¹Whoever fears the Lord

will do these things,

and whoever has a firm hold

on the Law will possess Wisdom.

²She will come to meet them like a mother,

and she will await them

like a young bride.

³She will feed them bread

of understanding,

and will give them water of wisdom

to drink.

⁴They will be supported by her

and not be undermined;

they will be intent upon her

and will never be put to shame.

⁵She will raise them above their neighbors,

and allow them to speak

in the midst of the assembly.

⁶They will inherit gladness,

a crown of rejoicing,

and an eternal name.

⁷People who lack sense will never

receive her,

and sinners will never see her.

⁸She keeps far away from the arrogant,

and liars will never remember her.

⁹Praise isn’t proper in the mouth of sinners

because it hasn’t been assigned

by the Lord.

¹⁰Praise must be spoken in wisdom,

and the Lord will cause it to prosper.

Free will and God’s justice

¹¹Don’t say, “I fell away because of the Lord.”

What the Lord hates, he won’t do.

¹²Don’t say, “The Lord made me go astray.”

He has no use for sinful people.

¹³The Lord has hated every foul thing,

and those who fear him

have no love for such things.

¹⁴He created humanity at the beginning,

and he left them to the power

of their choices.

¹⁵If you choose to,

you will keep the commandments,

and keep faith out of goodwill.

¹⁶He has put fire and water before you;

you can stretch out your hand

for whichever you choose.

¹⁷Life and death are in front

of human beings;

and they will be granted

whichever they please,

¹⁹his eyes are upon those who fear him,

²⁰He doesn’t command anyone

to be ungodly,

and he doesn’t give anyone

a license to sin.