| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| 1 Doth not wisdom call And understanding give forth her voice |
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| 2 At the head of high places by the way, Between the paths she hath stood, |
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| 3 At the side of the gates, at the mouth of the city, The entrance of the openings, she crieth aloud, |
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| 4 'Unto you, O men, I call, And my voice [is] unto the sons of men. |
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| 5 Understand, ye simple ones, prudence, And ye fools, understand the heart, |
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| 6 Hearken, for noble things I speak, And the opening of my lips [is] uprightness. |
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| 7 For truth doth my mouth utter, And an abomination to my lips [is] wickedness. |
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| 8 In righteousness [are] all the sayings of my mouth, Nothing in them is froward and perverse. |
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| 9 All of them [are] plain to the intelligent, And upright to those finding knowledge. |
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| 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold. |
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| 11 For better [is] wisdom than rubies, Yea, all delights are not comparable with it. |
Better than rubies – If the Queen of Sheba traveled such a long distance to know about the wisdom of God which Solomon possessed, how much more should the "greater than Solomon" be sought. (Matt. 12:42) R5722:5
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| 12 I, wisdom, have dwelt with prudence, And a knowledge of devices I find out. |
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| 13 The fear of Jehovah [is] to hate evil; Pride, and arrogance, and an evil way, And a froward mouth, I have hated. |
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| 14 Mine [is] counsel and substance, I [am] understanding, I have might. |
Counsel is mine – Christ's, as the personification of wisdom. D637
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| 15 By me kings reign, and princes decree righteousness, |
By me kings reign – Israel's government was that of a republic under divine autocracy and law supervision. R4192:3
Decree justice – The prospect of a righteous, just, unshakable Kingdom. R3053:4
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| 16 By me do chiefs rule, and nobles, All judges of the earth. |
All the judges – The earthly phase of the Kingdom. D637
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| 17 I love those loving me, And those seeking me earnestly do find me. |
I love them – This is said of wisdom, but God is the personification of wisdom; and also Christ is wisdom-- "he is made unto us wisdom." (1Cor. 1:30) R4269:6
That seek me early – "Train up a child in the way he should go." (Prov. 22:6) R3711:5
The child-mind is peculiarly susceptible to the truth and its spirit-- the spirit of consecration. R4270:1
A child, reasonably well-born and raised under the influences of a Christian home, would very generally, at the age of 12, be ready to make a consecration of himself to the Lord. R3711:5, R 4270:4
Every home should have its Sunday School class and every Sunday its quiet, sacred hour of fellowship, communion and praise--for parents and children. R4270:1
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| 18 Wealth and honour [are] with me, Lasting substance and righteousness. |
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| 19 Better [is] my fruit than gold, even fine gold, And mine increase than choice silver. |
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| 20 In a path of righteousness I cause to walk, In midst of paths of judgment, |
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| 21 To cause my lovers to inherit substance, Yea, their treasures I fill. |
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| 22 Jehovah possessed me the beginning of His way, Before His works since then. |
LORD possessed me – Jehovah possessed the Logos--wisdom personified. E93; R1059:6, R446:1; SM491:3
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| 23 From the age I was anointed, from the first, From former states of the earth. |
From everlasting – As one of the divine attributes, wisdom existed even before our Lord Jesus; though it is not strange that some infer that wisdom here personifies Christ. R1518:2
Ever the earth was – Was formed. E93
This passage, to verse 25, may be viewed as a prophecy of what our Lord understood of his previous condition. R5065:3
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| 24 In there being no depths, I was brought forth, In there being no fountains heavy [with] waters, |
Were no depths – No seas. E93
Brought forth – Had Jesus been on an equality with God before, how could he have been highly exalted after. R803:1*
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| 25 Before mountains were sunk, Before heights, I was brought forth. |
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| 26 While He had not made the earth, and out-places, And the top of the dusts of the world. |
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| 27 In His preparing the heavens I [am] there, In His decreeing a circle on the face of the deep, |
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| 28 In His strengthening clouds above, In His making strong fountains of the deep, |
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| 29 In His setting for the sea its limit, And the waters transgress not His command, In His decreeing the foundations of earth, |
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| 30 Then I am near Him, a workman, And I am a delight day by day. Rejoicing before Him at all times, |
Brought up with him – For centuries before coming to earth the Son had seen the Father's mighty works, marked his wondrous wisdom and experienced his tender love, having the plan revealed to him step by step. R3160:3
While he joyfully worked out the great plan of creation, Jesus probably knew nothing of God's purpose for the subsequent permission of evil. R3160:3
Showing not only his intimate acquaintance with Jehovah and knowledge of his plans, but exhibiting him as the honored agent in their accomplishment. R1059:6, R446:2*
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| 31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth, And my delights [are] with the sons of men. |
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| 32 And now, ye sons, hearken to me, Yea, happy are they who keep my ways. |
Blessed are they – God is "a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb. 11:6) R4072:5
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| 33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and slight not. |
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| 34 O the happiness of the man hearkening to me, To watch at my doors day by day, To watch at the door-posts of my entrance. |
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| 35 For whoso is finding me, hath found life, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah. |
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| 36 And whoso is missing me, is wronging his soul, All hating me have loved death! |
Love death Let them make "a covenant with death" (Isa. 28:25) who hate wisdom; but we abhor death and seek for life through the life-giver, the Lord Jesus Christ. R625:6*
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