Proverbs 2:2

Brenton's Septuagint

thine ear shall hearken to wisdom; thou shalt also apply thine heart to understanding, and shalt apply it to the instruction of thy son.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
listening closely to wisdomand directing your heart to understanding;

Hebrew Names Version
So as to turn your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

King James Version
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

English Standard Version
making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;

New Century Version
Listen carefully to wisdom; set your mind on understanding.

New English Translation
by making your ear attentive to wisdom, and by turning your heart to understanding,

Amplified Bible
So that your ear is attentive to [skillful and godly] wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and striving for it eagerly];

New American Standard Bible
Make your ear attentive to wisdom; Incline your heart to understanding.

World English Bible
So as to turn your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

Geneva Bible (1587)
And cause thine eares to hearken vnto wisdome, and encline thine heart to vnderstanding,

Legacy Standard Bible
To make your ear pay attention to wisdom,Incline your heart to discernment;

Berean Standard Bible
if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding,

Contemporary English Version
Keep in tune with wisdom and think what it means to have common sense.

Complete Jewish Bible
paying attention to wisdom inclining your mind toward understanding —

Darby Translation
so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom [and] thou apply thy heart to understanding;

Easy-to-Read Version
Listen to wisdom, and do your best to understand.

George Lamsa Translation
And incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding,

Good News Translation
Listen to what is wise and try to understand it.

Lexham English Bible
in order to incline your ear toward wisdom, then you shall apply your heart to understanding.

Literal Translation
so that you attend to wisdom, you shall extend your heart to understanding.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
that thine eare maye herken vnto wysdome, applie thine herte then to vnderstodinge.

American Standard Version
So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thy heart to understanding;

Bible in Basic English
So that your ear gives attention to wisdom, and your heart is turned to knowledge;

JPS Old Testament (1917)
So that thou make thine ear attend unto wisdom, and thy heart incline to discernment;

King James Version (1611)
So that thou incline thine eare vnto wisedome, and apply thine heart to vnderstanding:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
That thou wylt encline thine eares vnto wisdome: applye thine heart then to vnderstandyng.

English Revised Version
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
that thin eere here wisdom, bowe thin herte to knowe prudence.

Update Bible Version
So as to incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

Webster's Bible Translation
So that thou incline thy ear to wisdom, [and] apply thy heart to understanding;

New King James Version
So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

New Living Translation
Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.

New Life Bible
make your ear open to wisdom. Turn your heart to understanding.

New Revised Standard
making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So that thou direct, unto wisdom, thine ear, bend thy heart, unto understanding;

Douay-Rheims Bible
That thy ear may hearken to wisdom: incline thy heart to know prudence.

Revised Standard Version
making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;

Young's Literal Translation
To cause thine ear to attend to wisdom, Thou inclinest thy heart to understanding,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding;

Contextual Overview

¹ My son, if thou wilt receive the utterance of my commandment, and hide it with thee; ² thine ear shall hearken to wisdom; thou shalt also apply thine heart to understanding, and shalt apply it to the instruction of thy son. ³ For it thou shalt call to wisdom, and utter thy voice for understanding; ⁴ and if thou shalt seek it as silver, and search diligently for it as for treasures; ⁵ then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. ⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom; and from his presence come knowledge and understanding, ⁷ and he treasures up salvation for them that walk uprightly: he will protect their way; ⁸ that he may guard the righteous ways: and he will preserve the way of them that fear him. ⁹ Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgement; and shalt direct all thy course aright.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thou: Proverbs 18:1, Psalms 119:111, Psalms 119:112, Isaiah 55:3, Matthew 13:9

apply: Proverbs 22:17-21, Proverbs 23:12, Psalms 90:12, Ecclesiastes 7:25, Ecclesiastes 8:9, Ecclesiastes 8:16, Acts 17:11

Reciprocal: Leviticus 11:3 - cheweth Joshua 18:3 - How long are Joshua 24:23 - incline 2 Chronicles 1:10 - Give me Proverbs 4:5 - Get wisdom Proverbs 7:4 - Say Proverbs 13:4 - but Proverbs 23:23 - Buy Ecclesiastes 1:13 - I gave Matthew 13:23 - good Matthew 13:44 - like Luke 8:18 - heed John 5:38 - ye have John 6:27 - which the

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
And God saw all the things that he had made, and, behold, they were very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 2:8
And God planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:11
The name of the one, Phisom, this it is which encircles the whole land of Evilat, where there is gold.

Exodus 23:12
Six days shalt thou do thy works, and on the seventh day there shall be rest, that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and that the son of thy maid-servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

Exodus 31:17
It is a perpetual covenant with me and the children of Israel, it is a perpetual sign with me; for in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day he ceased, and rested.

Deuteronomy 5:14
but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do in it no work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, thine ox, and thine ass, and all thy cattle, and the stranger that sojourns in the midst of thee; that thy man-servant may rest, and thy maid, and thine ox, as well as thou.

Isaiah 58:13
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, so as not to do thy pleasure on the holy days, and shalt call the sabbaths delightful, holy to God; if thou shalt not lift up thy foot to work, nor speak a word in anger out of thy mouth,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

So that thou incline thine ear unto Wisdom,.... Hearken to Wisdom, that is, Christ; or rather to the instruction of Wisdom, which is the Gospel; so called, because it is the produce of divine wisdom, what the wisdom of man could never have devised, and which it opposes; and in which there is a most glorious display of the wisdom of God, in the justification and salvation of his people by Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:6; and is worth listening unto with the greatest attention, which is what is designed by this expression;

[and] apply thine heart to understanding; to a spiritual and experimental understanding of the Gospel, and the truths of it: for an inclination of the ear, without an application of the heart, which signifies the intenseness of the mind, an earnest and hearty desire after knowledge, will signify nothing; a hypocrite may seemingly hear with great attention, and show much affection, and yet his heart be after the world and the things of it, Ezekiel 33:31; see Psalms 119:112.