The Value of Wisdom
1 My son, if you receive my words,
And
a treasure my commands within you,
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2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
4 a If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as
for hidden treasures;
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5 a Then you will understand the fear of the
Lord ,
And find the knowledge of God.
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6 a For the
Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth
come knowledge and understanding;
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7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
a He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
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8 He guards the paths of justice,
And
a preserves the way of His saints.
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9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity
and every good path.
10 When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you;
a Understanding will keep you,
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12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things,
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To
a walk in the ways of darkness;
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14 a Who rejoice in doing evil,
And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
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15 a Whose ways
are crooked,
And
who are devious in their paths;
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16 To deliver you from
a the immoral woman,
b From the seductress
who flatters with her words,
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17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth,
And forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For
a her house leads down to death,
And her paths to the dead;
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19 None who go to her return,
Nor do they
1 regain the paths of life—
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20 So you may walk in the way of goodness,
And keep
to the paths of righteousness.
21 For the upright will dwell in the
a land,
And the blameless will remain in it;
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22 But the wicked will be
1 cut off from the earth,
And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.
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New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
