1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel.

2 In the beginning of the LORD’S speaking to Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: Go, take a harlot wife and harlot’s children, for the land gives itself to harlotry, turning away from the LORD.

3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived and bore him a son.

4 Then the LORD said to him: Give him the name Jezreel, for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed at Jezreel And bring to an end the kingdom of the house of Israel;

5 On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

6 When she conceived again and bore a daughter, the LORD said to him: Give her the name Lo-ruhama; I no longer feel pity for the house of Israel: rather, I abhor them utterly.

7 Yet for the house of Judah I feel pity; I will save them by the LORD, their God; But I will not save them by war, by sword or bow, by horses or horsemen.

8 After she weaned Lo-ruhama, she conceived and bore a son.

9 Then the LORD said: Give him the name Lo-ammi, for you are not my people, and I will not be your God.

1 Now when the seventh month came, after the Israelites had settled in their cities, the people gathered as one in Jerusalem.

2 Then Jeshua, son of Jozadak, together with his kinsmen the priests, and Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, together with his kinsmen, began building the altar of the God of Israel in order to offer on it the burnt offerings prescribed in the law of Moses, the man of God.

3 They set the altar on its foundations, for they lived in fear of the peoples of the lands, and offered burnt offerings to the LORD on it, both morning and evening.

4 They also kept the feast of Booths in the manner prescribed, and they offered the daily burnt offerings in the proper number required for each day.

5 Thereafter they offered regular burnt offerings, the sacrifices prescribed for the new moons and all the festivals sacred to the LORD, and those which anyone might bring as a voluntary offering to the LORD.

6 From the first day of the seventh month they reinstituted the burnt offering to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD’s temple had not yet been laid.

7 Then they hired stonecutters and carpenters, and sent food and drink and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians that they might ship cedar trees from the Lebanon to the port of Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had authorized.

8 In the year after their coming to the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, son of Jozadak, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and Levites and all who had come from the captivity to Jerusalem, began by appointing the Levites twenty years of age and over to supervise the work on the house of the LORD.

9 Jeshua and his sons and kinsmen, with Kadmiel and Binnui, son of Hodaviah, and their sons and their kindred, the Levites, together undertook to supervise those who were engaged in the work on the house of God.

10 While the builders were laying the foundation of the LORD’s temple, the priests in their vestments were stationed with trumpets and the Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals to praise the LORD in the manner laid down by David, king of Israel.

11 They alternated in songs of praise and thanksgiving to the LORD, “for he is good, for his love for Israel endures forever”;* and all the people raised a great shout of joy, praising the LORD because the foundation of the LORD’s house had been laid.

12 Many of the priests, Levites, and heads of ancestral houses, who were old enough to have seen the former house, cried out in sorrow as they watched the foundation of the present house being laid. Many others, however, lifted up their voices in shouts of joy.

13 No one could distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from the sound of those who were weeping; for the people raised a mighty clamor which was heard far away.

1 How can any one of you with a case against another dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment instead of to the holy ones?

2 Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world? If the world is to be judged by you, are you unqualified for the lowest law courts?

3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? Then why not everyday matters?

4 If, therefore, you have courts for everyday matters, do you seat as judges people of no standing in the church?

5 I say this to shame you. Can it be that there is not one among you wise enough to be able to settle a case between brothers?

6 But rather brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers?

7 Now indeed [then] it is, in any case, a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?

8 Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers.

9 Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites

10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.

11 That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

12 “Everything is lawful for me,”* but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful for me,” but I will not let myself be dominated by anything.

13 “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will do away with both the one and the other. The body, however, is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body;

14 God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take Christ’s members and make them the members of a prostitute? Of course not!

16 [Or] do you not know that anyone who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For “the two,” it says, “will become one flesh.”

17 But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

18 Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body.

19 Do you not know that your body is a temple* of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

20 For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.

1 This saying is trustworthy: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task.

2 Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach,

3 not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money.

4 He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with perfect dignity;

5 for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of the church of God?

