Proverbs 9:1-12
Proverbs 9:1-12 The Message (MSG)
Lady Wisdom has built and furnished her home; it’s supported by seven hewn timbers. The banquet meal is ready to be served: lamb roasted, wine poured out, table set with silver and flowers. Having dismissed her serving maids, Lady Wisdom goes to town, stands in a prominent place, and invites everyone within sound of her voice: “Are you confused about life, don’t know what’s going on? Come with me, oh come, have dinner with me! I’ve prepared a wonderful spread—fresh-baked bread, roast lamb, carefully selected wines. Leave your impoverished confusion and live! Walk up the street to a life with meaning.” * * * If you reason with an arrogant cynic, you’ll get slapped in the face; confront bad behavior and get a kick in the shins. So don’t waste your time on a scoffer; all you’ll get for your pains is abuse. But if you correct those who care about life, that’s different—they’ll love you for it! Save your breath for the wise—they’ll be wiser for it; tell good people what you know—they’ll profit from it. Skilled living gets its start in the Fear-of-GOD, insight into life from knowing a Holy God. It’s through me, Lady Wisdom, that your life deepens, and the years of your life ripen. Live wisely and wisdom will permeate your life; mock life and life will mock you.
Proverbs 9:1-12 King James Version (KJV)
Wisdom hath builded her house, She hath hewn out her seven pillars: She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; She hath also furnished her table. She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth Upon the highest places of the city, Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: As for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Come, eat of my bread, And drink of the wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish, and live; And go in the way of understanding. He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: And he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, And the years of thy life shall be increased. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: But if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
Proverbs 9:1-12 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table; She has sent out her maidens, she calls From the tops of the heights of the city: “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks understanding she says, “Come, eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake your folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding.” He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.
Proverbs 9:1-12 New Century Version (NCV)
Wisdom has built her house; she has made its seven columns. She has prepared her food and wine; she has set her table. She has sent out her servant girls, and she calls out from the highest place in the city. She says to those who are uneducated, “Come in here, you foolish people! Come and eat my food and drink the wine I have prepared. Stop your foolish ways, and you will live; take the road of understanding. “If you correct someone who makes fun of wisdom, you will be insulted. If you correct an evil person, you will get hurt. Do not correct those who make fun of wisdom, or they will hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. Teach the wise, and they will become even wiser; teach good people, and they will learn even more. “Wisdom begins with respect for the LORD, and understanding begins with knowing the Holy One. If you live wisely, you will live a long time; wisdom will add years to your life. The wise person is rewarded by wisdom, but whoever makes fun of wisdom will suffer for it.”
Proverbs 9:1-12 American Standard Version (ASV)
Wisdom hath builded her house; She hath hewn out her seven pillars: She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; She hath also furnished her table: She hath sent forth her maidens; She crieth upon the highest places of the city: Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: As for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him, Come, eat ye of my bread, And drink of the wine which I have mingled. Leave off, ye simple ones, and live; And walk in the way of understanding. He that correcteth a scoffer getteth to himself reviling; And he that reproveth a wicked man getteth himself a blot. Reprove not a scoffer, lest he hate thee: Reprove a wise man, and he will love thee. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: Teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, And the years of thy life shall be increased. If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself; And if thou scoffest, thou alone shalt bear it.
Proverbs 9:1-12 New International Version (NIV)
Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.” Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.
Proverbs 9:1-12 New King James Version (NKJV)
Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table. She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, “Come, eat of my bread And drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake foolishness and live, And go in the way of understanding. “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”
Proverbs 9:1-12 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Wisdom has built her [spacious and sufficient] house; She has hewn out and set up her seven pillars. She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table. She has sent out her maidens, she calls From the highest places of the city: “Whoever is naive or inexperienced, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says, “Come, eat my food And drink the wine I have mixed [and accept my gifts]. Leave [behind] your foolishness [and the foolish] and live, And walk in the way of insight and understanding.” He who corrects and instructs a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not correct a scoffer [who foolishly ridicules and takes no responsibility for his error] or he will hate you; Correct a wise man [who learns from his error], and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will become even wiser; Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning. The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence], And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and spiritual insight. For by me (wisdom from God) your days will be multiplied, And years of life shall be increased. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself [for your own benefit]; If you scoff [thoughtlessly ridicule and disdain], you alone will pay the penalty.
Proverbs 9:1-12 New Living Translation (NLT)
Wisdom has built her house; she has carved its seven columns. She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city. “Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, “Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.” Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more. Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment. Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.
Proverbs 9:1-12 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Wisdom has built herself a palace upon seven pillars to keep it secure. She has made ready a banquet feast and the sacrifice has been killed. She has mingled her wine, and the table’s all set. She has sent out her maidens, crying out from the high place, inviting everyone to come and eat until they’re full. “Whoever wants to know me and receive my wisdom, come and dine at my table and drink of my wine. Lay aside your simple thoughts and leave your paths behind. Agree with my ways, live in my truth, and you will find righteousness.” If you try to correct an arrogant cynic, expect an angry insult in return. And if you try to confront an evil man, don’t be surprised if all you get is a slap in the face! So don’t even bother to correct a mocker, for he’ll only hate you for it. But go ahead and correct the wise; they’ll love you even more. Teach a wise man what is right and he’ll grow even wiser. Instruct the lovers of God and they’ll learn even more. The starting point for acquiring wisdom is to be consumed with awe as you worship YAHWEH. To receive the revelation of the Holy One, you must come to the one who has living-understanding. Wisdom will extend your life, making every year more fruitful than the one before. So it is to your advantage to be wise. But to ignore the counsel of wisdom is to invite trouble into your life.
Proverbs 9:1-12 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.” Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.