And finally, the third proclamation is contained in the 9th chapter. It is usually better known than the previous two, since it is read as the third paremia on the feasts of the Mother of God: "Wisdom built herself a house, hewn out its seven pillars, killed the sacrifice, dissolved her wine, and prepared a table for herself; She sent her servants from the high places of the city to proclaim: "Whoever is foolish, turn hither!" And she said to the dull-witted: "Come, eat my bread and drink the wine that I have mixed; forsake foolishness, and live, and walk in the way of understanding."<... >The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding; for through me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be added" (Proverbs 9:1-6, 10). If we continue the line of linking these speeches to sacred history, it is easy to see here the apostles who were sent after Christ had established the Church to preach the world. All has already been accomplished, and all are invited to the solemn meal of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9). It is clear that since the offering of sacrifice and the building of the Church (the house on seven pillars, understood as sacraments) became possible only through the Incarnation, which took place with the participation of the Mother of God, this paremia is read on the feasts of the Mother of God. Such an understanding of this passage is also recorded in hymnography:

"The all-guilty and life-giver, the immeasurable Wisdom of God built a temple for Himself from the Pure Unadulterated Mother: for Christ our God was glorified in the temple.

Secretly leading his friends, He prepares a meal for the nourishment of the soul, and truly the Wisdom of God dissolves the cup of immortality for the faithful: let us draw near piously, and cry out: Glorified is Christ our God.

Let us hear all the faithful, summoning by lofty preaching the uncreated and natural Wisdom of God, crying out: Taste and understand, as Christ is, cry out: Glorified is Christ our God" [On Holy and Great Thursday at Matins, Canon, Ode 1, Troparia 1-3 // Lenten Triodion].

As a means of correcting dull-witted (i.e., suffering from a lack of virtue) people, bread and wine are offered, which usually do not increase intelligence. This meal points to the Eucharist, by which the human soul is healed and makes it a receptacle of Wisdom, because by the Eucharist man is united with Christ.

By the meal prepared by Wisdom one can understand not only the Eucharist, but also the teaching of the Savior. St. Basil the Great says that the Scriptures "speak of everything in a higher sign, by the image of the bodily giving us to understand the spiritual. For he calls the verbal food of the soul a meal, to which he summons with lofty preaching, that is, teachings that do not contain anything low and contemptible" [12, part 4, p. 198].

Almost at the end of the book, the following words are found: "Who ascended to heaven and descended? Who gathered the wind in his handfuls? Who tied water in his clothes? Who set up all the boundaries of the earth? What is his name? And what is the name of his son? Do you know?" (30: 4). You can consider them as a rhetorical question – in the sense that a person does not have an answer. But you can also see in them a return to the beginning. Especially the question of the name of the Son in the context of the need to comprehend wisdom, the One who is actually Wisdom.

About stupidity. In contrast to the wise, a stupid person is not just a person who is not very smart. Madness is a concept associated with wickedness: "He is a fool in his heart, saying, There is no God" (Psalm 52:2). That is why Christ says in the Sermon on the Mount: "... whosoever shall say (to his brother), 'Thou fool,' shall be liable to hell fire" (Matt. 5:22). Therefore, when the Holy Scriptures speak of stupidity, it must be understood that foolishness, like wisdom, goes back to the very core of human life, namely, to his self-determination in relation to God. And therefore the wisdom of God is completely incomprehensible to a fool. It would seem that this is a gift from God and it could be given to a fool as well, but since a fool is one who turns away from God, then accordingly such a person cannot receive this gift. "For the ignorant speaketh foolishness, and his heart thinketh the wicked, to act hypocritically, and to speak blasphemy against the Lord, to deprive the soul of the hungry of bread, and to take away the drink of him that thirsts" (Isaiah 32:6).

The Gospel parable calls the rich man who "wisely" decided to expand the granaries a madman. He thinks only about himself and about the satiety of the body. Therefore, being smart and enterprising on the earthly plane, he turns out to be insane in the face of eternity.

But in revealing the concept of stupidity, we should go further. If the personification of Wisdom in the Book of Proverbs is a kind and prudent wife [see 15, p. 23], then foolishness is a profligate woman.

"When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge is pleasing to your soul, then prudence will protect you, understanding will guard you<... >That thou mayest save thee from another's wife, from a stranger who softeneth her speech, who hath forsaken the leader of her youth, and hast forgotten the covenant of her God. Her house leads to death, and her paths to the dead; no one who enters into it returns, nor enters the way of life" (Proverbs 2:10-11, 16-19).

"For the mouth of a strange woman pours out honey, and her speech is softer than oil; but the consequences of it are bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword; her feet descend to death, her feet reach hell. If thou wouldst comprehend the path of her life, her ways are not constant, and thou shalt not know them" (Proverbs 5:3-6).

A strange wife lures into her net with sweet words (Proverbs 2:16; 5:3; 6:24; 7:21), although prostitutes usually use other methods [see 1, p. 34]. From the above quotations it is clear that the folly that the profligate wife represents is impiety and its source, the devil. This is especially evident from the fact that immediately after the third proclamation of Wisdom follows a description of the manner in which folly operates:

"A reckless, noisy, foolish, and ignorant woman sits down at the door of her house on a chair, in the high places of the city, to call to those who pass by the road, who go straight on their own paths: 'Whosoever is a fool, turn hither!' And he does not know that the dead are there, and that in the depths of hell they are called by her. [But jump away, do not linger in the spot, do not fix your gaze on it; for in this way you will pass through foreign waters. Turn away from foreign waters, and do not drink from a strange spring, so that you may live a long time, and that the years of life may be added to you.]" (Proverbs 9:13-18). The devil tries to imitate God in everything, but, having nothing of his own, he is forced to be content with what is stolen and hidden. Let us note that stupidity tries to lure not the dull-witted, but those who go their own way.