Proverbs 2
New American Standard Bible
The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security
2 My son, if you will (A)receive my words
And (B)treasure my commandments within you,
2 (C)Make your ear attentive to wisdom;
Incline your heart to understanding.
3 For if you cry out for insight,
And [a]raise your voice for understanding;
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 the Lord,
And discover 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 a (H)shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 Guarding the paths of justice,
And He (I)watches over the way of His godly ones.
9 Then you will discern (J)righteousness, justice,
And integrity, and every (K)good path.
10 For (L)wisdom will enter your heart,
And (M)knowledge will be delightful to your soul;
11 Discretion will (N)watch over you,
Understanding will guard you,
12 To (O)rescue you from the way of evil,
From a person who speaks (P)perverse things;
13 From those who (Q)leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the (R)ways of darkness;
14 Who (S)delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
15 Whose paths are (T)crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
16 To (U)rescue you from the strange woman,
From the (V)foreign woman who flatters with her words,
17 Who leaves the (W)companion of her youth
And forgets the (X)covenant of her God;
18 For (Y)her house sinks down to death,
And her tracks lead to the [b]dead;
19 None (Z)who go to her return,
Nor do they reach the (AA)paths of life.
20 So you will (AB)walk in the way of good people
And keep to the (AC)paths of the righteous.
21 For (AD)the upright will live in the land,
And (AE)the blameless will remain in it;
22 But (AF)the wicked will be eliminated from the land,
And (AG)the treacherous will be (AH)torn away from it.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:3 Lit give
- Proverbs 2:18 Lit departed spirits
Proverbs 2
Revised Standard Version
The Value of Wisdom
2 My son, 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 cry out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it 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 in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and preserving the way of his saints.
9 Then you will understand 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 discretion will 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 walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil;
15 men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
16 You will be saved from the loose[a] woman,
from the adventuress[b] with her smooth words,
17 who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the shades;
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 good men
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land,
and men of integrity will remain in it;
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:16 Heb strange
- Proverbs 2:16 Heb foreign woman
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.