6 He should not be a recent convert, so that he may not become conceited and thus incur the devil’s punishment.

7 He must also have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, the devil’s trap.

8 Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain,

9 holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

10 Moreover, they should be tested first; then, if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.

11 Women, similarly, should be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in everything.

12 Deacons may be married only once and must manage their children and their households well.

13 Thus those who serve well as deacons gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.

14 I am writing you about these matters, although I hope to visit you soon.

15 But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.

16 Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion, Who was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.

1 The following men came to David in Ziklag while he was still under banishment from Saul, son of Kish; they, too, were among the warriors who helped him in his battles.

2 They were archers who could use either the right or the left hand, both in slinging stones and in shooting arrows with the bow. They were some of Saul’s kinsmen, from Benjamin.

3 Ahiezer was their chief, along with Joash, both sons of Shemaah of Gibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu, from Anathoth;

4 Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a warrior on the level of the Thirty, and in addition to their number;

5 Jeremiah; Jahaziel; Johanan; Jozabad from Gederah;

6 Eluzai; Jerimoth; Bealiah; Shemariah; Shephatiah the Haruphite;

7 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Ishbaal, who were Korahites;

8 Joelah, finally, and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham, from Gedor.

9 Some of the Gadites also went over to David when he was at the stronghold in the wilderness. They were valiant warriors, experienced soldiers equipped with shield and spear, who bore themselves like lions, and were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains.

10 Ezer was their chief, Obadiah was second, Eliab third,

11 Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth,

12 Attai sixth, Eliel seventh,

13 Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth,

14 Jeremiah tenth, and Machbannai eleventh.

15 These Gadites were army commanders, the lesser placed over hundreds and the greater over thousands.

16 It was they who crossed over the Jordan when it was overflowing both its banks in the first month, and dispersed all who were in the valleys to the east and to the west.

17 Some Benjaminites and Judahites also came to David at the stronghold.

18 David went out to meet them and addressed them in these words: “If you come peacefully, to help me, I am of a mind to have you join me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our fathers see and punish you.”

19 Then spirit enveloped Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, who spoke: “We are yours, O David, we are with you, O son of Jesse. Peace, peace to you, and peace to him who helps you; your God it is who helps you.” So David received them and placed them among the leaders of his troops.

20 Men from Manasseh also deserted to David when he came with the Philistines to battle against Saul. However, he did not help the Philistines, for their lords took counsel and sent him home, saying, “At the cost of our heads he will desert to his master Saul.”

21 As he was returning to Ziklag, therefore, these deserted to him from Manasseh: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands of Manasseh.

22 They helped David by taking charge of his troops, for they were all warriors and became commanders of his army.

23 And from day to day men kept coming to David’s help until there was a vast encampment, like an encampment of angels.

24 This is the muster of the detachments of armed troops that came to David at Hebron to transfer to him Saul’s kingdom, as the LORD had ordained.

25 Judahites bearing shields and spears: six thousand eight hundred armed troops.

26 Of the Simeonites, warriors fit for battle: seven thousand one hundred.

27 Of the Levites: four thousand six hundred,

28 along with Jehoiada, leader of the line of Aaron, with another three thousand seven hundred,

29 and Zadok, a young warrior, with twenty-two princes of his father’s house.

30 Of the Benjaminites, the brethren of Saul: three thousand–until this time, most of them had held their allegiance to the house of Saul.

31 Of the Ephraimites: twenty thousand eight hundred warriors, men renowned in their ancestral houses.

32 Of the half-tribe of Manasseh: eighteen thousand, designated by name to come and make David king.

33 Of the Issacharites, their chiefs who were endowed with an understanding of the times and who knew what Israel had to do: two hundred chiefs, together with all their brethren under their command.

34 From Zebulun, men fit for military service, set in battle array with every kind of weapon for war: fifty thousand men rallying with a single purpose.

35 From Naphtali: one thousand captains, and with them, armed with shield and lance, thirty-seven thousand men.

36 Of the Danites, set in battle array: twenty-eight thousand six hundred.

37 From Asher, fit for military service and set in battle array: forty thousand.

38 From the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, men equipped with every kind of weapon of war: one hundred and twenty thousand.

39 All these soldiers, drawn up in battle order, came to Hebron with the resolute intention of making David king over all Israel. The rest of Israel was likewise of one mind to make David king.

40 They remained with David for three days, feasting and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them.

41 Moreover, their neighbors from as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came bringing food on asses, camels, mules, and oxen–provisions in great quantity of meal, pressed figs, raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep. For there was rejoicing in Israel.

1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life–

2 for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us–

3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

4 We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

5 Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.

6 If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth.

7 But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.

10 If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted, to the tyrannical city!

2 She hears no voice, accepts no correction; In the LORD she has not trusted, to her God she has not drawn near.

3 Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are wolves of the night that have had no bones to gnaw by morning.

4 Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men; Her priests profane what is holy, and do violence to the law.

5 The LORD within her is just, who does no wrong; Morning after morning he renders judgment unfailingly, at dawn.

6 I have destroyed nations, their battlements are laid waste; I have made their streets deserted, with no one passing through; Their cities are devastated, with no man dwelling in them.

7 I said, “Surely now you will fear me, you will accept correction”; She should not fail to see all I have visited upon her. Yet all the more eagerly have they done all their corrupt deeds.

8 Therefore, wait for me, says the LORD, against the day when I arise as accuser; For it is my decision to gather together the nations, to assemble the kingdoms, In order to pour out upon them my wrath, all my blazing anger; For in the fire of my jealousy shall all the earth be consumed.

9 For then I will change and purify the lips of the peoples, That they all may call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one accord;

10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia and as far as the recesses of the North, they shall bring me offerings.

11 On that day You need not be ashamed of all your deeds, your rebellious actions against me; For then will I remove from your midst the proud braggarts, And you shall no longer exalt yourself on my holy mountain.

12 But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD;

13 the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; Nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue; They shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.

14 Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!

15 The LORD has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear.

16 On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!

17 The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you,

18 as one sings at festivals. I will remove disaster from among you, so that none may recount your disgrace.

19 Yes, at that time I will deal with all who oppress you; I will save the lame, and assemble the outcasts; I will give them praise and renown in all the earth, when I bring about their restoration.

20 At that time I will bring you home, and at that time I will gather you; For I will give you renown and praise, among all the peoples of the earth, When I bring about your restoration before your very eyes, says the LORD.

1 This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before he died.

2 He said: The LORD came from Sinai and dawned on his people from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. With him were myriads of holy ones; at his right hand advanced the gods.

3 Indeed, lover of the peoples, all the holy ones are at your side; They follow at your heels, carry out your decisions.

4 Moses charged us with the law, as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.

5 A king arose in Jeshurun when the chiefs of the people assembled, and the tribes of Israel united.

6 May Reuben live and not die out, but let his numbers be few.

7 Of Judah he said this: Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people. His own hands defend his cause; be a help against his foes.

8 Of Levi he said: Give to Levi your Thummim, your Urim to your faithful one; Him you tested at Massah, contended against him at the waters of Meribah.

9 He said of his father and mother, “I have no regard for them”; His brothers he would not acknowledge, and his own children he did not recognize. For they kept your words, and your covenant they upheld.

10 They teach your ordinances to Jacob, your law to Israel. They bring incense to your nostrils, and burnt offerings to your altar.

11 Bless, LORD, his strength, be pleased with the work of his hands. Crush the loins of his adversaries and of his foes, that they may not rise.

12 Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of the LORD, he abides in safety beside him; He shelters him all day long; the beloved abides at his breast.

13 Of Joseph he said: Blessed by the LORD is his land with the best of heaven above and of the abyss crouching beneath;

14 With the best of the produce of the sun, and the choicest yield of the months;

15 With the finest gifts of the ancient mountains and the best from the everlasting hills;

16 With the best of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of the one who dwells on Sinai. Let these come upon the head of Joseph and upon the brow of the prince among his brothers.

17 His firstborn bull, majesty is his! His horns are the horns of a wild ox; With them he gores the peoples, attacks the ends of the earth. These are the myriads of Ephraim, and these the thousands of Manasseh.

