Wisdom 8

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition

8 She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,
and she orders all things well.

² I loved her and sought her from my youth;
I desired to take her for my bride,
and became enamoured of her beauty.
³ She glorifies her noble birth by living with God,
and the Lord of all loves her.
⁴ For she is an initiate in the knowledge of God,
and an associate in his works.
⁵ If riches are a desirable possession in life,
what is richer than wisdom, the active cause of all things?
⁶ And if understanding is effective,
who more than she is fashioner of what exists?
⁷ And if anyone loves righteousness,
her labours are virtues;
for she teaches self-control and prudence,
justice and courage;
nothing in life is more profitable for mortals than these.
⁸ And if anyone longs for wide experience,
she knows the things of old, and infers the things to come;
she understands turns of speech and the solutions of riddles;
she has foreknowledge of signs and wonders
and of the outcome of seasons and times.

⁹ Therefore I determined to take her to live with me,
knowing that she would give me good counsel
and encouragement in cares and grief.
¹⁰ Because of her I shall have glory among the multitudes
and honour in the presence of the elders, though I am young.
¹¹ I shall be found keen in judgement,
and in the sight of rulers I shall be admired.
¹² When I am silent they will wait for me,
and when I speak they will give heed;
if I speak at greater length,
they will put their hands on their mouths.
¹³ Because of her I shall have immortality,
and leave an everlasting remembrance to those who come after me.
¹⁴ I shall govern peoples,
and nations will be subject to me;
¹⁵ dread monarchs will be afraid of me when they hear of me;
among the people I shall show myself capable, and courageous in war.
¹⁶ When I enter my house, I shall find rest with her;
for companionship with her has no bitterness,
and life with her has no pain, but gladness and joy.
¹⁷ When I considered these things inwardly,
and pondered in my heart
that in kinship with wisdom there is immortality,
¹⁸ and in friendship with her, pure delight,
and in the labours of her hands, unfailing wealth,
and in the experience of her company, understanding,
and renown in sharing her words,
I went about seeking how to get her for myself.
¹⁹ As a child I was naturally gifted,
and a good soul fell to my lot;
²⁰ or rather, being good, I entered an undefiled body.
²¹ But I perceived that I would not possess wisdom unless God gave her to me—
and it was a mark of insight to know whose gift she was—
so I appealed to the Lord and implored him,
and with my whole heart I said: