Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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1 Her great
power reaches into every part of
the world, and she sets everything in
useful order.
Solomon's Love for Wisdom
2 Wisdom has been my love. I
courted her when I was young and
wanted to make her my bride. I fell
-- --
in love with her beauty. note
3 She glorifies
her noble origin by living with
God, the Lord of all, who loves her.
4 She is familiar with God's mysteries
and helps determine his course of
action. note
5 Is it good to have riches in this
life? Nothing can make you richer
than Wisdom, who makes everything
function.
6 Is knowledge a useful
thing to have? Nothing is better
than Wisdom, who has given shape
to everything that exists.
7 Do you
love justice? All the virtues are the
result of Wisdom's work: justice and
courage, self-control and understanding.
Life can offer us nothing
more valuable than these.
8 Do you
want to have wide experience? Wisdom
knows the lessons of history
and can anticipate the future. She
knows how to interpret what people
say and how to solve problems. She
knows the miracles that God will
perform, and how the movements of
history will develop.
9 So I decided to take Wisdom
home to live with me, because I
knew that she would give me good
advice and encourage me in times of
trouble and grief.
10 I thought to myself,
“Because of her I will be honored
wherever people come together.
The old men will respect me,
even though I am young.
11 They will
find that my opinions show deep insight,
and those in power will admire
me.
12 When I am silent, they
will wait for me to speak, and when I
speak, they will pay attention. Even
when I speak at length, they will listen
with concentration.
13 Because of
Wisdom I will gain immortality; I
will live forever in the memory of
those who come after me.
14 I will
hold power over nations and peoples;
15 dreaded tyrants will be
seized with fear at the mention of
my name. I will be famous, as a good
king and as a brave soldier.
16 When
I come home to Wisdom, I will find
contentment because there is no
conflict or pain in living with her,
only happiness and joy.”
17 And so I thought it over: to be
wedded to Wisdom is to live forever,
18 to love her is to be perfectly happy,
to do her work is to be rich beyond
measure, to share her company
is to have sound judgment, to converse
with her is to be honored.
Then I was determined to take Wisdom
as my bride.
19 I had a pleasant
personality even as a child. I had
been fortunate enough to receive a
good soul, or rather, I was given a
sound body to live in because I was
already good.
20 Still, I realized that I
would never receive Wisdom unless
God gave her to me—and knowing
that only God could give her to me
was itself a sign of understanding.
So I prayed, begging the Lord with
all my heart:
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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