| 2:1 | The Value of WisdomThe Value of Wisdom My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, |
| 2:2 | So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; |
| 2:3 | Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, |
| 2:4 | If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; |
| 2:5 | Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. |
| 2:6 | For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; |
| 2:7 | He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; |
| 2:8 | He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. |
| 2:9 | Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. |
| 2:10 | When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, |
| 2:11 | Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, |
| 2:12 | To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, |
| 2:13 | From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; |
| 2:14 | Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; |
| 2:15 | Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths; |
| 2:16 | To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words, |
| 2:17 | Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. |
| 2:18 | For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead; |
| 2:19 | None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life-- |
| 2:20 | So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness. |
| 2:21 | For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it; |
| 2:22 | But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it. |