Proverbs 2

The Value of Wisdom

1 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find 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 uprightly;8 He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep 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 rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked;15 Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;16 To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.18 For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;19 None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life20 So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness.21 For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;22 But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

PROVERBS 2

Wisdom and Bad Friends

1 My child, you must follow
and treasure my teachings
and my instructions.

2 Keep in tune with wisdom
and think what it means
to have common sense.

3 Beg as loud as you can
for good common sense.

4 Search for wisdom
as you would search for silver
or hidden treasure.

5 Then you will understand
what it means to respect
and to know the [Lord] God.

6  t All wisdom comes from the [Lord],
and so do common sense
and understanding.

7 God gives helpful advicet
to everyone who obeys him
and protects those
who live as they should.

8 God sees that justice is done,
and he watches over everyone
who is faithful to him.

9 With wisdom you will learn
what is right
and honest and fair.

10 Wisdom will control your mind,
and you will be pleased
with knowledge.

11 Sound judgment and good sense
will watch over you.

12 Wisdom will protect you
from evil schemes
and from those liars

13 who turned from doing good
to live in the darkness.

14 Most of all they enjoy
being mean and deceitful.

15 They are dishonest themselves,
and so are all their deeds.

Wisdom and Sexual Purity

16 Wisdom will protect you
from the smooth talk
of a sinful woman,

17 who breaks her wedding vows
and leaves the man she married
when she was young.

18 The road to her house leads
down
to the dark world
of the dead.

19 Visit her, and you will never
find the road to life again.

20 Follow the example
of good people
and live an honest life.

21 If you are honest and innocent,
you will keep your land;

22 if you do wrong
and can never be trusted,
you will be rooted out.