Proverbs 9

Wisdom sets her table

Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out her seven pillars. ²She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. ³She has sent out her maidservants; she calls out from the heights of the city.

⁴“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment. ⁵“Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed. ⁶Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”a ⁷He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.b

⁸Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.c ⁹Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.d ¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.e

¹¹For through wisdom your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.f ¹²If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage; but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.

Folly calls too

¹³The woman named Folly is loud; she is naive and knows nothing.g ¹⁴She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city, ¹⁵calling out to those who pass by, who make their paths straight.

¹⁶“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” she says to him who lacks judgment. ¹⁷“Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is tasty!”h ¹⁸But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.