Chapter 9

1Wisdom has built her house,She has hewn her seven pillars.

2She has prepared the feast,Mixed the wine,And also set the table.

3She has sent out her maids to announceOn the heights of the town,

4“Let the simple enter here”;To those devoid of sense she says,

5“Come, eat my foodAnd drink the wine that I have mixed;

6Give up simpleness and live,Walk in the way of understanding.”

7To correct a scoffer,aOr rebuke a wicked man for his blemish,Is to call down abuse on oneself.

8Do not rebuke a scoffer, for he will hate you;Reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

9Instruct a wise man, and he will grow wiser;Teach a righteous man, and he will gain in learning.

10The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD,And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

11For through me your days will increase,And years be added to your life.

12If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;If you are a scoffer, you bear it alone.

13The stupid woman bustles about;She is simple and knows nothing.

14She sits in the doorway of her house,Or on a chair at the heights of the town,

15Calling to all the wayfarersWho go about their own affairs,

16“Let the simple enter here”;And to those devoid of sense she says,

17“Stolen waters are sweet,And bread eaten furtively is tasty.”

18He does not know that the shades are there,That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.