Proverbs 2

Seek wisdom like hidden treasure

My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.a ²Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.b ³Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.c

⁴Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.d ⁵Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.e ⁶For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.f

⁷He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.g ⁸He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.h 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.i 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.

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.