The Appeal of Wisdom

¹Does not wisdom call out?

Does not understanding raise her voice?

²At the top of the elevated places along the way,[#tn Heb “head.” The word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head”) refers to the highest area or most important place in the elevated area. The contrast with chapter 7 is striking. There the wayward woman lurked at the corners in the street at night; here wisdom is at the highest point in the open places in view of all.]

at the intersection of the paths she takes her stand;

³beside the gates opening into the city,[#tn Heb “at the mouth of.”]

at the entrance of the doorways she cries out:

⁴“To you, O people, I call out,[#tn Heb “men.” Although it might be argued in light of the preceding material that males would be particularly addressed by wisdom here, the following material indicates a more universal appeal. Cf. TEV, NLT “to all of you.”]

and my voice calls to all mankind.

⁵You who are naive, discern wisdom![#tn The imperative of בִּין (bin) means “to understand; to discern.” The call is for the simple to understand what wisdom is, not just to gain it.]

And you fools, understand discernment!

⁶Listen, for I will speak excellent things,[#tn Heb “noble” or “princely.” Wisdom begins the first motivation by claiming to speak noble things, that is, excellent things.]

and my lips will utter what is right.

⁷For my mouth speaks truth,[#tn Heb “roof of the mouth.” This expression is a metonymy of cause for the activity of speaking.; #tn The word “truth” (אֱמֶת, ’emet) is derived from the verbal root אָמַן (’aman) which means “to support.” There are a number of derived nouns that have the sense of reliability: “pillars,” “master craftsman,” “nurse,” “guardian.” Modifiers related to this group of words includes things like “faithful,” “surely,” “truly” (amen). In the derived stems the verb develops various nuances: The Niphal has the meanings of “reliable, faithful, sure, steadfast,” and the Hiphil has the meaning “believe” (i.e., consider something dependable). The noun “truth” means what is reliable or dependable, firm or sure.]

and my lips hate wickedness.

⁸All the words of my mouth are righteous;[#tn The phrase could be rendered with an understood ellipsis: “all the words of my mouth [are said] in righteousness”; or the preposition could be interpreted as a beth essentiae: “all the words of my mouth are righteousness.”]

there is nothing in them twisted or crooked.

⁹All of them are clear to the discerning[#tn Heb “front of.” Describing the sayings as “right in front” means they are open, obvious, and clear, as opposed to words that might be twisted or perverse. The parallel word “upright” means “straight, smooth, right.” Wisdom’s teachings are in plain view and intelligible for those who find knowledge.]

and upright to those who find knowledge.

¹⁰Receive my instruction rather than silver,[#tn Heb “discipline.” The term refers to instruction that trains with discipline (e.g., Prov 1:2).; #tn Heb “and not” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in preference to.”]

and knowledge rather than choice gold.

¹¹For wisdom is better than rubies,

and desirable things cannot be compared to her.

¹²“I, wisdom, live with prudence,[#tn The noun is “shrewdness,” i.e., the right use of knowledge in special cases (see also the discussion in 1:4); cf. NLT “good judgment.” The word in this sentence is an adverbial accusative of specification.]

and I find knowledge and discretion.

¹³The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;[#tn The verb שָׂנֵא (sane’) means “to hate.” In this sentence it functions nominally as the predicate. Fearing the Lord is hating evil.sn The verb translated “hate” has the basic idea of rejecting something spontaneously. For example, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Mal 1:2b, 3a). It frequently has the idea of disliking or loathing (as English does), but almost always with an additional aspect of rejection. To “hate evil” is not only to dislike it, but to reject it and have nothing to do with it.]

I hate arrogant pride and the evil way

and perverse utterances.

¹⁴Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me;[#tc In the second half of v. 14 instead of אֲנִי (’ani) the editors propose reading simply לִי (li) as the renderings in the LXX, Latin, and Syriac suggest. Then, in place of the לִי that comes in the same colon, read וְלִי (vÿli). While the MT is a difficult reading, it can be translated as it is. It would be difficult to know exactly what the ancient versions were reading, because their translations could have been derived from either text. They represent an effort to smooth out the text.tn Heb “To me [belong] counsel and sound wisdom.” The second colon in the verse has: “I, understanding, to me and might.”sn In vv. 14-17 the pronouns come first and should receive greater prominence – although it is not always easy to do this with English.]

I possess understanding and might.

¹⁵Kings reign by means of me,

and potentates decree righteousness;

¹⁶by me princes rule,

as well as nobles and all righteous judges.

¹⁷I love those who love me,[#sn In contrast to the word for “hate” (שָׂנֵא, shaneh) the verb “love” (אָהֵב, ’ahev) includes within it the idea of choosing spontaneously. So in this line loving and seeking point up the means of finding wisdom.]

and those who seek me find me.

¹⁸Riches and honor are with me,

long-lasting wealth and righteousness.

¹⁹My fruit is better than the purest gold,[#tn The two synonyms, “than gold, than fine gold” probably form a hendiadys here to express “the very finest gold.”]

and what I produce is better than choice silver.

²⁰I walk in the path of righteousness,

in the pathway of justice,

²¹that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,[#tn The infinitive construct expressing the purpose of the preceding “walk” in the way of righteousness. These verses say that wisdom is always on the way of righteousness for the purposes of bestowing the same to those who find her. If sin is involved, then wisdom has not been followed.]

and that I may fill their treasuries.

