Seeking God’s Wisdom, Protection from Evil, and the Path of the Upright.

Proverbs 2 calls the reader to pursue wisdom as something sought with diligence—received by listening, treasuring God’s words, and crying out for understanding. It teaches that true wisdom is not self-made; the LORD gives wisdom, and He protects the upright by guarding their paths. The chapter promises that wisdom reshapes the heart: it gives discernment, keeps a person from evil men and crooked speech, and exposes the danger of destructive companionship. It also warns about the “strange woman,” describing how seduction and unfaithfulness lead away from life and into ruin. The conclusion is sober and clear: the upright will dwell in the land, but the wicked will be cut off—so wisdom is not optional; it is a life-and-death path.

Proverbs 2:1 – 2:22

  1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
  2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, [and] apply thine heart to understanding;
  3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding;
  4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures;
  5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
  6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding.
  7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: [he is] a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
  8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
  9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; [yea], every good path.
  10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
  11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
  12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil [man], from the man that speaketh froward things;
  13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
  14 Who rejoice to do evil, [and] delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
  15 Whose ways [are] crooked, and [they] froward in their paths:
  16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, [even] from the stranger [which] flattereth with her words;
  17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
  18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
  19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
  20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good [men], and keep the paths of the righteous.
  21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
  22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.