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Yahweh Gives Wisdom

My son, if you will (A)receive my words
And (B)treasure my commandments within you,
(C)To make your ear pay attention to wisdom,
Incline your heart to discernment;
For if you call out for understanding,
Give your voice for discernment;
If you seek her as (D)silver
And search for her as for (E)hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the (F)fear of Yahweh
And find the knowledge of God.
For (G)Yahweh gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and discernment.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright,
A (H)shield to those who walk in integrity,
To guard the paths of justice,
And He (I)keeps the way of His holy ones.
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.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:16 A forbidden woman, outside of the marriage covenant; an adulteress; parallel with foreign woman; so in Prov
  2. Proverbs 2:16 An unfamiliar woman, alien to the marriage covenant; parallel with strange woman
  3. Proverbs 2:18 Lit bows down
  4. Proverbs 2:18 Lit departed spirits

The Value of Wisdom

(A)My son, (B)if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
    and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
    and raise your voice (C)for understanding,
if you seek it like (D)silver
    and search for it as for (E)hidden treasures,
then (F)you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
For (G)the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
    he is (H)a shield to those who (I)walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
    and (J)watching over the way of his (K)saints.
(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.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:16 Hebrew strange
  2. Proverbs 2:16 Hebrew foreign woman
  3. Proverbs 2:18 Hebrew to the Rephaim

13 (A)How blessed is the man who finds wisdom
And the man who obtains discernment.
14 For her (B)profit is better than the profit of silver
And her produce better than fine gold.
15 She is (C)more precious than [a]pearls;
And nothing you desire compares with her.
16 (D)Length of days is in her right hand;
In her left hand are (E)riches and glory.
17 Her (F)ways are pleasant ways
And all her pathways are (G)peace.
18 She is a (H)tree of life to those who seize her,
And all those who hold her fast are blessed.
19 Yahweh (I)by wisdom founded the earth,
By discernment He (J)established the heavens.
20 By His knowledge the (K)deeps were split up
And the (L)skies drip with dew.
21 My son, (M)let them not deviate from your eyes;
Guard sound wisdom and discretion,
22 So they will be (N)life for your soul
And (O)grace for your neck.
23 Then you will (P)walk in your way securely
And your foot will not (Q)stumble.
24 When you (R)lie down, you will not be in dread;
You will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 3:15 Or corals

Blessed Is the One Who Finds Wisdom

13 (A)Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
    and the one who gets understanding,
14 (B)for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
    and her profit better than (C)gold.
15 She is more precious than (D)jewels,
    and (E)nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 (F)Long life is in her right hand;
    in her left hand are (G)riches and honor.
17 Her (H)ways are ways of pleasantness,
    and all her paths are peace.
18 She is (I)a tree of life to those who (J)lay hold of her;
    those who hold her fast are called blessed.

19 (K)The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
    by understanding (L)he established the heavens;
20 by his knowledge (M)the deeps broke open,
    and (N)the clouds drop down the dew.

21 My son, (O)do not lose sight of these—
    keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22 and they will be (P)life for your soul
    and (Q)adornment for your neck.
23 (R)Then you will walk on your way securely,
    (S)and your foot will not stumble.
24 (T)If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
    when you lie down, (U)your sleep will be sweet.

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