Proverbs 2
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Gives Wisdom
2 My son, if you will (A)receive my words
And (B)treasure my commandments within you,
2 (C)To make your ear pay attention to wisdom,
Incline your heart to discernment;
3 For if you call out for understanding,
Give your voice for discernment;
4 If you seek her as (D)silver
And search for her as for (E)hidden treasures;
5 Then you will understand the (F)fear of Yahweh
And find the knowledge of God.
6 For (G)Yahweh gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and discernment.
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright,
A (H)shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 To guard the paths of justice,
And He (I)keeps the way of His holy ones.
9 Then you will understand (J)righteousness and justice
And equity—every (K)good track.
10 For (L)wisdom will enter your heart
And (M)knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 Discretion will (N)keep you,
Discernment will guard you,
12 To (O)deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks (P)perverse things;
13 From those who (Q)forsake the paths of uprightness
To walk in the (R)ways of darkness;
14 Who are (S)glad to do evil
And they rejoice in the perversity of evil;
15 Whose paths are (T)crooked,
And who are devious in their tracks;
16 To deliver you from the [a](U)strange woman,
From the [b](V)foreign woman who flatters with her words;
17 Who forsakes the close (W)companion of her youth
And forgets the (X)covenant of her God;
18 For (Y)her house [c]sinks down to death
And her tracks descend to the [d]dead;
19 All (Z)who go to her will not return,
And they will not reach the (AA)paths of life.
20 So that you will (AB)walk in the way of good men
And keep to the (AC)paths of the righteous.
21 For (AD)the upright will dwell in the land
And (AE)the blameless will remain in it;
22 But (AF)the wicked will be cut off from the land
And (AG)the treacherous will be (AH)torn away from it.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:16 A forbidden woman, outside of the marriage covenant; an adulteress; parallel with foreign woman; so in Prov
- Proverbs 2:16 An unfamiliar woman, alien to the marriage covenant; parallel with strange woman
- Proverbs 2:18 Lit bows down
- Proverbs 2:18 Lit departed spirits
Proverbs 2
English Standard Version
The Value of Wisdom
2 (A)My son, (B)if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice (C)for understanding,
4 if you seek it like (D)silver
and search for it as for (E)hidden treasures,
5 then (F)you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For (G)the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is (H)a shield to those who (I)walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and (J)watching over the way of his (K)saints.
9 (L)Then you will understand (M)righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 (N)discretion will (O)watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to (P)walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who (Q)rejoice in doing evil
and (R)delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose (S)paths are crooked,
(T)and who are (U)devious in their ways.
16 So (V)you will be delivered from the forbidden[a] woman,
from (W)the adulteress[b] with (X)her smooth words,
17 who forsakes (Y)the companion of her youth
and forgets (Z)the covenant of her God;
18 (AA)for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;[c]
19 none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.
20 So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright (AB)will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
22 but the wicked will be (AC)cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be (AD)rooted out of it.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:16 Hebrew strange
- Proverbs 2:16 Hebrew foreign woman
- Proverbs 2:18 Hebrew to the Rephaim
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
