Old/New Testament

8 Whether wisdom crieth not oft; and prudence giveth her voice? (Whether not wisdom crieth often, and understanding giveth forth her voice?)

² In most sovereign and high tops, above the way, in the midst of paths, (On hilltops, on the way, in the midst of paths,)

³ and it standeth beside the gate(s) of the city, in those enclosings, and speaketh, and saith,

⁴ A! ye men, I cry oft to you; and my voice is to the sons of men. (O! ye people, I often cry to you; and my words be for the sons and daughters of men.)

⁵ Little children, that is, little of wit, understand ye wisdom; and ye unwise men, perceiveth in heart. (Ye of little intelligence, understand ye wisdom; and ye who be unwise, think in your hearts.)

⁶ Hear ye (Listen ye), for I shall speak of great things; and my lips shall be opened, to preach rightful things.

⁷ My throat shall bethink truth; and my lips shall curse a wicked man. (My mouth shall speak the truth; and my lips shall curse the wicked/for my lips hate wicked words.)

⁸ My words be just; no shrewd thing, neither wayward is in those. (My words be right, or true; there is nothing depraved, or wicked, in them.)

⁹ They be rightful to them that understand; and they be even to them that find knowing. (They be right to those who understand; and they be obvious to those who find knowledge.)

¹⁰ Take ye my chastising, and not money (Receive, or accept, ye my discipline, and not money); choose ye teaching, more than treasure.

¹¹ For wisdom is better than all riches most precious (For wisdom is better than all of the most precious riches); and all desirable thing may not be comparisoned thereto.

¹² I, wisdom, dwell in counsel (live in good advice); and I am among learned thoughts.

¹³ The dread of the Lord hateth evil; I curse boast, and pride, and a shrewd way, and a double-tongued mouth. (The fear of the Lord is to hate evil/To have reverence for the Lord is to hate evil; I curse boast, and pride, and a depraved way, and speaking with a double-tongue, or with duplicity.)

¹⁴ Counsel is mine, and equity; prudence is mine, and strength. (Forethought is mine, and fairness, or equality; understanding is mine, and strength.)

¹⁵ Kings reign by me; and makers of laws deem just things by me. (Kings reign by me; and law-makers justly judge by me/and rulers make just laws by me.)

¹⁶ Princes command by me; and mighty men deem rightfulness by me. (Leaders command by me; and mighty men judge rightly, or with justice, by me.)

¹⁷ I love them that love me; and they that wake early to me, shall find me. (I love them who love me; and they who wake up early to seek me, shall find me.)

¹⁸ With me be riches, and glory; sovereign riches, and rightfulness.

¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, and precious stone(s); and my seeds be better than chosen silver (and my recompense is better than chosen silver).

²⁰ I go in the ways of rightfulness, in the midst of the paths of doom; (I go on the ways of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice;)

²¹ that I make rich them that love me (so that I make rich those who love me), and that I fill their treasures/their treasuries.

²² The Lord wielded me in the beginning of his ways (The Lord created me at the beginning of his ways); before that he made anything, (yea,) at the (very) beginning.

²³ From without beginning I was ordained; and from eld times, before that the earth was made.

²⁴ [The] Depths of waters were not yet (made); and I was conceived then. The wells of waters had not broken out yet (The water wells had not yet broken forth),

²⁵ and hills stood not (al)together yet by firm heaviness; before little hills I was born. (and the mountains did not yet stand with firm heaviness; yea, I was born before the little hills.)

²⁶ Yet he had not made [the] earth; and floods, and the earths of the world. (He had not yet made the earth; and the rivers, and the dust of the world.)

²⁷ When he made ready heavens, I was present (When he prepared the heavens, I was there); (and) when he compassed, [or (en)closed,] the depths of (the) waters by certain law and compass.

²⁸ When he made steadfast the air above; and weighed the wells of waters (and set in place the water wells).

²⁹ When he compassed to the sea his mark (When he set the boundaries for the seas); and setted law to (the) waters, that they should not pass their coasts. When he weighed the foundaments of [the] earth;

³⁰ I was making all (these) things with him. And I delighted by all days, and played before him in all time,

³¹ and I played in the world; and my delights be to be with the sons of men (and my delight is to be with the sons and daughters of men).

³² Now, therefore, sons, hear ye me; blessed be they that keep my ways. (And so now, sons and daughters, listen ye to me; blessed be those who follow my ways.)

³³ Hear ye teaching, and be ye wise men; and do not ye cast it away. (Listen ye to my teaching, and be ye wise; and do not ye throw it away.)

³⁴ Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth at my gates all day (Happy is the person who listeneth to me, and who standeth watch at my gates all day long); and keepeth (guard) at the posts of my door[s].

³⁵ He that findeth me, shall find life; and he shall draw health of the Lord. (He who findeth me, shall find life; and he shall obtain favour from the Lord.)

³⁶ But he that sinneth against me shall hurt his soul; all that hate me, love death. (But he who sinneth against me shall hurt his own soul; all who hate me, love death.)

9 Wisdom builded an house to himself (Wisdom built a house for himself); he hewed out seven pillars,

² he offered his slain sacrifices, he meddled wine (he mixed in spices with the wine), and setted forth his table.

