She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city,
Parallel translations
- WEB She has sent out her maidens. She cries from the highest places of the city:
- BSB She has sent out her maidservants; she calls out from the heights 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 9:14For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
- Prov 8:1–3Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
- Matt 22:3–4And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
- Ps 68:11The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.
- Prov 1:20–23Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
- 2 Cor 5:20–21Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
- Luke 11:49Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:
- Matt 22:9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
- John 18:20Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.
- Luke 14:21–23So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
- John 7:37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
- Luke 14:17And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
- Rom 10:15And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
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.