Proverbs

Moral benefits of wisdom

¹My son, if you accept my wordsand store up my commands within you, ²turning your ear to wisdomand applying your heart to understanding – ³indeed, if you call out for insightand cry aloud for understanding, ⁴and if you look for it as for silverand search for it as for hidden treasure, ⁵then you will understand the fear of the Lordand find the knowledge of God. ⁶For the Lord gives wisdom;from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. ⁷He holds success in store for the upright,he is a shield to those whose way of life is blameless, ⁸for he guards the course of the justand protects the way of his faithful ones. ⁹Then you will understand what is right and justand fair – every good path. ¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart,and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. ¹¹Discretion will protect you,and understanding will guard you. ¹²Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,from men whose words are perverse, ¹³who have left the straight pathsto walk in dark ways, ¹⁴who delight in doing wrongand rejoice in the perverseness of evil, ¹⁵whose paths are crookedand who are devious in their ways. ¹⁶Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,from the wayward woman with her seductive words, ¹⁷who has left the partner of her youthand ignored the covenant she made before God. ¹⁸Surely her house leads down to deathand her paths to the spirits of the dead. ¹⁹None who go to her returnor attain the paths of life. ²⁰Thus you will walk in the ways of the goodand keep to the paths of the righteous. ²¹For the upright will live in the land,and the blameless will remain in it; ²²but the wicked will be cut off from the land,and the unfaithful will be torn from it.