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Benefits of wisdom

My son, accept my words
    and store up my commands.
Turn your ear toward wisdom,
    and stretch your mind toward understanding.
Call out for insight,
    and cry aloud for understanding.
Seek it like silver;
    search for it like hidden treasure.
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
    and discover the knowledge of God.
The Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He reserves ability for those with integrity.
    He is a shield for those who live a blameless life.
He protects the paths of justice
    and guards the way of those who are loyal to him.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
    as well as integrity, every good course.
10 Wisdom will enter your mind,
    and knowledge will fill you with delight.
11 Discretion will guard you;
    understanding will protect you.
12 Wisdom will rescue you from the evil path,
    from people who twist their words.
13 They forsake the way of integrity
    and go on obscure paths.
14 They enjoy doing evil,
    rejoicing in their twisted evil.
15 Their paths are confused;
    they get lost on their way.
16 Wisdom will rescue you from the mysterious woman,
    from the foreign woman with her slick words.
17 She leaves behind the partner of her youth;
    she even forgets her covenant with God.
18 Her house sinks down to death,
    and her paths go down to the shadowy dead.
19 All those who go to her will never return;
    they will never again reach the ways of the living.
20 So you should stay on the path of good people,
    guarding the road of the righteous.
21 Those who have integrity will dwell in the land;
    the innocent will remain in it.
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land,
    and the treacherous will be ripped up.

The Value of Wisdom

My son, if you receive my words,
And (A)treasure my commands within you,
So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
(B)If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
(C)Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
(D)For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
(E)He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
He guards the paths of justice,
And (F)preserves the way of His saints.
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;
(G)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 (H)walk in the ways of darkness;
14 (I)Who rejoice in doing evil,
And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
15 (J)Whose ways are crooked,
And who are devious in their paths;
16 To deliver you from (K)the immoral woman,
(L)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 (M)her house [a]leads down to death,
And her paths to the dead;
19 None who go to her return,
Nor do they [b]regain the paths of life—
20 So you may walk in the way of goodness,
And keep to the paths of righteousness.
21 For the upright will dwell in the (N)land,
And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be [c]cut off from the [d]earth,
And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:18 sinks
  2. Proverbs 2:19 Lit. reach
  3. Proverbs 2:22 destroyed
  4. Proverbs 2:22 land

The good results of wise teaching

My child, listen to my teaching. Think about my commands. Listen carefully, so that you understand what wisdom really is. Yes, always try to learn what is right. Never stop trying to understand. Look for wisdom as carefully as you would look for silver, or valuable jewels.

Then you will understand how to respect the Lord with fear. You will learn all about God. It is the Lord who gives wisdom to people. He teaches us to understand things, so that we know what is true. He helps good people to be wise in how they live. And he keeps honest people safe. He protects the lives of righteous people. He takes care of people who serve him faithfully.

So learn from God. Then you will understand what is right, true and fair. You will know the best way to live. 10 You will become wise in your thoughts. Your knowledge of what is right will make you happy.

11 You will know the right thing to do, and that will keep you safe. 12 You will not join with wicked people. You will keep away from those who speak false things. 13 Those people no longer follow honest ways. They live in dark places. 14 They enjoy doing wicked and evil things. 15 They only do wrong things. They are always deceiving others.

16 If you have wisdom, you will not listen to the sweet words of a prostitute. A woman who likes to have sex with many men will not deceive you. 17 That kind of woman leaves her own husband. She married him when she was young. Now she forgets what she promised to God at the time of her marriage.

18 Do not go into her house! If you do, you will be on the road to death. If you follow her, you will arrive at the home of the spirits of dead people. 19 Anybody who visits her will never return. He will never find the way back to a good life.

20 If you have wisdom, you will enjoy life, as good people do. You will live as righteous people live. 21 Good and honest people will continue to live in our land. 22 But God will remove wicked people from the land. He will throw out all those who are not faithful.

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