Acquire Wisdom
1Sons, heed the discipline of a father;
Listen and learn discernment,
2For I give you good instruction;
Do not forsake my teaching.
3Once I was a son to my father,
The tender darling of my mother.
4He instructed me and said to me,
“Let your mind hold on to my words;
Keep my commandments and you will live.
5Acquire wisdom, acquire discernment;
Do not forget and do not swerve from my words.
6Do not forsake her and she will guard you;
Love her and she will protect you.
7The beginning of wisdom is—acquire wisdom;
With all your acquisitions, acquire discernment.
8Hug her to you and she will exalt you;
She will bring you honor if you embrace her.
9She will adorn your head with a graceful wreath;
Crown you with a glorious diadem.”
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Credits
Reprinted from Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.
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Writings: The Third Section of the Jewish Bible
10th–2nd Century BCE
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