³ He sent his handmaids (He sent forth his servantesses), that they should call to the tower; and to the walls of the city.

⁴ If any man is little (in wit), come he to me. And wisdom spake to unwise men, (and said,) (And that they should say, If any one hath little intelligence, come he to me. And then wisdom spoke to the unwise, and said,)

⁵ Come ye, eat ye my bread; and drink ye the wine, which I have meddled to you (and drink ye the wine, in which I have mixed in spices for you).

⁶ Forsake ye young childhood, and live ye; and go ye by the way of prudence. (Abandon ye foolishness, and have life; and go ye on the way of understanding.)

⁷ He that teacheth a scorner, doeth wrong to himself; and he that reproveth a wicked man, engendereth a wem to himself. (He who trieth to teach a mocker, only wrongeth himself; and he who reproveth the wicked, begetteth a wound for himself.)

⁸ Do not thou reprove a scorner; lest he hate thee. Reprove thou a wise man; and he shall love thee. (Do not thou rebuke a mocker; lest he hate thee. Rebuke thou a wise person; and he shall love thee.)

⁹ Give thou occasion to a wise man; and wisdom shall be increased to him. Teach thou a just man; and he shall hasten to take it (to heart). (Give thou advice, or instruction, to a wise person; and his wisdom shall be increased. Teach thou a righteous person; and he shall hasten to take it to heart.)

¹⁰ The beginning of wisdom is the dread of the Lord; and prudence is the knowing of saints. (The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding./The beginning of wisdom is reverence for the Lord; and to know the Holy One is to have understanding.)

¹¹ For thy days shall be multiplied by me; and [the] years of (thy) life shall be increased to thee.

¹² If thou art wise, thou shalt be wise to thyself, and to thy neighbours. Forsooth if thou art a scorner, thou alone shalt bear evil. (If thou art wise, thou shalt be wise, or gain advantage, for thyself, and for thy friends as well. But if thou art a mocker, thou alone shalt bear the evil.)

¹³ A fond woman, and full of cry, and full of unleaveful lusts, and that knoweth nothing utterly, (A loud and foolish woman, full of unlawful lusts, who knoweth utterly nothing,)

¹⁴ sitteth in the doors of her house (sitteth at the door of her house), on a seat, in an high place of the city;

¹⁵ to call men passing by the way, and men going in their journey. (to call to men passing by the way, and to men going on their journey.)

¹⁶ Who is a little man in wit; bow he to me (And she saith to herself, Who is a man of little intelligence; turn he unto me). And she spake to a coward, (and said,)

¹⁷ Waters of theft be sweeter, and bread hid is sweeter. (Stolen water is sweeter, and hidden bread is sweeter.)

¹⁸ And [he] knew not that giants be there; and the guests of her be in the depths of hell. Soothly he that shall be applied, either fastened, to her, shall go down to hells. For why he that goeth away from her shall be saved. (And he knew not that death is there; and that her guests be in the depths of hell. Truly, he who shall be fastened to her, shall go down to Sheol, that is, to the land of the dead/shall go down to hell. But he who goeth away from her, shall be saved.)

3 Begin we therefore again to praise us selves? or whether we need, as some men, epistles of praising to you, or of you? [Begin we again to commend, or praise, ourselves? or whether we need, as some, praising letters to you, or of you?]

² Ye be our epistle, written in our hearts, which is known and read of all men,

³ and made open [and ye be made open], for ye be the epistle of Christ ministered of us, and written, not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God; not in stone tables [not in stony tables], but in fleshly tables of heart.

⁴ For we have such trust by Christ to God;

⁵ not that we be sufficient to think any thing of us[selves], as of us, but our sufficience is of God.

⁶ Which also made us able ministers of the new testament, not by letter, but by Spirit; for the letter slayeth, but the Spirit quickeneth.

⁷ And if the ministration of death written by letter in stones [formed by letters in stones] was in glory, so that the children of Israel might not behold into the face of Moses, for the glory of his face, which is voided^[a],

⁸ how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be more in glory?

⁹ For if the ministration of condemnation was in glory [For why if the ministration of condemnation is in glory], much more the ministration of rightwiseness is plenteous in glory.

¹⁰ For neither that that was clear was glorified in this part for the excellent glory;

¹¹ and if that that is voided [for why if that that is voided], was by glory, much more that that dwelleth still is in glory.

¹² Therefore we that have such hope, use much trust;

¹³ and not as Moses laid a veil on his face [and not as Moses put a veil on his face], that the children of Israel should not behold into his face, which veil is voided.

¹⁴ But the wits of them be astonished; for [till] into this day the same veil in [the] reading of the old testament dwelleth not showed [dwelleth unshowed], for it is voided in Christ,

¹⁵ but [till] into this day, when Moses is read, the veil is put on their hearts [the veil is put upon their hearts].

¹⁶ But when Israel shall be converted to God, the veil shall be done away.

¹⁷ And the Spirit is the Lord; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.^[b]

¹⁸ And all we that with open face see the glory of the Lord, be transformed into the same image, from clearness into clearness, as of the Spirit of the Lord. [Forsooth all we with showed face beholding the glory of the Lord, be transformed into the same image, from clearness to clearness, as of the Spirit of the Lord.]