Proverbs 9

Wisdom sets her table

Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. ²She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. ³She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, ⁴“Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, ⁵“Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.

⁶Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.”a ⁷Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.b ⁸Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.c

⁹Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their 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 many, and years will be added to your life.f

¹²If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.

Folly calls too

¹³Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing.g ¹⁴She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, ¹⁵calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, ¹⁶“Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, ¹⁷“Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!”h ¹⁸But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.