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
New Century Version
Rewards of Wisdom
2 My child, listen to what I say
and remember what I command you.
2 Listen carefully to wisdom;
set your mind on understanding.
3 Cry out for wisdom,
and beg for understanding.
4 Search for it like silver,
and hunt for it like hidden treasure.
5 Then you will understand respect for the Lord,
and you will find that you know God.
6 Only the Lord gives wisdom;
he gives knowledge and understanding.
7 He stores up wisdom for those who are honest.
Like a shield he protects the innocent.
8 He makes sure that justice is done,
and he protects those who are loyal to him.
9 Then you will understand what is honest and fair
and what is the good and right thing to do.
10 Wisdom will come into your mind,
and knowledge will be pleasing to you.
11 Good sense will protect you;
understanding will guard you.
12 It will keep you from the wicked,
from those whose words are bad,
13 who don’t do what is right
but what is evil.
14 They enjoy doing wrong
and are happy to do what is crooked and evil.
15 What they do is wrong,
and their ways are dishonest.
16 It will save you from the unfaithful wife
who tries to lead you into adultery with pleasing words.
17 She leaves the husband she married when she was young.
She ignores the promise she made before God.
18 Her house is on the way to death;
those who took that path are now all dead.
19 No one who goes to her comes back
or walks the path of life again.
20 But wisdom will help you be good
and do what is right.
21 Those who are honest will live in the land,
and those who are innocent will remain in it.
22 But the wicked will be removed from the land,
and the unfaithful will be thrown out of it.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