18 Of Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your expeditions, exult, Issachar, in your tents!

19 They invite peoples to the mountain where they offer right sacrifices, Because they suck up the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.

20 Of Gad he said: Blessed be the one who has made Gad so vast! He lies there like a lion; he tears the arm, the head as well.

21 He saw that the best should be his, for there the commander’s portion was assigned; he came at the head of the people. He carried out the justice of the LORD and his ordinances for Israel.

22 Of Dan he said: Dan is a lion’s cub, that springs away from a viper!

23 Of Naphtali he said: Naphtali, abounding with favor, filled with the blessing of the LORD, take possession of the west and south.

24 Of Asher he said: Most blessed of sons be Asher! May he be the favorite among his brothers, and may he dip his foot in oil!

25 May the bolts of your gates be iron and bronze; may your strength endure through all your days!

26 There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens in his power, who rides the clouds in his majesty;

27 The God of old is a refuge; a support are the arms of the Everlasting. He drove the enemy out of your way and he said, “Destroy!”

28 Israel abides securely, Jacob dwells apart, In a land of grain and wine, where the heavens drip with dew.

29 Happy are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people delivered by the LORD, Your help and shield, and the sword of your glory. Your enemies cringe before you; you stride upon their backs.

1 After a lapse of two years, Pharaoh had a dream. He was standing by the Nile,

2 when up out of the Nile came seven cows, fine-looking and fat; they grazed in the reed grass.

3 Behind them seven other cows, poor-looking and gaunt, came up out of the Nile; and standing on the bank of the Nile beside the others,

4 the poor-looking, gaunt cows devoured the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

5 He fell asleep again and had another dream. He saw seven ears of grain, fat and healthy, growing on a single stalk.

6 Behind them sprouted seven ears of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind;

7 and the thin ears swallowed up the seven fat, healthy ears. Then Pharaoh woke up—it was a dream!

8 Next morning his mind was agitated. So Pharaoh had all the magicians and sages of Egypt summoned and recounted his dream to them; but there was no one to interpret it for him.

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh: “Now I remember my negligence!

10 Once, when Pharaoh was angry with his servants, he put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the chief steward.

11 Later, we both had dreams on the same night, and each of our dreams had its own meaning.

12 There was a Hebrew youth with us, a slave of the chief steward; and when we told him our dreams, he interpreted them for us and explained for each of us the meaning of his dream.

13 Things turned out just as he had told us: I was restored to my post, but the other man was impaled.”

14 Pharaoh therefore had Joseph summoned, and they hurriedly brought him from the dungeon. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.

15 Pharaoh then said to Joseph: “I had a dream but there was no one to interpret it. But I hear it said of you, ‘If he hears a dream he can interpret it.’”

16 “It is not I,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God who will respond for the well-being of Pharaoh.”

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile,

18when up from the Nile came seven cows, fat and well-formed; they grazed in the reed grass.

19Behind them came seven other cows, scrawny, most ill-formed and gaunt. Never have I seen such bad specimens as these in all the land of Egypt!

20 The gaunt, bad cows devoured the first seven fat cows.

21 But when they had consumed them, no one could tell that they had done so, because they looked as bad as before. Then I woke up.

22 In another dream I saw seven ears of grain, full and healthy, growing on a single stalk.

23 Behind them sprouted seven ears of grain, shriveled and thin and scorched by the east wind;

24 and the seven thin ears swallowed up the seven healthy ears. I have spoken to the magicians, but there is no one to explain it to me.”

25 Joseph said to Pharaoh: “Pharaoh’s dreams have the same meaning. God has made known to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

26 The seven healthy cows are seven years, and the seven healthy ears are seven years—the same in each dream.

27 The seven thin, bad cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind; they are seven years of famine.

28 Things are just as I told Pharaoh: God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

29 Seven years of great abundance are now coming throughout the land of Egypt;

30 but seven years of famine will rise up after them, when all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. When the famine has exhausted the land,

31 no trace of the abundance will be found in the land because of the famine that follows it, for it will be very severe.

