Loving Wisdom

6Listen therefore, O kings, and understand;

learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.

2Give ear, you that rule over multitudes,

and boast of many nations.

3For your dominion was given you from the Lord,

and your sovereignty from the Most High,

who will search out your works and inquire into your plans.

4Because as servants of his kingdom you did not rule rightly,

nor keep the law,

nor walk according to the purpose of God,

5he will come upon you terribly and swiftly,

because severe judgment falls on those in high places.

6For the lowliest man may be pardoned in mercy,

but mighty men will be mightily tested.

7For the Lord of all will not stand in awe of any one,

nor show deference to greatness;

because he himself made both small and great,

and he takes thought for all alike.

8But a strict inquiry is in store for the mighty.

9To you then, O monarchs, my words are directed,

that you may learn wisdom and not transgress.

10For they will be made holy who observe holy things in holiness,

and those who have been taught them will find a defense.

11Therefore set your desire on my words;

long for them, and you will be instructed.

12Wisdom is radiant and unfading,

and she is easily discerned by those who love her,

and is found by those who seek her.

13She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.

14He who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty,

for he will find her sitting at his gates.

15To fix one’s thought on her is perfect understanding,

and he who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,

16because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,

and she graciously appears to them in their paths,

and meets them in every thought.

17The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction,

and concern for instruction is love of her,

18and love of her is the keeping of her laws,

and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality,

19and immortality brings one near to God;

20so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom.

21Therefore if you delight in thrones and scepters, O monarchs over the peoples,

honor wisdom, that you may reign for ever.

22I will tell you what wisdom is and how she came to be,

and I will hide no secrets from you,

but I will trace her course from the beginning of creation,

and make knowledge of her clear,

and I will not pass by the truth;

23neither will I travel in the company of sickly envy,

for envy does not associate with wisdom.

24A multitude of wise men is the salvation of the world,

and a sensible king is the stability of his people.

25Therefore be instructed by my words, and you will profit.

7I also am mortal, like all men,

a descendant of the first-formed child of earth;

and in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh,

2within the period of ten months, compacted with blood,

from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage.

3And when I was born, I began to breathe the common air,

and fell upon the kindred earth,

and my first sound was a cry, like that of all.

4I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths.

5For no king has had a different beginning of existence;

6there is for all mankind one entrance into life, and a common departure.

7Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me;

I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

8I preferred her to scepters and thrones,

and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.

9Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem,

because all gold is but a little sand in her sight,

and silver will be accounted as clay before her.

10I loved her more than health and beauty,

and I chose to have her rather than light,

because her radiance never ceases.

11All good things came to me along with her,

and in her hands uncounted wealth.

12I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom leads them;

but I did not know that she was their mother.

13I learned without guile and I impart without grudging;

I do not hide her wealth,

14for it is an unfailing treasure for men;

those who get it obtain friendship with God,

commended for the gifts that come from instruction.

15May God grant that I speak with judgment

and have thoughts worthy of what I have received,

for he is the guide even of wisdom

and the corrector of the wise.

16For both we and our words are in his hand,

as are all understanding and skill in crafts.

17For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists,

to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements;

18the beginning and end and middle of times,

the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,

19the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,

20the natures of animals and the tempers of wild beasts,

the powers of spirits and the reasonings of men,

the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;

21I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,

22for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.

For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy,

unique, manifold, subtle,

mobile, clear, unpolluted,

distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,

irresistible, 23beneficent, humane,

steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,

all-powerful, overseeing all,

and penetrating through all spirits

that are intelligent and pure and most subtle.

24For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;

because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.

25For she is a breath of the power of God,

and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;

therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.

26For she is a reflection of eternal light,

a spotless mirror of the working of God,

and an image of his goodness.

27Though she is but one, she can do all things,

and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;

in every generation she passes into holy souls

and makes them friends of God, and prophets;

28for God loves nothing so much as the man who lives with wisdom.

29For she is more beautiful than the sun,

and excels every constellation of the stars.

