Proverbs 2:2–11
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.
10 When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you;
gUnderstanding will keep you,
Proverbs 2:2–11 — The New International Version (NIV)
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.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
Proverbs 2:2–11 — English Standard Version (ESV)
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;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
Proverbs 2:2–11 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
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.
10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart,
And knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve thee,
Understanding shall keep thee:
Proverbs 2:2–11 — New Living Translation (NLT)
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.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will fill you with joy.
11 Wise choices will watch over you.
Understanding will keep you safe.
Proverbs 2:2–11 — New Century Version (NCV)
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.
Proverbs 2:2–11 — American Standard Version (ASV)
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.
10 For wisdom shall enter into thy heart,
And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall watch over thee;
Understanding shall keep thee:
Proverbs 2:2–11 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
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.
10 When wisdom entereth into thy heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul, 11 discretion shall keep thee, understanding shall preserve thee:
Proverbs 2:2–11 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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⸥.
10 Wisdom will come into your heart.
Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Foresight will protect you.
Understanding will guard you.
Proverbs 2:2–11 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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.
10 For wisdom will enter your mind,
and knowledge will delight your heart.
11 Discretion will watch over you,
and understanding will guard you,
Proverbs 2:2–11 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
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;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 prudence will watch over you;
and understanding will guard you.
Proverbs 2:2–11 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
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—
10 for wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul.
11 Discretion will watch over you;
understanding will protect you,
Proverbs 2:2–11 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
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.
10 Your heart will become wise.
Your mind will delight in knowledge.
11 Good sense will keep you safe.
Understanding will guard you.
Proverbs 2:2–11 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
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.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,