Contemporary English Version A Poem Praising Wisdom * 1Wisdom sings her own praise and tells her greatness 2to those who worship the Lord and to the Lord's armies in heaven. 3And this is what she says: I came from the mouth of God Most High and like a mist I moved over the earth. 4 Highest heaven was my home, and my throne was a cloud. 5Only I could travel around the horizon and walk in ocean depths. 6I ruled every nation, the land, and the sea. 7But where could I find a place to settle down? In what nation should I live? 8Then the Creator of the world gave me a command telling me to set up my tent among the descendants of Jacob, the people of Israel. 9He created me ages ago, before time began, and I will never die. 10I served in his sacred tent, and later in the temple in Zion. 11He gave me a resting place in Jerusalem, the city he loves, and this is where I rule. 12Here, I put down roots among the glorious people who belong to the Lord. 13I grew tall, like a cedar tree in Lebanon or a cypress on Mount Hermon; 14like a palm tree at En-Gedi, or the roses in Jericho; like a beautiful olive tree in a field, or like an evergreen. 15My perfume smelled sweet like the spices cinnamon and cane mixed with fine myrrh, or like smoke in the sacred tent from the incense of galbanum, onycha, and stacte. 16I spread out my branches, beautiful and graceful, like a giant oak, 17and like a grapevine, they grew buds and blossoms, and finally clusters of rich, sweet fruit. 18Beautiful love is my child, and so are fear and knowledge and hope that trusts God, and he gives me and my children to his own people. 19So come, if you want, and enjoy my fruit until you are full. 20I am sweeter than honey straight from the honeycomb, and the sweet taste will remain even when you have finished. 21But the more of me that you eat and drink, the more you will want. 22Obey me and let me work in your life, and you will never sin or be disgraced. Wisdom Is God's Law 23The wisdom of God Most High is the Book of the Law of Moses, the agreement God made with our ancestors and gives to each new generation as an inheritance. 24Always stay close to the Lord All-Powerful, and he will give you strength. The Lord is the only true God-- he alone can rescue. * 25God's wisdom and understanding overflow from his Law just as in early springtime, the Tigris and Pishon Rivers, 26the Euphrates and the Jordan, overflow their banks. 27God's teachings flood the land like the Nile River in early fall. 28The first human did not know Wisdom very well, nor will the last one, 29because her thoughts are wider than the ocean, and her advice is deeper than the sea. 30I thought of myself as a small canal from the river of God's Wisdom to my garden, 31bringing water for my flowers and fruit trees. But soon this canal became wide as a river and then as the sea. 32And so, I will teach wisdom and make it shine like sunrise, clearly seen from far away. 33My words flow quickly, and like a prophet I will leave them for generations not yet born. 34You see, my work hasn't been for myself alone, but for everyone who desires to find Wisdom. Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. Bible text from the Contemporary English Version 2nd Edition (CEV®) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (www.americanbible.org). Learn more at www.cev.bible. Discover .BIBLE resources for your ministry at www.get.bible/cev. |