Anonymous (Septuagint) · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| She stretches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and orders all things well.
2| From my earliest years I cherished her and searched her out, longing to win her as my own bride, and I fell in love with her beauty.
3| She glorifies her noble birth by sharing the life of God, and the Master of all loved her;
4| for she is an initiate in the knowledge of God, and the one who chooses his works.
5| And if wealth is a desirable possession in life, what is richer than wisdom, who works all things?
6| And if understanding is at work, who among the things that are is a better craftsman than she?
7| And if a man loves righteousness, her labors are the virtues, for she teaches self-control and understanding, righteousness and courage, than which nothing is more useful to men in life.
8| And if a man longs for wide experience, she knows the things of old and can infer the things to come; she understands the turns of speech and the solutions of riddles; she foreknows signs and wonders, and the outcomes of seasons and times.
9| So I determined to bring her home as my companion, since I knew she would serve as my adviser in prosperity, and offer solace amid worry and sorrow.
10| Because of her I shall have glory among the crowds, and honor among the elders, though I am young;
11| I shall be found keen in judgment, and I shall be admired in the sight of rulers;
12| when I am silent they will wait for me, and when I speak they will pay attention, and if I go on speaking they will lay their hand upon their mouth.
13| Because of her I shall have immortality, and I shall leave behind an eternal memory to those who come after me.
14| I shall govern peoples, and nations will be subject to me;
15| dread tyrants will fear me when they hear of me; among the people I will show myself good, and in war courageous.
16| When I have entered my house I shall find rest with her, for her company has no bitterness, and life with her no pain, but gladness and joy.
17| When I had considered these things within myself, and pondered in my heart that there is immortality in kinship with wisdom,
18| and in her friendship is good delight, and in the labors of her hands is wealth unfailing, and in the exercise of conversing with her is understanding, and renown in sharing her words, I went about seeking how I might take her for my own.
19| Now I was a child of good nature, and a good soul fell to my lot,
20| or rather, being good, I entered a body undefiled.
21| But knowing that I could not otherwise possess her unless God gave her to me—and this too was a mark of understanding, to know whose gift it was—I turned to the Lord and pleaded with him, and said with all my heart: