## The Blessing of Wisdom 

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Does not wisdom call, And discernment give forth her voice? 

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At the top of the heights upon the way, Where the pathways meet, she takes her stand; 

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Beside the gates, at the opening to the city, At the entrance of the doors, she makes a shout: 

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"To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men. 

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O simple ones, understand prudence; And, O fools, understand a heart _of wisdom_. 

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Listen, for I will speak noble things; And the opening of my lips _will reveal_ upright things. 

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For my mouth will utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 

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All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing twisted or crooked in them. 

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They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. 

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Take my discipline and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest fine gold. 

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For wisdom is better than pearls; And all desirable things cannot compare with her. 

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"I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge _and_ discretion. 

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The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the mouth of perverted _words_, I hate. 

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Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, might is mine. 

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By me kings reign, And rulers mark out righteousness. 

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By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly. 

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I love those who love me; And those who earnestly seek me will find me. 

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Riches and glory are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness. 

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My fruit is better than fine gold, even pure gold, And my produce _better_ than choice silver. 

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I walk in the path of righteousness, In the midst of the pathways of justice, 

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To give those who love me an inheritance of wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. 

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"Yahweh possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His deeds of old. 

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From everlasting I was installed, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. 

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When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs heavy with water. 

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Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth; 

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While He had not yet made the earth and the _fields_ outside, Nor the first dust of the world. 

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When He established the heavens, I was there, When He marked out a circle on the face of the deep, 

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When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became strong, 

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When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not pass over His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; 

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Then I was beside Him, _as_ a master workman; And I was a daily delight, Rejoicing always before Him, 

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Rejoicing in the world, His earth, My delight _is_ in the sons of men. 

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"So now, O sons, listen to me, For blessed are they who keep my ways. 

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Hear discipline and be wise, And do not neglect _it_. 

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How blessed is the man who hears me, To watch daily at my doors, To keep watch at my doorposts. 

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For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from Yahweh. 

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But he who sins against me does violence to his own soul; All those who hate me love death."