Proverbs 2

The Benefits of Wisdom ¹My child, Hebrew My son. 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.

⁹Then 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.

¹²Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. ¹³ These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. ¹⁴ They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. ¹⁵ Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.

¹⁶Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman. ¹⁷ She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God. ¹⁸ Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave. Hebrew to the spirits of the dead. ¹⁹ The man who visits her is doomed. He will never reach the paths of life.

²⁰Follow the steps of good men instead, and stay on the paths of the righteous. ²¹ For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it. ²² But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.