She has sent out her maidservants; she calls out from the heights of the city.
Parallel translations
- WEB She has sent out her maidens. She cries from the highest places of the city:
- KJV She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
- NKJV She has sent out her maidens, She cries out from the highest places of the city,
- NASB She has sent out her attendants, she calls out From the tops of the heights of the city:
- NLT She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Wisdom sends out her servants and calls publicly from the heights of the city. Her invitation is open, urgent, and offered to all.
Overview
Wisdom does not wait passively but actively sends out messengers and proclaims her call from the most public places. This open, earnest summons reflects the seeking heart of God, who calls broadly to all who will hear. It foreshadows the proclamation of the gospel, sent out through messengers to the ends of the earth (Romans 10:14-15).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Prov 9:14She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city,
- Prov 8:1–3Does not wisdom call out, and understanding raise her voice?
- Matt 22:3–4He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.
- Ps 68:11The Lord gives the command; a great company of women proclaim it:
- Prov 1:20–23Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square;
- 2 Cor 5:20–21Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.
- Luke 11:49Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’
- Matt 22:9Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’
- John 18:20“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered. “I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.
- Luke 14:21–23The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
- John 7:37On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- Luke 14:17When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
- Rom 10:15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 9:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.