Proverbs 2
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
2 My son, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you,
2 Making your ear attentive to skillful and godly [a]Wisdom and inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding [applying all your powers to the quest for it];
3 Yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
4 If you seek [Wisdom] as for silver and search for skillful and godly Wisdom as for hidden treasures,
5 Then you will understand the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of [our omniscient] God.(A)
6 For the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He hides away sound and godly Wisdom and stores it for the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him); He is a shield to those who walk uprightly and in integrity,
8 That He may guard the paths of justice; yes, He preserves the way of His saints.(B)
9 Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and fair dealing [in every area and relation]; yes, you will understand every good path.
10 For skillful and godly Wisdom shall enter into your heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant to you.
11 Discretion shall watch over you, understanding shall keep you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil and the evil men, from men who speak perverse things and are liars,
13 Men who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 Who rejoice to do evil and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 Who are crooked in their ways, wayward and devious in their paths.
16 [Discretion shall watch over you, understanding shall keep you] to deliver you from the alien woman, from the outsider with her flattering words,(C)
17 Who forsakes the husband and guide of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For her house sinks down to death and her paths to the spirits [of the dead].
19 None who go to her return again, neither do they attain or regain the paths of life.
20 So may you walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of the [consistently] righteous (the upright, in right standing with God).
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the men of integrity, blameless and complete [in God’s sight], shall remain in it;
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the treacherous shall be rooted out of it.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:2 See footnote on Prov. 1:2.
Proverbs 2
Living Bible
2 1-2 Every young man who listens to me and obeys my instructions will be given wisdom and good sense. 3-5 Yes, if you want better insight and discernment, and are searching for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure, then wisdom will be given you and knowledge of God himself; you will soon learn the importance of reverence for the Lord and of trusting him.
6 For the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding. 7-8 He grants good sense to the godly—his saints. He is their shield, protecting them and guarding their pathway. 9 He shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to find the right decision every time. 10 For wisdom and truth will enter the very center of your being, filling your life with joy. 11-13 You will be given the sense to stay away from evil men who want you to be their partners in crime—men who turn from God’s ways to walk down dark and evil paths 14 and exult in doing wrong, for they thoroughly enjoy their sins. 15 Everything they do is crooked and wrong.
16-17 Only wisdom from the Lord can save a man from the flattery of prostitutes; these girls have abandoned their husbands and flouted the laws of God. 18 Their houses lie along the road to death and hell. 19 The men who enter them are doomed. None of these men will ever be the same again.[a]
20 Follow the steps of the godly instead, and stay on the right path, 21 for only good men enjoy life to the full;[b] 22 evil men lose the good things they might have had,[c] and they themselves shall be destroyed.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:19 will ever be the same again, literally, “will ever return to the ways of life.”
- Proverbs 2:21 enjoy life to the full, literally, “shall dwell in the land.”
- Proverbs 2:22 lose the good things they might have had, literally, “shall be cut off from the land.”
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.