The Blessings of Wisdom

¹Whoever fears God will do these things;

whoever follows the law of Moses will gain wisdom.

²Like a mother, she will come to meet him;

like a young bride, she will welcome him.

³She will feed him with the bread of understanding

and give him the water of wisdom to drink.

⁴He will lean on her and not fall;

he will depend on her and not be humiliated.

⁵She will exalt him above his neighbors

and make him eloquent among the congregation.

⁶He will be crowned with joy and gladness

and inherit an everlasting name.

⁷The foolish will not obtain wisdom,

nor will sinners ever see her.

⁸Wisdom will have nothing to do with arrogance,

and liars never give thought to her.

⁹Praise from sinners is out of place,

for it has not been given to them by the Lord.

¹⁰For praise must flow from wisdom,

and the Lord must prompt it.

Freedom to Choose

¹¹Don’t say, “It is the Lord’s fault that I sinned,”

for he does not do what he hates.

¹²Don’t say, “It was the Lord who led me astray,”

for he does not need sinful people.

¹³The Lord hates every kind of detestable sin,

and those who fear him will not love it either.

¹⁴In the beginning he made people

and allowed them to do whatever they planned.

¹⁵If you choose, you can obey the commandments;

you have the freedom to act faithfully.

¹⁶He has set before you fire and water;

reach out and select whichever one you choose.

¹⁷Before each person are life and death;[#15:17 See Deut 30:19.]

you will receive whichever one you choose.

¹⁸For the wisdom of the Lord is great;

he is powerful and sees all things.

¹⁹The Lord watches over those who fear him,

and he knows everything we do.

²⁰He has not commanded anyone to be wicked;

he has given no one permission to sin.