Proverbs 9

Wisdom sets her table

Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns. ²She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. ³She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.

⁴“Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, ⁵“Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed. ⁶Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.”a ⁷Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.b

⁸So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you.c ⁹Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.d ¹⁰Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.e

¹¹Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life.f ¹²If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.

Folly calls too

¹³The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t know it.g ¹⁴She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city. ¹⁵She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business.

¹⁶“Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, ¹⁷“Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tastes the best!”h ¹⁸But little do they know that the dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.