Chapter 2

The Benefits of Wisdom

¹My son, if you accept my words

and hide my commandments within you,

²if you incline your ear to wisdom

and direct your heart to understanding,

³if you truly call out to insight

and lift your voice to understanding,

⁴if you seek it like silver

and search it out like hidden treasure,

⁵then you will discern the fear of the LORD

and discover the knowledge of God.

⁶For the LORD gives wisdom;

from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a shield to those who walk with integrity,

⁸to guard the paths of justice

and protect the way of His saints.

⁹Then you will discern righteousness

and justice and equity—every good path.

¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will delight your soul.

¹¹Discretion will watch over you,

and understanding will guard you,

¹²to deliver you from the way of evil,

from the man who speaks perversity,

¹³from those who leave the straight paths

to walk in the ways of darkness,

¹⁴from those who enjoy doing evil

and rejoice in the twistedness of evil,

¹⁵whose paths are crooked

and whose ways are devious.

¹⁶It will rescue you from the forbidden woman,^a

from the stranger^b with seductive words

¹⁷who abandons the partner of her youth

and forgets the covenant of her God.

¹⁸For her house sinks down to death,

and her tracks to the departed spirits.^c

¹⁹None who go to her return

or negotiate the paths of life.

²⁰So you will follow in the ways of the good,

and keep to the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright will inhabit the land,

and the blameless will remain in it;

²²but the wicked will be cut off from the land,

and the unfaithful will be uprooted.