智慧的益处

孩子啊,
    你若接受我的教诲,
    珍爱我的诫命,
侧耳聆听智慧,
    倾心渴慕悟性;
你若呼求洞见,
    竭力追求悟性,
寻它如寻银子,
    找它如找宝藏,
你就会懂得敬畏耶和华,
    认识上帝。
因为耶和华赐人智慧,
    知识和悟性出自祂的口。
祂使正直人充满智慧,
    是行为纯全者的盾牌。
祂看守正义之路,
    护卫虔诚人的道。
这样,你就明白何为仁义、
    公平和正直,
    懂得一切美善之道。
10 因为智慧必进入你心,
    知识必令你的灵欢快。
11 明辨力必护佑你,
    悟性必看顾你。
12 智慧必救你远离恶道,
    脱离言语荒谬的人。
13 他们舍弃正道,走上黑路,
14 以行恶为乐,喜爱恶人的邪僻;
15 他们的道路歪邪,行径扭曲。

16 智慧要救你脱离淫妇,
    脱离花言巧语的妓女。
17 她撇弃了年轻时的丈夫,
    忘了在上帝面前立的约。
18 她的家通向死亡,
    她的路直达阴间。
19 到她那里的人都有去无回,
    找不到生命之道。
20 所以你要行善人的路,
    守义人的道。
21 因为在地上,
    正直人必安居,
    纯全无过的人必长存,
22 恶人必遭灭绝,
    奸徒必被铲除。

My son, if you accept what I am telling you
    and store my counsel and directives deep within you,
If you listen for Lady Wisdom, attune your ears to her,
    and engage your mind to understand what she is telling you,
If you cry out to her for insight
    and beg for understanding,
If you sift through the clamor of everything around you
    to seek her like some precious prize,
    to search for her like buried treasure;
Then you will grasp what it means to truly respect the Eternal,
    and you will have discovered the knowledge of the one True God.
The Eternal is ready to share His wisdom with us,
    for His words bring true knowledge and insight;
He has stored up the essentials of sound wisdom for those who do right;
    He acts as a shield for those who value integrity.
God protects the paths of those who pursue justice,
    watching over the lives of those who keep faith with Him.
With this wisdom you will be able to choose the right road,
    seek justice, and decide what is good and fair
10 Because wisdom will penetrate deep within
    and knowledge will become a good friend to your soul.
11 Sound judgment will stand guard over you,
    and understanding will watch over you as the Lord promised.
12 Wisdom will keep you from following the way of evildoers,
    of those who twist words to pervert the truth,
13 Of those who reject the right road
    for a darker, more sinister way of life,
14 Of those who enjoy evil
    and pursue perverse pleasures,
15 Of those who journey down a crooked path,
    constantly figuring out new ways to trick and deceive others.

16 Wisdom will pluck you from the trap of a seductive woman,
    from the enticing propositions of the adulteress
17 Who chose to leave the husband of her youth,
    to forget her sacred promises to her God;
18 For her house is on the road that leads to death,
    and her path goes down to the shadowy pit.
19 Those who go to her will never return;
    they will never again find their way back to true life.

20 As for you, you should walk like those who are good
    and keep to the paths of those who love justice,
21 For those who live right will remain in the land
    and those with integrity will endure here.
22 But not the wicked; they will be forced out and banned from this promised land,
    and those who deal in deceit will be plucked up like weeds.

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

My son,(A) if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding(B)
indeed, if you call out for insight(C)
    and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,(D)
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.(E)
For the Lord gives wisdom;(F)
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.(G)
He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield(H) to those whose walk is blameless,(I)
for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.(J)

Then you will understand(K) what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,(L)
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.(M)

12 Wisdom will save(N) you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,(O)
14 who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,(P)
15 whose paths are crooked(Q)
    and who are devious in their ways.(R)

16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,(S)
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
    and ignored the covenant she made before God.[a](T)
18 Surely her house leads down to death
    and her paths to the spirits of the dead.(U)
19 None who go to her return
    or attain the paths of life.(V)

20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,(W)
    and the blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked(X) will be cut off from the land,(Y)
    and the unfaithful will be torn from it.(Z)

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:17 Or covenant of her God