Wisdom has built her house;
        she has hewn her seven pillars.
    She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
        she has also set her table.
    She has sent out her young women to call
        from the highest places in the town,
    “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
        To him who lacks sense she says,
    “Come, eat of my bread
        and drink of the wine I have mixed.
    Leave your simple ways, and live,
        and walk in the way of insight.”
    
    
    Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
        and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
    Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
        reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
    Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
        teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
    The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
        and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
    For by me your days will be multiplied,
        and years will be added to your life.
    If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
        if you scoff, you alone will bear it.
    
    
        The woman Folly is loud;
        she is seductive and knows nothing.
    She sits at the door of her house;
        she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
    calling to those who pass by,
        who are going straight on their way,
    “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
        And to him who lacks sense she says,
    “Stolen water is sweet,
        and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
    But he does not know that the dead are there,
        that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
    
    
      The proverbs of Solomon.

    A wise son makes a glad father,
        but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
    Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
        but righteousness delivers from death.
    The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry,
        but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
    A slack hand causes poverty,
        but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
    He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
        but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
    Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
        but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
    The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
        but the name of the wicked will rot.
    The wise of heart will receive commandments,
        but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
    Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
        but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
    Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,
        and a babbling fool will come to ruin.
    The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
        but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
    Hatred stirs up strife,
        but love covers all offenses.
    On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,
        but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.
    The wise lay up knowledge,
        but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
    A rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
        the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
    The wage of the righteous leads to life,
        the gain of the wicked to sin.
    Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,
        but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.
    The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,
        and whoever utters slander is a fool.
    When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
        but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
    The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
        the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
    The lips of the righteous feed many,
        but fools die for lack of sense.
    The blessing of the LORD makes rich,
        and he adds no sorrow with it.
    Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool,
        but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
    What the wicked dreads will come upon him,
        but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
    When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more,
        but the righteous is established forever.
    Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
        so is the sluggard to those who send him.
    The fear of the LORD prolongs life,
        but the years of the wicked will be short.
    The hope of the righteous brings joy,
        but the expectation of the wicked will perish.
    The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the blameless,
        but destruction to evildoers.
    The righteous will never be removed,
        but the wicked will not dwell in the land.
    The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
        but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
    The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
        but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse. (ESV)

And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” And Stephen said:

  “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

  “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

  “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. (ESV)