8Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?H2451H7121H8394H5414H69632She's taken her stand at First and Main, at the busiest intersection.H5324H7218H4791H1870H1004H54103Right in the city square where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,H7442H3027H8179H6310H7176H3996H66074"You—I'm talking to all of you, everyone out here on the streets!H376H7121H6963H1121H1205Listen, you idiots—learn good sense! You blockheads—shape up!H6612H995H6195H3684H995H38206Don't miss a word of this—I'm telling you how to live well, I'm telling you how to live at your best.H8085H1696H5057H4669H8193H43397My mouth chews and savors and relishes truth— I can't stand the taste of evil!H2441H1897H571H7562H8441H81938You'll only hear true and right words from my mouth; not one syllable will be twisted or skewed.H561H6310H6664H6617H61419You'll recognize this as true—you with open minds; truth-ready minds will see it at once.H5228H995H3477H4672H184710Prefer my life-disciplines over chasing after money, and God-knowledge over a lucrative career.H3947H4148H3701H1847H977H274211For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth; nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.H2451H2896H6443H2656H773712"I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity; Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.H2451H7931H6195H4672H1847H420913The Fear-of-GOD means hating Evil, whose ways I hate with a passion— pride and arrogance and crooked talk.H3374H3068H8130H7451H1344H1347H7451H1870H8419H6310H813014Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics; I am both Insight and the Virtue to live it out.H6098H8454H998H136915With my help, leaders rule, and lawmakers legislate fairly;H4428H4427H7336H2710H666416With my help, governors govern, along with all in legitimate authority.H8269H8323H5081H8199H77617I love those who love me; those who look for me find me.H157H157H7836H467218Wealth and Glory accompany me— also substantial Honor and a Good Name.H6239H3519H6276H1952H666619My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary; the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.H6529H2896H2742H6337H8393H977H370120You can find me on Righteous Road—that's where I walk— at the intersection of Justice Avenue,H1980H734H6666H8432H5410H494121Handing out life to those who love me, filling their arms with life—armloads of life!H157H5157H3426H4390H21422"GOD sovereignly made me—the first, the basic— before he did anything else.H3068H7069H7225H1870H6924H465923I was brought into being a long time ago, well before Earth got its start.H5258H5769H7218H6924H77624I arrived on the scene before Ocean, yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.H8415H2342H4599H3513H432525Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape, I was already there, newborn;H2022H2883H6440H1389H234226Long before GOD stretched out Earth's Horizons, and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,H6213H776H2351H7218H6083H839827And set Sky firmly in place, I was there. When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,H3559H8064H2710H2329H6440H841528built the vast vault of Heaven, and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,H553H7834H4605H5810H5869H841529When he drew a boundary for Sea, posted a sign that said, NO TRESPASSING, And then staked out Earth's foundations,H7760H3220H2706H4325H5674H6310H2710H4144H77630I was right there with him, making sure everything fit. Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause, always enjoying his company,H681H525H3117H3117H8191H7832H6256H644031Delighted with the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family.H7832H8398H776H8191H1121H12032"So, my dear friends, listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways are most blessed.H8085H1121H835H8104H187033Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don't squander your precious life.H8085H4148H2449H654434Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day's work.H835H120H8085H8245H3117H3117H1817H8104H4201H660735When you find me, you find life, real life, to say nothing of GOD's good pleasure.H4672H4672H4672H2416H6329H7522H306836But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul; when you reject me, you're flirting with death."H2398H2554H5315H8130H157H4194
The Message (MSG). All Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.
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