¹ The person who fears the Lord will do this, and the one who holds to the law will obtain wisdom. ² She will come to meet him like a mother, and like a young bride she will welcome him.

³ She will feed him with the bread of understanding and give him the water of wisdom to drink.

⁴ He will lean on her and will not fall, and he will attend to her and will not be put to shame.

⁵ She will exalt him above his neighbours and will open his mouth in the midst of the assembly.

⁶ He will find gladness and a crown of rejoicing and will acquire an everlasting name.

⁷ Foolish people will not obtain her, and sinful men will not see her.

⁸ She is far from arrogance, and liars will never remember her.

⁹ A hymn of praise is not fitting on the lips of a sinner, for it has not been sent from the Lord.

¹⁰ For a hymn of praise will be uttered in wisdom, and the Lord will make it prosper.

Freedom of Choice

¹¹ Do not say, “Because of the Lord I left the right way”; for he will not do what he hates.

¹² Do not say, “It was he who led me astray”; for he had no need of a sinful man.

¹³ The Lord hates every abomination, and they are not loved by those who fear him.

¹⁴ It was he who created mankind in the beginning, and he left him in the power of his own choice.

¹⁵ If you desire, you will keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of choice.

¹⁶ He has placed before you fire and water: stretch out your hand for whichever you wish.

¹⁷ Life and death are in front of people, and whichever one chooses will be given to him.

¹⁸ For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power and sees everything;

¹⁹ his eyes are on those who fear him, and he knows a person’s every deed.

²⁰ He has not commanded anyone to be ungodly, and he has not given anyone permission to sin.