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