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Proverbs chapter 2 in Hebrew and English

22 verses, about 2 minutes to read aloud. The Hebrew has its vowel points and the English stands under each verse.

The whole chapter is here, a verse to a line.

בְּנִי אִם־תִּקַּח אֲמָרָי וּמִצְוֺתַי תִּצְפֹּן אִתָּֽךְ׃

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And lay up my commandments with thee;

לְהַקְשִׁיב לַחָכְמָה אָזְנֶךָ תַּטֶּה לִבְּךָ לַתְּבוּנָֽה׃

So that thou make thine ear attend unto wisdom, And thy heart incline to discernment;

כִּי אִם לַבִּינָה תִקְרָא לַתְּבוּנָה תִּתֵּן קוֹלֶֽךָ׃

Yea, if thou call for understanding, And lift up thy voice for discernment;

אִם־תְּבַקְשֶׁנָּה כַכָּסֶף וְכַמַּטְמוֹנִים תַּחְפְּשֶֽׂנָּה׃

If thou seek her as silver, And search for her as for hid treasures;

אָז תָּבִין יִרְאַת יְהוָה וְדַעַת אֱלֹהִים תִּמְצָֽא׃

Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.

כִּי־יְהוָה יִתֵּן חָכְמָה מִפִּיו דַּעַת וּתְבוּנָֽה׃

For the LORD giveth wisdom, Out of His mouth cometh knowledge and discernment;

יִצְפֹּן לַיְשָׁרִים תּוּשִׁיָּה מָגֵן לְהֹלְכֵי תֹֽם׃

He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright, He is a shield to them that walk in integrity;

לִנְצֹר אָרְחוֹת מִשְׁפָּט וְדֶרֶךְ חֲסִידָיו יִשְׁמֹֽר׃

That He may guard the paths of justice, And preserve the way of His godly ones. .

אָז תָּבִין צֶדֶק וּמִשְׁפָּט וּמֵישָׁרִים כָּל־מַעְגַּל־טֽוֹב׃

Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice, And equity, yea, every good path.

כִּי־תָבוֹא חָכְמָה בְלִבֶּךָ וְדַעַת לְנַפְשְׁךָ יִנְעָֽם׃

For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;

מְזִמָּה תִּשְׁמֹר עָלֶיךָ תְּבוּנָה תִנְצְרֶֽכָּה׃

Discretion shall watch over thee, Discernment shall guard thee;

לְהַצִּילְךָ מִדֶּרֶךְ רָע מֵאִישׁ מְדַבֵּר תַּהְפֻּכֽוֹת׃

To deliver thee from the way of evil, From the men that speak froward things;

הַעֹזְבִים אָרְחוֹת יֹשֶׁר לָלֶכֶת בְּדַרְכֵי־חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃

Who leave the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness;

הַשְּׂמֵחִים לַעֲשׂוֹת רָע יָגִילוּ בְּתַהְפֻּכוֹת רָֽע׃

Who rejoice to do evil, And delight in the frowardness of evil;

אֲשֶׁר אָרְחֹתֵיהֶם עִקְּשִׁים וּנְלוֹזִים בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתָֽם׃

Who are crooked in their ways, And perverse in their paths;

לְהַצִּילְךָ מֵאִשָּׁה זָרָה מִנָּכְרִיָּה אֲמָרֶיהָ הֶחֱלִֽיקָה׃

To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the alien woman that maketh smooth her words;

הַעֹזֶבֶת אַלּוּף נְעוּרֶיהָ וְאֶת־בְּרִית אֱלֹהֶיהָ שָׁכֵֽחָה׃

That forsaketh the lord of her youth, And forgetteth the covenant of her God.

כִּי שָׁחָה אֶל־מָוֶת בֵּיתָהּ וְאֶל־רְפָאִים מַעְגְּלֹתֶֽיהָ׃

For her house sinketh down unto death, And her paths unto the shades;

כָּל־בָּאֶיהָ לֹא יְשׁוּבוּן וְלֹא־יַשִּׂיגוּ אָרְחוֹת חַיִּֽים׃

None that go unto her return, Neither do they attain unto the paths of life;

לְמַעַן תֵּלֵךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ טוֹבִים וְאָרְחוֹת צַדִּיקִים תִּשְׁמֹֽר׃

That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous.

כִּי־יְשָׁרִים יִשְׁכְּנוּ אָרֶץ וּתְמִימִים יִוָּתְרוּ בָֽהּ׃

For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the whole-hearted shall remain in it.

וּרְשָׁעִים מֵאֶרֶץ יִכָּרֵתוּ וּבוֹגְדִים יִסְּחוּ מִמֶּֽנָּה׃

But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the faithless shall be plucked up out of it.

The Hebrew is the Leningrad Codex, free to view and copy, compared letter by letter with a second edition, Miqra according to the Masorah, under the CC BY-SA licence. The English is the Jewish Publication Society translation of 1917, in the public domain.

Where this chapter stands in the Tanakh.

  • Chapter 2 of the 31 chapters of Proverbs
  • Proverbs is one of the Writings
  • 22 verses, 143 words, about 2 minutes to read

Proverbs has 31 chapters, and each one has its own page.

All of Proverbs·All the books of the Tanakh·Psalms and prayers

Questions about this chapter

How many verses does Proverbs chapter 2 have?

Proverbs chapter 2 has 22 verses and 143 words.

How does Proverbs chapter 2 begin?

The first verse begins in Hebrew with the words בני אם־תקח אמרי ומצותי.

Where does Proverbs chapter 2 stand in the Tanakh?

It is chapter 2 of the 31 chapters of Proverbs, which is one of the Writings.

How long does it take to read Proverbs chapter 2?

About 2 minutes, at a steady pace.