Proverbs 2

Chapter 2

The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security

¹My son, if you will ^areceive my words

And ^btreasure my commandments within you,

^2aMake your ear attentive to wisdom,

Incline your heart to understanding;

³For if you cry for discernment,

¹Lift your voice for understanding;

⁴If you seek her as ^asilver

And search for her as for ^bhidden treasures;

⁵Then you will discern the ^afear of the Lord

And discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For ^athe Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a ^ashield to those who walk in integrity,

⁸Guarding the paths of justice,

And He ^apreserves the way of His godly ones.

⁹Then you will discern ^arighteousness and justice

And equity and every ^bgood course.

¹⁰For ^awisdom will enter your heart

And ^bknowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

¹¹Discretion will ^aguard you,

Understanding will watch over you,

¹²To ^adeliver you from the way of evil,

From the man who speaks ^bperverse things;

¹³From those who ^aleave the paths of uprightness

To walk in the ^bways of darkness;

¹⁴Who ^adelight in doing evil

And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

¹⁵Whose paths are ^acrooked,

And who are devious in their ways;

¹⁶To ^adeliver you from the strange woman,

From the ^1badulteress who flatters with her words;

¹⁷That leaves the ^acompanion of her youth

And forgets the ^bcovenant of her God;

¹⁸For ^aher house ¹sinks down to death

And her tracks lead to the ²dead;

¹⁹None ^awho go to her return again,

Nor do they reach the ^bpaths of life.

²⁰So you will ^awalk in the way of good men

And keep to the ^bpaths of the righteous.

²¹For ^athe upright will ¹live in the land

And ^bthe blameless will remain in it;

²²But ^athe wicked will be cut off from the land

And ^bthe treacherous will be ^cuprooted from it.