1. Listen to Wisdom! She proudly sings her own praises among the Israelites, her own people,
2. in the assembly of the Most High, in the presence of his power.
3. “I am the word spoken by the Most High.I covered the earth like a mist.
4. I made my home in highest heaven,my throne on a pillar of cloud.
5. Alone I walked round the circle of the skyand walked through the ocean beneath the earth.
6. I ruled over all the earth and the ocean waves,over every nation, over every people.
7. I looked everywhere for a place to settle,some part of the world to make my home.
8. Then my Creator, who created the universe,told me where I was to live.‘Make your home in Israel,’ he said.‘The descendants of Jacob will be your people.’
9. He created me in eternity, before time began,and I will exist for all eternity to come.
10. I served him in the sacred Tentand then made my home on Mount Zion.
11. He settled me in the Beloved Cityand gave me authority over Jerusalem.
12. I put down roots among an honoured peoplewhom the Lord had chosen as his own.
13. I grew tall, like the cedars in Lebanon,like the cypresses on Mount Hermon,
14. like the palm-trees of Engedi,like the roses of Jericho,like beautiful olive-trees in the fields,like plane-trees growing by the water.
15. My breath was the spicy smell of cinnamon,of sweet perfume and finest myrrh,of stacte, onycha, and galbanum,the fragrant incense in the sacred Tent.
16. Like an oak I spread out my branches,magnificent and graceful.
17. Like a grapevine I put out lovely shoots;my blossoms gave way to rich and glorious fruit.
19. Come to me, all you that want me,and eat your fill of my fruit.
20. You will remember me as sweeter than honey,better than honey from the comb.