Châm Ngôn 9

Wisdom’s feast

¹Wisdom has built a house for herself \q and shaped seven pillars for it. ²She has slaughtered her animals for the feast, mixed her wine \q and set her table. ³She has sent her young women out with the invitation; \q she calls from the high places of the town: ⁴“Whoever is naive, come in here!” \q To anyone who lacks sense she says, ⁵“Come, have some of my food \q and taste the wine I have blended. ⁶Leave your naive ways behind and live; \q walk straight down the road of understanding. ⁷Correct a mocker and you will be insulted; \q rebuke the wicked and you will get hurt. ⁸Do not rebuke a mocker, or you will be hated; \q rebuke the wise, and you will be loved. ⁹Give advice to the wise and they will grow wiser still; \q teach the righteous and they will add to what they know.

Wisdom and the woman Folly

¹⁰Wisdom starts with the fear of the LORD, \q and to know the Holy One is understanding. ¹¹For through me your days will be many, \q and the years of your life will grow. ¹²If you are wise, your wisdom will benefit you; \q if you mock, the cost is yours alone.”^{a 13}The woman Folly makes a lot of noise; \q she is gullible and has no knowledge. ¹⁴She takes her seat in her doorway, \q on a chair up on the town’s heights, ¹⁵calling to those who pass by, \q who are going straight along on their way: ¹⁶“Whoever is naive, come in here!” \q And to anyone who lacks sense she says, ¹⁷“Water that is stolen tastes sweet, \q and food eaten where no one sees is a delight.” ¹⁸But those who turn in have no idea that the dead are in that house, \q that her guests lie deep in Sheol.^b