Proverbs Chapter 9

¹ Wisdom has built her house;

      she’s carved its seven columns.

² She’s done her butchering, mixed her wine,

      and set her table.

³ She’s sent her maids

      to call out from the heights of the city:

                  ⁴“Whoever is naïve, turn in here!”

      She says to those who lack good judgment,

                  ⁵“Come in and eat my food

                  drink the wine I’ve mixed.

                  ⁶Abandon your foolish ways and start having a life;

                  conduct yourself with good judgment.”              

Prov 9:1-6

⁷ If you correct a scoffer, you’ll be abused;

if you reprove sinners, you’ll get insulted.

                  ⁸So don’t bother reproving scoffers; they’ll hate you;

            reprove the wise, and they’ll love you.

⁹ Instruct the wise, and they’ll be wiser still;

teach the good, and they’ll be better yet.

¹⁰ Respect for the LORD is basic to wisdom;

      knowing the Holy One clarifies your thinking.

¹¹ It’ll multiply your days

      and add years to your life.

¹² If you’re wise, you’re wise for yourself;

if you scoff at wisdom, it’ll be to your detriment.                 

Prov 9:7-12

¹³ A foolish woman is loud;

            she’s naïve and ignorant.

         ¹⁴She sits in the doorway of her house

            or takes a seat on the high places in town.

         ¹⁵She calls out to those who are going by,

                  who are following straight paths:

                  ¹⁶“Whoever is naïve, turn in here,”

                  she claims to those who don’t know any better.

                  ¹⁷“Stolen water is refreshing;

                  bread eaten in secret tastes good.”

                  ¹⁸But they don’t know that the dead are there,

                  that her guests lie in Sheol.                                  

Prov 9:13-18