Proverbs 2

The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security

1 My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,

2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;

3 For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;

4 If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;

5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD
And discover the knowledge of God.

6 For the LORD gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

8 Guarding the paths of justice,
And He preserves the way of His godly ones.

9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice
And equity and every good course.

10 For wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

11 Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,

12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things;

13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;

14 Who delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

15 Whose paths are crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;

16 To deliver you from the strange woman,
From the adulteress who flatters with her words;

17 That leaves the companion of her youth
And forgets the covenant of her God;

18 For her house sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the dead;

19 None who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the paths of life.

20 So you will walk in the way of good men
And keep to the paths of the righteous.

21 For the upright will live in the land
And the blameless will remain in it;

22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land
And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.

Proverbs 3

The Rewards of Wisdom

1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;

2 For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.

3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.

4 So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

8 It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.

9 Honor the LORD from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;

10 So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.

11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD
Or loathe His reproof,

12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom
And the man who gains understanding.

14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver
And her gain better than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than jewels;
And nothing you desire compares with her.

16 Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are riches and honor.

17 Her ways are pleasant ways
And all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who hold her fast.

19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth,
By understanding He established the heavens.

20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up
And the skies drip with dew.

21 My son, let them not vanish from your sight;
Keep sound wisdom and discretion,

22 So they will be life to your soul
And adornment to your neck.

23 Then you will walk in your way securely
And your foot will not stumble.

24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

25 Do not be afraid of sudden fear
Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes;

26 For the LORD will be your confidence
And will keep your foot from being caught.

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
When it is in your power to do it.

28 Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it, "
When you have it with you.

29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor,
While he lives securely beside you.

30 Do not contend with a man without cause,
If he has done you no harm.

31 Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.

32 For the devious are an abomination to the LORD;
But He is intimate with the upright.

33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,
But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.

34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers,
Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.

35 The wise will inherit honor,
But fools display dishonor.

Proverbs 4

A Father's Instruction

1 Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father,
And give attention that you may gain understanding,

2 For I give you sound teaching;
Do not abandon my instruction.

3 When I was a son to my father,
Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother,

4 Then he taught me and said to me,
"Let your heart hold fast my words;
Keep my commandments and live;

5 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

6 "Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;
Love her, and she will watch over you.

7 "The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;
And with all your acquiring, get understanding.

8 "Prize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.

9 "She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty."

10 Hear, my son, and accept my sayings
And the years of your life will be many.

11 I have directed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.

12 When you walk, your steps will not be impeded;
And if you run, you will not stumble.

13 Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your life.

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil men.

15 Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.

16 For they cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.

17 For they eat the bread of wickedness
And drink the wine of violence.

18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they stumble.

20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.

21 Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.

22 For they are life to those who find them
And health to all their body.

23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious speech far from you.

25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.

26 Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.

27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil.