Psalm 19:10
- 12 Isaiah 28:26; Exodus 35:30–36:4; Exodus 31:3–6; Romans 11:33; Proverbs 1:4
- 13 Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 16:6; 1 Samuel 2:3; Proverbs 4:24; 1 Thessalonians 5:22
- 14 Ecclesiastes 7:19; Isaiah 9:6; Romans 11:33–34; Isaiah 40:14; Ecclesiastes 9:16–18
- 15 Romans 13:1; Daniel 2:21; Matthew 28:18; Revelation 19:16; Daniel 7:13–14
- 17 John 14:23; John 14:21; Psalm 91:14; Isaiah 55:6; 1 John 4:19
- 18 Proverbs 3:16; Matthew 6:33; Luke 16:11–12; Philippians 4:19; Ephesians 3:8
- 19 Proverbs 3:14; Proverbs 10:20; Ecclesiastes 7:12; Proverbs 8:10
- 20 John 10:27–28; Psalm 32:8; Deuteronomy 5:32; Proverbs 4:11–12; Proverbs 6:22
- 21 1 Peter 1:4; Proverbs 24:4; Genesis 15:14; Matthew 25:46; Hebrews 10:34
- 22 Colossians 1:17; John 1:1–2; Proverbs 3:19; Psalm 104:24; Job 28:26–28
- 23 John 17:24; John 17:5; Genesis 1:26; Micah 5:2; Psalm 2:6
- 24 Proverbs 3:20; 1 John 4:9; Genesis 1:2; Hebrews 1:5; John 5:20
- 25 Psalm 90:2; Job 15:7–8; Job 38:4–11; Psalm 102:25–28; Hebrews 1:10
- 26 Genesis 1:1–31
- 27 Isaiah 40:22; Job 26:10; Proverbs 3:19; Psalm 136:5; Colossians 1:16
- 29 Psalm 104:9; Jeremiah 5:22; Genesis 1:9–10; Psalm 33:7; Psalm 104:5
- 30 John 1:1–3; John 1:18; Matthew 3:17; John 16:28; Isaiah 42:1
- 31 Psalm 16:3; John 13:1; Psalm 40:6–8; 2 Corinthians 8:9; John 4:34
- 32 Luke 11:28; Psalm 119:1–2; Psalm 128:1; Psalm 1:1–4; Proverbs 5:7
- 33 Proverbs 4:1; Psalm 81:11–12; Proverbs 1:8; Proverbs 5:1; Proverbs 1:2–3
- 34 Matthew 7:24; Luke 11:28; Proverbs 3:13; Psalm 27:4; Acts 2:42
- 35 John 3:36; 1 John 5:11–12; Proverbs 12:2; Philippians 3:8; John 17:3
- 36 Proverbs 15:32; Proverbs 1:31; John 15:23–24; 1 Corinthians 16:22; Proverbs 12:1
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… in His work: He set me up from everlasting, in the beginning, before He made the earth, before He established the depths, and before the fountains of waters gushed forth; before the mountains were made strong, and before all the hills, He brought me forth." And again: "When He prepared the heaven, I was with Him, and when He established …
"Who shall deliver him from the body of this death," but Thy grace only, "through Jesus Christ our Lord,'" whom Thou hast begotten co-eternal, and createdst in the beginning of Thy ways, in whom the Prince of this world found nothing worthy of death, yet killed he Him, and the handwriting which was contrary to us was blotted out?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
In their eyes the following is only too ready to hand "The Lord created me at the beginning of His ways with a view to His works." How shall we meet this?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
But others, though future, are put in the past tense, as, for instance, This is our God: Therefore He was seen upon the earth and dwelt among men, and The Lord created me in the beginning of His ways for His works, and Wherefore God, thy God, anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows, and such …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 9 (1899)
I was He in whom He rejoiced, and throughout all time I was daily glad before His face, when He rejoiced at the completion of the world, and was delighted in the sons of men."