Proverbs 2

The Benefits of Wisdom

¹My child,^a listen to what I say,

and treasure my commands.

²Tune your ears to wisdom,

and concentrate on understanding.

³Cry out for insight,

and ask for understanding.

⁴Search for them as you would for silver;

seek them like hidden treasures.

⁵Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,

and you will gain knowledge of God.

⁶For the Lord grants wisdom!

From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.

He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.

⁸He 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.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will fill you with joy.

¹¹Wise choices will watch over you.

Understanding will keep you safe.

¹²Wisdom will save you from evil people,

from those whose words are twisted.

¹³These men turn from the right way

to walk down dark paths.

¹⁴They take pleasure in doing wrong,

and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.

¹⁵Their actions are crooked,

and their ways are wrong.

¹⁶Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman,

from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.

¹⁷She has abandoned her husband

and ignores the covenant she made before God.

¹⁸Entering her house leads to death;

it is the road to the grave.^b

¹⁹The man who visits her is doomed.

He will never reach the paths of life.

²⁰So follow the steps of the good,

and stay on the paths of the righteous.

²¹For only the godly will live in the land,

and those with integrity will remain in it.

²²But the wicked will be removed from the land,

and the treacherous will be uprooted.