The Commendation of Wisdom

1Does not wisdom call,

And understanding lift up her voice?

2On top of the heights beside the way,

Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

3Beside the gates, at the opening to the city,

At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

4“To you, O men, I call,

And my voice is to the sons of men.

5O naive ones, understand prudence;

And, O fools, understand wisdom.

6Listen, for I will speak noble things;

And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.

7For my mouth will utter truth;

And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;

There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.

9They are all straightforward to him who understands,

And right to those who find knowledge.

10Take my instruction and not silver,

And knowledge rather than choicest gold.

11For wisdom is better than jewels;

And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

12“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

And I find knowledge and discretion.

13The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;

Pride and arrogance and the evil way

And the perverted mouth, I hate.

14Counsel is mine and sound wisdom;

I am understanding, power is mine.

15By me kings reign,

And rulers decree justice.

16By me princes rule, and nobles,

All who judge rightly.

17I love those who love me;

And those who diligently seek me will find me.

18Riches and honor are with me,

Enduring wealth and righteousness.

19My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,

And my yield better than choicest silver.

20I walk in the way of righteousness,

In the midst of the paths of justice,

21To endow those who love me with wealth,

That I may fill their treasuries.

22“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,

Before His works of old.

23From everlasting I was established,

From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.

24When there were no depths I was brought forth,

When there were no springs abounding with water.

25Before the mountains were settled,

Before the hills I was brought forth;

26While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,

Nor the first dust of the world.

27When He established the heavens, I was there,

When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

28When He made firm the skies above,

When the springs of the deep became fixed,

29When He set for the sea its boundary

So that the water would not transgress His command,

When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

30Then I was beside Him, as a master workman;

And I was daily His delight,

Rejoicing always before Him,

31Rejoicing in the world, His earth,

And having my delight in the sons of men.

32“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,

For blessed are they who keep my ways.

33Heed instruction and be wise,

And do not neglect it.

34Blessed is the man who listens to me,

Watching daily at my gates,

Waiting at my doorposts.

35For he who finds me finds life

And obtains favor from the Lord.

36But he who sins against me injures himself;

All those who hate me love death.”

The River and the Tree of Life

1Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

6And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.

7“And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.”

8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9But he *said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”

The Final Message

10And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”

12“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

16“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

18I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

20He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

21The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

1) How does Proverbs 8 describe wisdom as both a gift and a path to blessing?

2) How does Revelation 22 show the ultimate fulfillment of wisdom’s promise—life in יהוה’s restored creation?

3) What does it mean to “keep His words” in expectation of that coming restoration?

Parental Counsel

1My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor,

Have given a pledge for a stranger,

2If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,

Have been caught with the words of your mouth,

3Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;

Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,

Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.

4Give no sleep to your eyes,

Nor slumber to your eyelids;

5Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand

And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6Go to the ant, O sluggard,

Observe her ways and be wise,

7Which, having no chief,

Officer or ruler,

8Prepares her food in the summer

And gathers her provision in the harvest.

9How long will you lie down, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

10“A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest”—

11Your poverty will come in like a vagabond

And your need like an armed man.

12A worthless person, a wicked man,

Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,

13Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,

Who points with his fingers;

14Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil,

Who spreads strife.

15Therefore his calamity will come suddenly;

Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.

16There are six things which the Lord hates,

Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:

17Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

And hands that shed innocent blood,

18A heart that devises wicked plans,

Feet that run rapidly to evil,

19A false witness who utters lies,

And one who spreads strife among brothers.

The Beast from the Sea

1And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.

Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. 2And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. 3I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; 4they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” 5There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. 6And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.

7It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. 8All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.

The Beast from the Earth

11Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. 12He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life. 15And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.