1Wisdom has built her house.
She has carved out her seven pillars.
2She has prepared her meat.
She has mixed her wine.
She has also set her table.
3She has sent out her maidens.
She cries from the highest places of the city:
4“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,
5“Come, eat some of my bread,
Drink some of the wine which I have mixed!
6Leave your simple ways, and live.
Walk in the way of understanding.”
7One who corrects a mocker invites insult.
One who reproves a wicked man invites abuse.
8Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you.
Reprove a wise person, and he will love you.
9Instruct a wise person, and he will be still wiser.
Teach a righteous person, and he will increase in learning.
10The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom.
The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11For by me your days will be multiplied.
The years of your life will be increased.
12If you are wise, you are wise for yourself.
If you mock, you alone will bear it.
13The foolish woman is loud,
undisciplined, and knows nothing.
14She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat in the high places of the city,
15to call to those who pass by,
who go straight on their ways,
16“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.”
As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,
17“Stolen water is sweet.
Food eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18But he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
The Book of Ecclesiastes is classified as part of the "wisdom literature" of the ancient Hebrews. This genre may be said to encompass all literary writings current in ancient Mesopotamia (as well as in the neighboring lands of the Near East, including Egypt) whose content is concerned, in one way or another, with life and nature, and with man's evaluation of them, based either on direct observation or insight. Helpful to a determination of the usage of the term "Wisdom Literature” is an understanding of the root hkm, which underlies the basic expression of "wisdom" in Hebrew and its cognate languages. The root hkm in Akkadian has the meaning of "clever, cunning" as well as "wise" when applied to kings, elders, scribes, diviners, and especially craftsmen and technicians. The notion of skillful "making" gave rise to various adjectives meaning "experienced, able." The force of the term "wisdom" in Akkadian, therefore, was upon a skill or experience that brought expertise or enablement in an endeavor. In Biblical Hebrew, this same basic nuance of "skill" is evident in all derivatives of hkm. For example, the term is used of the special ability of "artisans" in Exod 28:3; 31:1-11; 35:30, 35; 36:1-3, of the technical expertise of "stonemasons" in 1 Chr 22:15, of the trained ability of "goldsmiths" in Jer 10:9, of the experienced competence of "mariners" in Ps 107:27, of the craftsmanship of "ship builders" in Ezek 27:8-9, of the artistry of "artificers" in 1 Kings 7:14, and of the wizardry (unusual art) of magicians in Isa 3:3. It also is employed to denote the peculiar prowess enabling the heads of tribes, judges, and kings to perform either special or official tasks (cf. Deut 1:13,15; 16:19; 2 Sam 14:20). Of the 318 uses of the root hkm in the Tanach, 196 instances appear in Wisdom Literature (i.e. Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and some Psalms). In these contexts it bears an ethical/moral nuance, for just as in the secular realm it had been applied to technical skill, so here it is applied to the ability to cope with life in general. Scott in his study of the term in the Wisdom writings concluded: "thus “wisdom” (Hebrew hokmah) gained the sense of 'skill in living,' the trained ability to live in equilibrium with the moral order of the world." The Israelites viewed the world as an ordered system (under the control of G-d, cf. Job 1:21; 42:1-2; Prov 16:1-4; 21:1; Eccl 3:1-8; 5:18-19; 12:14), and the responsibility of wisdom was the instruction of men in the practical affairs of life in such a system. This wisdom is, however, neither simply utilitarian or amoral, but linked inseparably with the concepts of "righteousness" and “the fear of the LORD" (Prov 9:9-10). Therefore, for the Israelite, "wisdom" and the literature that develops a “skill in living life” is related to God's righteous order that has been established ultimately for man's good. As part of this genre, Ecclesiastes was designed as a means of training youth in the often unequal and contradictory experiences of life in this world while reminding them of the godly values and virtues that order the world (Eccl 3:11-12; 8:11-12). Understanding these “facts of life” (Eccl 8:17; 10:2; 11:5) and how to maintain “spiritual balance” throughout the tests of life (Eccl 11:9-10; 12:1, 6, 14) is the product of “wisdom.”