Wisdom

⁷ And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in.

⁸ Your servant is here among the people You have chosen, a people too numerous to count or number.

⁹ Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”

¹⁰ Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had made this request.

¹¹ So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this instead of requesting long life or wealth for yourself or death for your enemies—but you have asked for discernment to administer justice—

¹² behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has never been nor will ever be another like you.

¹⁰ Now grant me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may lead this people. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”

¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart instead of requesting riches or wealth or glory for yourself or death for your enemies—and since you have not even requested long life but have asked for wisdom and knowledge to govern My people over whom I have made you king—

¹² therefore wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will also give you riches and wealth and honor unlike anything given to the kings before you or after you.”

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.

¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

²⁴ For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

²⁵ When God fixed the weight of the wind and measured out the waters,

²⁶ when He set a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderbolt,

²⁷ then He looked at wisdom and appraised it; He established it and searched it out.

²⁸ And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

¹ My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,

² if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding,

³ if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,

⁴ if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,

⁵ then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.

⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

¹³ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who acquires understanding,

¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold.

¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her.

¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷ All her ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful.

¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed.

⁷ Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.

⁸ Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.

⁹ She will set a garland of grace on your head; she will present you with a crown of beauty.”

¹⁰ Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many.

¹¹ I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths.

¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.

¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰ My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.

²¹ Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.

²² For they are life to those who find them, and health to the whole body.

²³ Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.

⁷ He who corrects a mocker brings shame on himself; he who rebukes a wicked man taints himself.

⁸ Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

⁹ Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will increase his learning.

¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

¹¹ For through wisdom your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.

¹² If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage; but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!

Above all, may the LORD give you insight and understanding when He puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the Law of the LORD your God.

²⁷ Then the king gave his ruling: “Give the living baby to the first woman. By no means should you kill him; she is his mother.”

²⁸ When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

And God gave Solomon wisdom, exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked.

⁷ They replied, “If you will be a servant to these people and serve them this day, and if you will respond by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”

⁸ But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.

² It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.

³ Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.

⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

⁵ It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.

⁶ For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

⁷ Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

⁹ Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.

¹⁰ Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.

¹¹ Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.

¹² For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

¹⁵ Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

¹⁶ redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

¹² But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell?

¹³ No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.

¹⁴ The ocean depths say, ‘It is not in me,’ while the sea declares, ‘It is not with me.’

¹⁵ It cannot be bought with gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire.

¹⁷ Neither gold nor crystal can compare to it, nor jewels of fine gold be exchanged for it.

¹⁸ Coral and quartz are unworthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

¹⁹ Topaz from Cush cannot compare to it, nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ From where then does wisdom come, and where does understanding dwell?

²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing and concealed from the birds of the air.

²² Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor about it.’

²³ But God understands its way, and He knows its place.

³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

³¹ He was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread throughout the surrounding nations.

³² Solomon composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five.

³³ He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.

³⁴ So men of all nations came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

¹⁷ To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

¹⁸ Now at the end of the time specified by the king, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁹ And the king spoke with them, and among all the young men he found no one equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.

²⁰ In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.

Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had made this request.

Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”

Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

³³ Now, therefore, Pharaoh should look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.

³⁴ Let Pharaoh take action and appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

³⁵ Under the authority of Pharaoh, let them collect all the excess food from these good years, that they may come and lay up the grain to be preserved as food in the cities.

³⁶ This food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine to come upon the land of Egypt. Then the country will not perish in the famine.”

³⁷ This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his officials.

³⁸ So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?”

⁷ I thought that age should speak, and many years should teach wisdom.

⁸ But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

⁹ It is not only the old who are wise, or the elderly who understand justice.

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

¹⁸ Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys

¹⁹ and said to her young men, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

⁹ But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen,

¹⁰ but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

⁴⁶ Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

⁴⁷ And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.

From Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do: 200 chiefs with all their kinsmen at their command.

²⁴ The king continued, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought him a sword,

²⁵ and the king declared, “Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.”

¹ Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.

² She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.

³ And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.

⁴ When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,

⁵ the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.

⁶ She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true.

²⁹ “My father has brought trouble to the land,” Jonathan replied. “Just look at how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.

³⁰ How much better it would have been if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been much greater?”

Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”

¹⁵ And Joab’s troops came and besieged Sheba in Abel-beth-maacah and built a siege ramp against the outer rampart of the city. As all the troops with Joab were battering the wall to topple it,

¹⁶ a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here so that I may speak with him.”

¹⁷ When he had come near to her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “I am,” he replied. “Listen to the words of your servant,” she said. “I am listening,” he answered.

¹⁸ Then the woman said, “Long ago they used to say, ‘Seek counsel at Abel,’ and that is how disputes were settled.

Then the woman went to all the people with her wise counsel, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it to Joab. So he blew the ram’s horn and his men dispersed from the city, each to his own home. And Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.