Compared with the light she is found to be superior,

30for it is succeeded by the night,

but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

2I loved her and sought her from my youth,

and I desired to take her for my bride,

and I became enamored of her beauty.

3She glorifies her noble birth by living with God,

and the Lord of all loves her.

4For she is an initiate in the knowledge of God,

and an associate in his works.

5If riches are a desirable possession in life,

what is richer than wisdom who effects all things?

6And if understanding is effective,

who more than she is fashioner of what exists?

7And if any one loves righteousness,

her labors are virtues;

for she teaches self-control and prudence,

justice and courage;

nothing in life is more profitable for men than these.

8And if any one longs for wide experience,

she knows the things of old, and infers the things to come;

she understands turns of speech and the solutions of riddles;

she has foreknowledge of signs and wonders

and of the outcome of seasons and times.

9Therefore I determined to take her to live with me,

knowing that she would give me good counsel

and encouragement in cares and grief.

10Because of her I shall have glory among the multitudes

and honor in the presence of the elders, though I am young.

11I shall be found keen in judgment,

and in the sight of rulers I shall be admired.

12When I am silent they will wait for me,

and when I speak they will give heed;

and when I speak at greater length

they will put their hands on their mouths.

13Because of her I shall have immortality,

and leave an everlasting remembrance to those who come after me.

14I shall govern peoples,

and nations will be subject to me;

15dread monarchs will be afraid of me when they hear of me;

among the people I shall show myself capable, and courageous in war.

16When I enter my house, I shall find rest with her,

for companionship with her has no bitterness,

and life with her has no pain, but gladness and joy.

17When I considered these things inwardly,

and thought upon them in my mind,

that in kinship with wisdom there is immortality,

18and in friendship with her, pure delight,

and in the labors of her hands, unfailing wealth,

and in the experience of her company, understanding,

and renown in sharing her words,

I went about seeking how to get her for myself.

19As a child I was by nature well endowed,

and a good soul fell to my lot;

20or rather, being good, I entered an undefiled body.

21But I perceived that I would not possess wisdom unless God gave her to me—

and it was a mark of insight to know whose gift she was—

so I appealed to the Lord and besought him,

and with my whole heart I said:

9“O God of my fathers and Lord of mercy,

who hast made all things by thy word,

2and by thy wisdom hast formed man,

to have dominion over the creatures thou hast made,

3and rule the world in holiness and righteousness,

and pronounce judgment in uprightness of soul,

4give me the wisdom that sits by thy throne,

and do not reject me from among thy servants.

5For I am thy slave and the son of thy maidservant,

a man who is weak and short-lived,

with little understanding of judgment and laws;

6for even if one is perfect among the sons of men,

yet without the wisdom that comes from thee he will be regarded as nothing.

7Thou hast chosen me to be king of thy people

and to be judge over thy sons and daughters.

8Thou hast given command to build a temple on thy holy mountain,

and an altar in the city of thy habitation,

a copy of the holy tent which thou didst prepare from the beginning.

9With thee is wisdom, who knows thy works

and was present when thou didst make the world,

and who understands what is pleasing in thy sight

and what is right according to thy commandments.

10Send her forth from the holy heavens,

and from the throne of thy glory send her,

that she may be with me and toil,

and that I may learn what is pleasing to thee.

11For she knows and understands all things,

and she will guide me wisely in my actions

and guard me with her glory.

12Then my works will be acceptable,

and I shall judge thy people justly,

and shall be worthy of the throne of my father.

13For what man can learn the counsel of God?

Or who can discern what the Lord wills?

14For the reasoning of mortals is worthless,

and our designs are likely to fail,

15for a perishable body weighs down the soul,

and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful mind.

16We can hardly guess at what is on earth,

and what is at hand we find with labor;

but who has traced out what is in the heavens?

17Who has learned thy counsel, unless thou hast given wisdom

and sent thy holy Spirit from on high?

18And thus the paths of those on earth were set right,

and men were taught what pleases thee,

and were saved by wisdom.”