of his way,
before his deeds of old.
From eternity I was poured forth,
from the beginning, before the foundation of the earth.
When the watery abyss did not exist I was given birth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled,
before the hills, I came to birth;
before he made the earth and the fields,
even the first particles of the world.
I was there when he fixed the heavens firmly in place,
when he scored a circumference on the face of the abyss,
when he made firm
the cloudy skies above,
when he strengthened the fountains
of the deep,
when he assigned the sea its boundary
so that the waters would not overstep his command,
when he marked out the foundations
of the earth,
then I was at his side as an artisan
delighting him day after day,
ever dancing in his presence,
playfully dancing everywhere
in his world,
and delighting in the children
of the earth.
Proverbs 8:32–36 TNK
Wisdom delivers her discourse:
Now then my children, listen to me,
blessed are those who keep my ways.
Give heed to my instruction and become wise,
do not reject it.
Blessed is whoever listens for me,
watching daily at my doorstep,
waiting day by day at my gateway.
For whoever encounters me finds life,
obtaining favor from Yahweh;
but whoever misses me meets self-injury,
all who despise me court death.
Proverbs 9:1–6, 11 TNK
Wisdom has constructed
her own house,
she has chiseled her seven columns,
she has slaughtered her livestock,
mixed her spiced wine,
and prepared her table.
She has dispatched her maids
and announced from the city heights:
“Whoever is simple? Come this way!”
To those lacking judgment,
she proclaims:
“Come, feast on my food,
and imbibe the spiced wine
which I mixed!
Leave your simple ways
at the doorway and live,
and enter the path to understanding.
For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.”
Isaiah 11:1–3 TNK
A shoot will sprout from
the stump of Jesse,
from his burgeoning roots
a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of Yahweh, she shall rest
upon him:
a Spirit of Wisdom
and of Understanding,
a Spirit of Counsel and of Power,
a Spirit of Knowledge and of the Fear
of Yahweh,
so that he will delight
in revering Yahweh,
and not judge by what he sees
with his eyes,
nor decide by what he hears
with his ears.
Isaiah 30:18 TNK versicle
Yet Yahweh longs to be gracious to you,
the Exalted One to show maternal compassion to you.
Isaiah 31:4–5 TNK
Indeed, this is what Yahweh says to me,
“Just as the full grown or young lion
growls over his prey,
when a band of shepherds is summoned against him,
and is not frightened by their shouting
or daunted by their clamor,
so too Yahweh Sabaoth descends
to do battle
on Mount Zion and on her ridges.
Like mother birds hovering
over their young
Yahweh Sabaoth will shield Jerusalem;
to protect and save,
to spare and deliver.”
Isaiah 42:10–16 TNK
Sing to Yahweh a new song!
Let his praises