32 That Pharaoh had the same dream twice means that the matter has been confirmed by God and that God will soon bring it about.

33 “Therefore, let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.

34 Let Pharaoh act and appoint overseers for the land to organize it during the seven years of abundance.

35 They should collect all the food of these coming good years, gathering the grain under Pharaoh’s authority, for food in the cities, and they should guard it.

36 This food will serve as a reserve for the country against the seven years of famine that will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish in the famine.”

37 This advice pleased Pharaoh and all his servants.

38 “Could we find another like him,” Pharaoh asked his servants, “a man so endowed with the spirit of God?”

39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are.

40 You shall be in charge of my household, and all my people will obey your command. Only in respect to the throne will I outrank you.”

41 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Look, I put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

42 With that, Pharaoh took off his signet ring* and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

43 He then had him ride in his second chariot, and they shouted “Abrek!”* before him. Thus was Joseph installed over the whole land of Egypt.

44 “I am Pharaoh,” he told Joseph, “but without your approval no one shall lift hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

45 Pharaoh also bestowed the name of Zaphenath-paneah* on Joseph, and he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. After Joseph left Pharaoh, he went throughout the land of Egypt.

47 During the seven years of plenty, when the land produced abundant crops,

48 he collected all the food of these years of plenty that the land of Egypt was enjoying and stored it in the cities, placing in each city the crops of the fields around it.

49 Joseph collected grain like the sands of the sea, so much that at last he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.

50 Before the famine years set in, Joseph became the father of two sons, borne to him by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis.

51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh,* meaning, “God has made me forget entirely my troubles and my father’s house”;

52 and the second he named Ephraim,* meaning, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

53 When the seven years of abundance enjoyed by the land of Egypt came to an end,

54 the seven years of famine set in, just as Joseph had said. Although there was famine in all the other countries, food was available throughout the land of Egypt.

55 When all the land of Egypt became hungry and the people cried to Pharaoh for food, Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians: “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”

56 When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt.

57 Indeed, the whole world came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, for famine had gripped the whole world.

1 Does not Wisdom call, and Understanding raise her voice?

2 On the top of the heights along the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand;

3 By the gates at the approaches of the city, in the entryways she cries aloud:

4 “To you, O men, I call; my appeal is to the children of men.

5 You simple ones, gain resource, you fools, gain sense.

6 “Give heed! for noble things I speak; honesty opens my lips.

7 Yes, the truth my mouth recounts, but the wickedness my lips abhor.

8 Sincere are all the words of my mouth, no one of them is wily or crooked;

9 All of them are plain to the man of intelligence, and right to those who attain knowledge.

10 Receive my instruction in preference to silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold.

11 (For Wisdom is better than corals, and no choice possessions can compare with her.)

12 “I, Wisdom, dwell with experience, and judicious knowledge I attain.

13 (The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;) Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate.

14 Mine are counsel and advice; Mine is strength; I am understanding.

15 By me kings reign, and lawgivers establish justice;

16 By me princes govern, and nobles; all the rulers of earth.

17 “Those who love me I also love, and those who seek me find me.

18 With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.

19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than pure gold, and my revenue than choice silver.

20 On the way of duty I walk, along the paths of justice,

21 Granting wealth to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.

22 “The LORD begot me, the first-born of his ways, the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago;

23 From of old I was poured forth, at the first, before the earth.

24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains or springs of water;

25 Before the mountains were settled into place, before the hills, I was brought forth;

26 While as yet the earth and the fields were not made, nor the first clods of the world.

27 “When he established the heavens I was there, when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;

28 When he made firm the skies above, when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth;

29 When he set for the sea its limit, so that the waters should not transgress his command;

30 Then was I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, Playing before him all the while,

31 playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the sons of men.

32 “So now, O children, listen to me;

33 instruction and wisdom do not reject! Happy the man who obeys me, and happy those who keep my ways,

34 Happy the man watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts;

35 For he who finds me finds life, and wins favor from the LORD;

36 But he who misses me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”