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Proverbs 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Proverbs 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 2
The Blessings of Wisdom[a]
1 My son, if you receive my words
and treasure my commands,
2 Turning your ear to wisdom,[b]
inclining your heart to understanding;
3 Yes, if you call for intelligence,
and to understanding raise your voice;
4 If you seek her like silver,
and like hidden treasures search her out,
5 Then will you understand the fear of the Lord;
the knowledge of God you will find;
6 For the Lord gives wisdom,
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;(A)
7 He has success in store for the upright,
is the shield of those who walk honestly,
8 Guarding the paths of justice,
protecting the way of his faithful ones,
9 Then you will understand what is right and just,
what is fair, every good path;
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
knowledge will be at home in your soul,
11 Discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you;
12 [c]Saving you from the way of the wicked,
from those whose speech is perverse.
13 From those who have left the straight paths
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 Who delight in doing evil
and celebrate perversity;
15 Whose ways are crooked,
whose paths are devious;
16 [d]Saving you from a stranger,
from a foreign woman with her smooth words,(B)
17 One who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 For her path sinks down to death,
and her footsteps lead to the shades.[e](C)
19 None who enter there come back,
or gain the paths of life.
20 Thus you may walk in the way of the good,
and keep to the paths of the just.
21 [f]For the upright will dwell in the land,(D)
people of integrity will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land,
the faithless will be rooted out of it.
Footnotes
- 2:1–22 Chapter 2 is a single poem, an acrostic of twenty-two lines, the number of consonants in the Hebrew alphabet. In vv. 1–11, the letter aleph, the first letter of the alphabet, predominates, and in vv. 12–22, the letter lamed, the first letter of the second half of the alphabet. A single structure runs through the whole: if (aleph) you search…then (aleph) the Lord/Wisdom will grant…saving (lamed) you from the wicked man/woman…thus (lamed) you can walk in the safe way….
- 2:2–3 Wisdom…understanding…intelligence: various names or aspects of the same gift.
- 2:12–15 As in 1:8–19, there is an obstacle to the quest for wisdom—deceitful and violent men. Cf. also 4:10–19. They offer a way of life that is opposed to the way of wisdom.
- 2:16–19 A second obstacle and counter-figure to Wisdom, personified as an attractive woman, is the “stranger,” or “foreigner,” from outside the territory or kinship group, hence inappropriate as a marriage partner. In Proverbs she comes to be identified with Woman Folly, whose deceitful words promise life but lead to death. Woman Folly appears also in chap. 5, 6:20–35, chap. 7 and 9:13–18. Covenant: refers to the vow uttered with divine sanction at the woman’s previous marriage, as the parallel verse suggests. She is already married and relations with her would be adulterous.
- 2:18 Shades: the inhabitants of Sheol.
- 2:21–22 Verses 21–22 echo the ending of Wisdom’s speech in 1:32–33, in which refusing Wisdom’s invitation meant death and obedience to her meant life. The same set of ideas is found in Ps 37 (especially vv. 3, 9, 11, 22, 29, 34, and 38): to live on (or inherit) the land and to be uprooted from the land are expressions of divine recompense.
Mishle 2
Orthodox Jewish Bible
Mishle 2
Orthodox Jewish Bible
2 Beni (my son), if thou wilt receive my words, and treasure my mitzvot with thee;
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto chochmah, and apply thine lev to tevunah (understanding);
3 Yea, if thou criest out after binah, and liftest up thy voice for tevunah (understanding)
4 If thou seekest her as kesef, and searchest for her as for matmonim (hidden treasures);
5 Then shalt thou understand the Yirat Hashem, and find the Da’as Elohim.
6 For Hashem giveth chochmah; out of His Peh (mouth) cometh da’as (knowledge) and tevunah (understanding).
7 He layeth up tushiyyah (wise Torah counsel) for the yesharim (upright ones); He is a mogen (shield) to them that walk in blamelessness.
8 He keepeth the orkhot mishpat, and is shomer over the derech of His Chasidim.
9 Then shalt thou understand tzedek, and mishpat, and mesharim (equity, fairness)‖every ma’agal tov (good path).
10 When chochmah entereth into thine lev, and da’as (knowledge) is pleasant unto thy nefesh;
11 Mezimah (discretion) shall be shomer over thee, tevunah (understanding) shall safeguard thee;
12 To save thee from the derech rah, from the ish medaber tahpukhot (man speaking perverse things);
13 Who leaving the orkhot yosher (paths of uprightness), walk in the drakhei choshech (ways of darkness);
14 Who rejoice to do rah, and delight in the tahpukhot (perverse things) of rah (evil);
15 Whose orkhot (paths) are crooked ones, and they are devious in their ma’agalot (paths);
16 To save thee from the isha zarah (strange woman), even from the nokhriyah (strange [immoral] woman) which useth smooth words;
17 Which forsaketh the alluf (companion, husband) of her youth, and forgetteth the brit (covenant) of her G-d.
18 For her bais inclineth toward mavet, and her ma’agalot (paths) to the refa’im (spirits of the dead).
19 None that go unto her return again, neither attain they to the orkhot chayyim (paths of life).
20 That thou mayest walk in the derech tovim, and be shomer over the orkhot tzaddikim (paths of the righteous).
21 For the yesharim (upright ones) shall dwell in the land, and the tamimim (blameless, faultless ones) shall remain in it.
22 But the resha’im shall be cut off from ha’aretz, and the bogedim (treacherous ones) shall be rooted out of it.
Proverbs 2
New International Version
Proverbs 2
New International Version
Moral Benefits of Wisdom
2 My son,(A) if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding(B)—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight(C)
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,(D)
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.(E)
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;(F)
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.(G)
7 He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield(H) to those whose walk is blameless,(I)
8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.(J)
9 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)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:17 Or covenant of her God
Proverbs 2
King James Version
Proverbs 2
King James Version
2 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Proverbs 2
New King James Version
Proverbs 2
New King James Version
The Value of Wisdom
2 My son, if you receive my words,
And (A)treasure my commands within you,
2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
4 (B)If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 (C)Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
6 (D)For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
(E)He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
8 He guards the paths of justice,
And (F)preserves the way of His saints.
9 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
- Proverbs 2:18 sinks
- Proverbs 2:19 Lit. reach
- Proverbs 2:22 destroyed
- Proverbs 2:22 land
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.