²²The Lord created me as the beginning of his works,[#tn There are two roots קָנָה (qanah) in Hebrew, one meaning “to possess,” and the other meaning “to create.” The earlier English versions did not know of the second root, but suspected in certain places that a meaning like that was necessary (e.g., Gen 4:1; 14:19; Deut 32:6). Ugaritic confirmed that it was indeed another root. The older versions have the translation “possess” because otherwise it sounds like God lacked wisdom and therefore created it at the beginning. They wanted to avoid saying that wisdom was not eternal. Arius liked the idea of Christ as the wisdom of God and so chose the translation “create.” Athanasius translated it, “constituted me as the head of creation.” The verb occurs twelve times in Proverbs with the meaning of “to acquire”; but the Greek and the Syriac versions have the meaning “create.” Although the idea is that wisdom existed before creation, the parallel ideas in these verses (“appointed,” “given birth”) argue for the translation of “create” or “establish” (R. N. Whybray, “Proverbs 8:22-31 and Its Supposed Prototypes,” VT 15 [1965]: 504-14; and W. A. Irwin, “Where Will Wisdom Be Found?” JBL 80 [1961]: 133-42).; #tn Verbs of creation often involve double accusatives; here the double accusative involves the person (i.e., wisdom) and an abstract noun in construct (IBHS 174-75 §10.2.3c).; #tn Heb “his way” (so KJV, NASB). The word “way” is an idiom (implied comparison) for the actions of God. sn The claim of wisdom in this passage is that she was foundational to all that God would do.]

before his deeds of long ago.

²³From eternity I was appointed,[#tn The first parallel verb is נִסַּכְתִּי (nissakhti), “I was appointed.” It is not a common word; it occurs here and in Ps 2:6 for the coronation of the king. It means “installed, set.”]

from the beginning, from before the world existed.

²⁴When there were no deep oceans I was born,[#sn The summary statements just given are now developed in a lengthy treatment of wisdom as the agent of all creation. This verse singles out “watery deeps” (תְּהֹמוֹת, tÿhomot) in its allusion to creation because the word in Genesis signals the condition of the world at the very beginning, and because in the ancient world this was something no one could control. Chaos was not there first – wisdom was.; #tn The third parallel verb is חוֹלָלְתִּי (kholalti), “I was given birth.” Some (e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) translate it “brought forth” – not in the sense of being presented, but in the sense of being “begotten, given birth to.” Here is the strongest support for the translation of קָנָה (qanah) as “created” in v. 22. The verb is not literal; it continues the perspective of the personification.]

when there were no springs overflowing with water;

²⁵before the mountains were set in place –

before the hills – I was born,

²⁶before he made the earth and its fields,[#tn Heb “open places.”]

or the beginning of the dust of the world.

²⁷When he established the heavens, I was there;

when he marked out the horizon over the face of the deep,

²⁸when he established the clouds above,

when the fountains of the deep grew strong,

²⁹when he gave the sea his decree

that the waters should not pass over his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

³⁰then I was beside him as a master craftsman,[#tn The verb form is a preterite with vav consecutive, although it has not been apocopated. It provides the concluding statement for the temporal clauses as well as the parallel to v. 27.; #tn Critical to the interpretation of this line is the meaning of אָמוֹן (’amon). Several suggestions have been made: “master craftsman” (cf. ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV), “nursing child” (cf. NCV), “foster father.” R. B. Y. Scott chooses “faithful” – a binding or living link (“Wisdom in Creation: The ‘Amon of Proverbs 8:30,” VT 10 [1960]: 213-23). The image of a child is consistent with the previous figure of being “given birth to” (vv. 24, 25). However, “craftsman” has the most support (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, Tg. Prov 8:30, Song 7:1; Jer 52:15; also P. W. Skehan, “Structures in Poems on Wisdom: Proverbs 8 and Sirach 24,” CBQ 41 [1979]: 365-79).]

and I was his delight day by day,

rejoicing before him at all times,

³¹rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth,[#tn The two words are synonymous in general and so could be taken to express a superlative idea – the “whole world” (cf. NIV, NCV). But תֵּבֵל (tevel) also means the inhabited world, and so the construct may be interpreted as a partitive genitive.]

and delighting in its people.

³²“So now, children, listen to me;[#tn Heb “sons.”]

blessed are those who keep my ways.

³³Listen to my instruction so that you may be wise,[#tn Heb “discipline.”; #tn The construction uses two imperatives joined with the vav (ו); this is a volitive sequence in which result or consequence is being expressed.]

and do not neglect it.

³⁴Blessed is the one who listens to me,[#tn Heb “the man.”]

watching at my doors day by day,

waiting beside my doorway.

³⁵For the one who finds me finds life[#tc The Kethib reads plurals: “those who find me are finders of life”; this is reflected in the LXX and Syriac. But the Qere is singular: “whoever finds me finds life.” The Qere is generally favored as the original reading in such cases as these.]

and receives favor from the Lord .

³⁶But the one who does not find me brings harm to himself;[#tn Heb “the one sinning [against] me.” The verb חָטָא (khata’, “to sin”) forms a contrast with “find” in the previous verse, and so has its basic meaning of “failing to find, miss.” So it is talking about the one who misses wisdom, as opposed to the one who finds it.; #tn The Qal active participle functions verbally here. The word stresses both social and physical harm and violence. sn Brings harm. Whoever tries to live without wisdom is inviting all kinds of disaster into his life.; #tn Heb “his soul.”]

all who hate me love death.”