New English Translation

Proverbs 8:1-16

1 1Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?

2At the top of the elevated places along the way, at the intersection of the paths she takes her stand;

3beside the gates opening into the city, at the entrance of the doorways she cries out:

4“To you, O people, I call out, and my voice calls to all mankind.

5You who are naive, discern wisdom! And you fools, understand discernment!

6Listen, for I will speak excellent things, and my lips will utter what is right.

7For my mouth speaks truth, and my lips hate wickedness.

8All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing in them twisted or crooked.

9All of them are clear to the discerning and upright to those who find knowledge.

10Receive my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold.

11For wisdom is better than rubies, and desirable things cannot be compared to her.

12“I, wisdom, live with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.

13The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride and the evil way and perverse utterances.

14Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me; I possess understanding and might.

15Kings reign by means of me, and potentates decree righteousness;

16by me princes rule, as well as nobles and all righteous judges.

Read all of Proverbs 8

Notes

1. Proverbs 8:1 In this chapter wisdom is personified. In 1:20-33 wisdom proclaims her value, and in 3:19-26 wisdom is the agent of creation. Such a personification has affinities with the wisdom literature of the ancient Near East, and may have drawn on some of that literature, albeit with appropriate safeguards (Claudia V. Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs, 23-70). Wisdom in Proverbs 8, however, is not a deity like Egypt’s Ma`at or the Assyrian-Babylonian Ishtar. It is simply presented as if it were a self-conscious divine being distinct but subordinate to God; but in reality it is the personification of the attribute of wisdom displayed by God (R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 69-72; and R. Marcus, “On Biblical Hypostases of Wisdom,” HUCA 23 [1950-1951]: 157-71). Many have equated wisdom in this chapter with Jesus Christ. This connection works only in so far as Jesus reveals the nature of the Father, just as Proverbs presents wisdom as an attribute of God. Jesus’ claims included wisdom (Matt 12:42) and a unique knowledge of God (Matt 11:25-27). He even personified wisdom in a way that was similar to Proverbs (Matt 11:19). Paul saw the fulfillment of wisdom in Christ (Col 1:15-20; 2:3) and affirmed that Christ became our wisdom in the crucifixion (1 Cor 1:24, 30). So this personification in Proverbs provides a solid foundation for the similar revelation of wisdom in Christ. But because wisdom is a creation of God in Proverbs 8, it is unlikely that wisdom here is to be identified with Jesus Christ. The chapter unfolds in three cycles: After an introduction (1-3), wisdom makes an invitation (4, 5) and explains that she is noble, just, and true (6-9); she then makes another invitation (10) and explains that she is valuable (11-21); and finally, she tells how she preceded and delights in creation (22-31) before concluding with the third invitation (32-36). ↩

Notes

Commentaries on Proverbs 8