¹² “I, wisdom, ^(O)dwell with prudence,
And I find ^(P)knowledge and discretion.
¹³ “The ^(Q)fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
^(R)Pride and arrogance and ^(S)the evil way
And the ^(T)perverted mouth, I hate.
¹⁴ “^(U)Counsel is mine and ^(V)sound wisdom;
I am understanding, ^(W)power is mine.
¹⁵ “By me ^(X)kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
¹⁶ “By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
¹⁷ “I ^(Y)love those who love me;
And ^(Z)those who diligently seek me will find me.
¹⁸ “^(AA)Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring ^(AB)wealth and righteousness.
¹⁹ “My fruit is ^(AC)better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than ^(AD)choicest silver.
²⁰ “I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
²¹ To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may ^(AE)fill their treasuries.

²² “The Lord possessed me ^(AF)at the beginning of His way,
Before His works ^[e]of old.
²³ “From everlasting I was ^[f](AG)established,
From the beginning, ^(AH)from the earliest times of the earth.
²⁴ “When there were no ^(AI)depths I was ^[g]brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.
²⁵ “^(AJ)Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was ^[h]brought forth;
²⁶ While He had not yet made the earth and the ^[i]fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.
²⁷ “When He ^(AK)established the heavens, I was there,
When ^(AL)He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
²⁸ When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became ^[j]fixed,
²⁹ When ^(AM)He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not transgress His ^[k]command,
When He marked out ^(AN)the foundations of the earth;
³⁰ Then ^(AO)I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was daily His delight,
^[l]Rejoicing always before Him,
^31 [m]Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having ^(AP)my delight in the sons of men.

³² “Now therefore, O sons, ^(AQ)listen to me,
For ^(AR)blessed are they who keep my ways.
³³ “^(AS)Heed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
³⁴ “^(AT)Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.
³⁵ “For ^(AU)he who finds me finds life
And ^(AV)obtains favor from the Lord.
³⁶ “But he who ^[n]sins against me ^(AW)injures himself;
All those who ^(AX)hate me ^(AY)love death.”

⁷ He who ^(BL)corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself,
And he who reproves a wicked man gets ^[s]insults for himself.
^8 (BM)Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
^(BN)Reprove a wise man and he will love you.
⁹ Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser,
Teach a righteous man and he will ^(BO)increase his learning.
¹⁰ The ^(BP)fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
¹¹ For ^(BQ)by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
¹² If you are wise, you are wise ^(BR)for yourself,
And if you ^(BS)scoff, you alone will bear it.

¹³ The ^[t]woman of folly is ^(BT)boisterous,
She is ^[u]naive and ^(BU)knows nothing.
¹⁴ She sits at the doorway of her house,
On a seat by ^(BV)the high places of the city,
¹⁵ Calling to those who pass by,
Who are making their paths straight:
¹⁶ “^(BW)Whoever is ^[v]naive, let him turn in here,”
And to him who lacks ^[w]understanding she says,
¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet;
And ^(BX)bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
¹⁸ But he does not know that the ^[x]dead are there,
That her guests are in the ^(BY)depths of Sheol.