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English Standard Version
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The Value of Wisdom

uMy son, vif 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 wfor understanding,

if you seek it like xsilver

and search for it as for yhidden treasures,

then zyou will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

For athe Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

he is ba shield to those who cwalk in integrity,

guarding the paths of justice

and dwatching over the way of his esaints.

fThen you will understand grighteousness and justice

and equity, every good path;

10  for wisdom will come into your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

11  hdiscretion will iwatch 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 jwalk in the ways of darkness,

14  who krejoice in doing evil

and ldelight in the perverseness of evil,

15  men whose mpaths are crooked,

nand who are odevious in their ways.

16  So pyou will be delivered from the forbidden1 woman,

from qthe adulteress2 with rher smooth words,

17  who forsakes sthe companion of her youth

and forgets tthe covenant of her God;

18  ufor her house sinks down to death,

and her paths to the departed;3

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 vwill inhabit the land,

and those with integrity will remain in it,

22  but the wicked will be wcut off from the land,

and the treacherous will be xrooted out of it.

ESV

About English Standard Version

The English Standard Version™ is founded on the conviction that the words of the Bible are the very words of God. And because the words themselves—not just the thoughts or ideas—are inspired by God, each word must be translated with the greatest precision and accuracy. As Jesus Himself stressed, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).

This passion for God’s Word is the driving force behind the translation of the ESV™ Bible. The English Standard Version™ does not try to “improve” on the original in light of today’s culture or by using trendy language. Instead, the utmost care has been taken to express God’s Word in English that most closely captures the meaning of the original, with understandability, beauty, and impact.

Copyright

The Classic Reference Edition, English Standard Version® (ESV®)
Copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers
All rights reserved.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
Copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers
All rights reserved.

ESV Text Edition (2016)

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When more than one translation is quoted in printed works or another media, the foregoing notice of copyright should begin as follows:

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