The Benefits of Wisdom
1My son,if thou wilt receivemy words,and hidemy commandmentswith thee;
2So that thou inclinethine earunto wisdom,[and] applythine heartto understanding;
3Yea, if thou criestafter knowledge,[and] liftest upthy voicefor understanding;
4If thou seekesther as silver,and searchestfor her as [for] hid treasures;
5Then shalt thou understandthe fearof the LORD,and findthe knowledgeof God.
6For the LORDgivethwisdom:out of his mouth[cometh] knowledgeand understanding.
7He layeth up{08675;06845:08804} sound wisdomfor the righteous:[he is] a bucklerto them that walkuprightly.
8He keepeththe pathsof judgment,and preserveththe wayof his saints.
9Then shalt thou understandrighteousness,and judgment,and equity;[yea], every goodpath.
10When wisdomenterethinto thine heart,and knowledgeis pleasantunto thy soul;
11Discretionshall preservethee, understandingshall keepthee:
12To deliverthee from the wayof the evil[man], from the manthat speakethfroward things;
13Who leavethe pathsof uprightness,to walkin the waysof darkness;
14Who rejoiceto doevil,[and] delightin the frowardnessof the wicked;
15Whose ways[are] crooked,and [they] frowardin their paths:
16To deliverthee from the strangewoman,[even] from the stranger[which] flatterethwith her words;
17Which forsakeththe guideof her youth,and forgetteththe covenantof her God.
18For her houseinclinethunto death,and her pathsunto the dead.
19None that gounto her return again,neither take they holdof the pathsof life.
20That thou mayest walkin the wayof good[men], and keepthe pathsof the righteous.
21For the uprightshall dwellin the land,and the perfectshall remainin it.
22But the wickedshall be cut offfrom the earth,and the transgressorsshall be rooted outof it.
