Proverbs 2:1–9
2 My son, if you receive my words, And atreasure 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 bIf you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 cThen you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
6 dFor the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
eHe is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
8 He guards the paths of justice,
And fpreserves the way of His saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path.
Proverbs 2:1–9 — The New International Version (NIV)
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
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 holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
Proverbs 2:1–9 — English Standard Version (ESV)
1 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 call 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 watching over the way of his saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
Proverbs 2:1–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
1 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.
Proverbs 2:1–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)
1 My child, listen to what I say,
and treasure my commands.
2 Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.
3 Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
4 Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
8 He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.
9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,
and you will find the right way to go.
Proverbs 2:1–9 — New Century Version (NCV)
1 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.
Proverbs 2:1–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)
1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words,
And lay up my commandments with thee;
2 So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom,
And apply thy heart to understanding;
3 Yea, if thou cry after discernment,
And lift up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hid treasures:
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah,
And find the knowledge of God.
6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom;
Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding:
7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to them that walk in integrity;
8 That he may guard the paths of justice,
And preserve the way of his saints.
9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice,
And equity, yea, every good path.
Proverbs 2:1–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
1 My son, if thou receivest my words, and layest up my commandments with thee, 2 so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom and thou apply thy heart to understanding; 3 yea, if thou criest after discernment and liftest up thy voice to understanding; 4 if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hidden treasures: 5 then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God. 6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom; out of his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to them that walk in integrity; 8 guarding the paths of just judgment and keeping the way of his godly ones. 9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity: every good path.
Proverbs 2:1–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
1 My son,
if you take my words ⸤to heart⸥
and treasure my commands within you,
2 if you pay close attention to wisdom,
and let your mind reach for understanding,
3 if indeed you call out for insight,
if you ask aloud for understanding,
4 if you search for wisdom as if it were money
and hunt for it as if it were hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and you will find the knowledge of God.
6 The Lord gives wisdom.
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He has reserved priceless wisdom for decent people.
He is a shield for those who walk in integrity
8 in order to guard those on paths of justice
and to watch over the way of his godly ones.
9 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—
every good course ⸤in life⸥.
Proverbs 2:1–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 listening closely to wisdom
and directing your heart to understanding;
3 furthermore, if you call out to insight
and lift your voice to understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it like hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and discover the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He stores up success for the upright;
He is a shield for those who live with integrity
8 so that He may guard the paths of justice
and protect the way of His loyal followers.
9 Then you will understand righteousness, justice,
and integrity—every good path.
Proverbs 2:1–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
1 My child, if you accept my words
and treasure up my commandments within you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 if you indeed 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 blamelessly,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and preserving the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
Proverbs 2:1–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
1 My child, if you will receive my sayings,
and hide my commands with you,
2 in order to incline your ear toward wisdom,
then you shall apply your heart to understanding.
3 For if you cry out for understanding,
if you lift your voice for insight,
4 if you seek her like silver
and search her out like treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of Yahweh,
and the knowledge of God you will find.
6 For Yahweh will give wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 For the upright, he stores sound judgment, a shield for those who walk uprightly,
8 in order to guard paths of justice
and keep the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and uprightness—every good course—
Proverbs 2:1–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
1 My son, accept my words.
Store up my commands inside you.
2 Let your ears listen to wisdom.
Apply your heart to understanding.
3 Call out for the ability to be wise.
Cry out for understanding.
4 Look for it as you would look for silver.
Search for it as you would search for hidden treasure.
5 Then you will understand how to have respect for the Lord.
You will find out how to know God.
6 The Lord gives wisdom.
Knowledge and understanding come from his mouth.
7 He stores up success for honest people.
He is like a shield to those who live without blame. He keeps them safe.
8 He guards the path of those who are honest.
He watches over the way of his faithful ones.
9 You will understand what is right and honest and fair.
You will understand the right way to live.
Proverbs 2:1–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
1 My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
3 For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
4 If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover 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 He preserves the way of His godly ones.
9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice
And equity and every good course.