Proverbs, chapter 2

Wisdom and Bad Friends

My child, you must follow and treasure

my teachingsI and my instructions.

²Keep in tune with wisdom

and think what it means to have common sense.

³Beg as loud as you can for good common sense.

⁴Search for wisdom

as you would search for silver or hidden treasure.

⁵Then you will understand what it means to respect

and to know the Lord God.

⁶All wisdom comes from the Lord,

and so do common sense and understanding.

⁷God gives helpful advice* to everyone who obeys him

and protectsI those who live as they should.

⁸God sees that justice is done,

and he watches over everyone who is faithful to him.

⁹With wisdom you will learn

what is right and honest and fairI.

¹⁰Wisdom will control your mind,

and you will be pleased with knowledge.

¹¹Sound judgment and good sense will watch over you.

¹²Wisdom will protect you

from evil schemes and from those liars

¹³who turned from doing good to live in the darknessI.

¹⁴Most of all they enjoy being mean and deceitful.

¹⁵They are dishonest themselves, and so are all their deeds.

Wisdom and Sexual Purity

¹⁶Wisdom will protect you

from the smooth talk of a sinful woman,

¹⁷who breaks her wedding vowsP

and leaves the man she married when she was young.

¹⁸The road to her house leads down

to the dark world of the deadI.

¹⁹Visit her, and you will never

find the road to life again.

²⁰Follow the example of good people

and live an honest life.

²¹If you are honest and innocent, you will keep your land;

²²if you do wrong and can never be trusted,

you will be rooted outO.