1:21

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

21a
in the main concourse she cries aloud,

21b
at the city gates she makes her speech :

1:21a–b

in the main concourse…at the city gates: The phrase in the main concourse refers to the place where the streets converged, at the entrance of the city gates. So these two phrases refer to the same area as the “public squares.”

If your readers will not understand city gates as a place where people gathered, you may want to add a footnote. Here is one possible wording for a footnote:

Inside the gates/entrance of the city was a wide place where people gathered to talk and to do business.

General Comment on 1:20–21

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in both verses. For example:

Wisdom ⌊goes⌋ outside to the wide-areas/plaza near the gates of the city, where people gather ⌊to conduct business⌋ . She raises her voice to speak to them.

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