2 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord , and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
2 My son, pay attention to what I say. Remember my commands. 2 Listen to wisdom, and do your best to understand. 3 Ask for good judgment. Cry out for understanding. 4 Look for wisdom like silver. Search for it like hidden treasure. 5 If you do this, you will understand what it means to respect the Lord , and you will come to know God.
6 The Lord is the source of wisdom; knowledge and understanding come from his mouth. 7 He gives good advice to honest people and shields those who do what is right. 8 He makes sure that people are treated fairly. He watches over his loyal followers.
9 If you listen to him, you will understand what is just and fair and how to do what is right. 10 You will gain wisdom, and knowledge will bring you joy.
11 Planning ahead will protect you, and understanding will guard you. 12 These will keep you from following the wrong path and will protect you from those who have evil plans. 13 Such people have left the straight path and now walk in darkness. 14 They enjoy doing evil and are happy with the confusion it brings. 15 Their ways are crooked; they lie and cheat.
16 Wisdom will save you from that other woman, another man’s wife, who tempts you with sweet words. 17 She married when she was young, but then she left her husband. She forgot the marriage vows she made before God. 18 Going into her house leads to death. She will lead you to the grave. 19 All who enter lose their life and never return.
20 Wisdom will help you follow the example of good people and stay on the right path. 21 Honest people will live in the land, and those who do right will remain there. 22 But the wicked will be forced to leave. Those who lie and cheat will be thrown out of the land.
2 My son, if thou wilt receive my words,
And lay up my commandments with thee;
2 So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom,
And apply thy heart to understanding;
3 Yea, if thou cry after discernment,
And lift up thy voice for understanding;
4 If thou seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hid treasures:
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah,
And find the knowledge of God.
6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom;
Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding:
7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright;
[ a ] He is a shield to them that walk in integrity;
8 [ b ] That he may guard the paths of justice,
[ c ] And preserve the way of his saints.
9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice,
And equity, yea , every good path.
10 For wisdom shall enter into thy heart,
And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall watch over thee;
Understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of [ d ] evil,
From the men that speak perverse things;
13 Who forsake the paths of uprightness,
To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil,
And delight in the perverseness of [ e ] evil;
15 Who are crooked in their ways,
And wayward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman,
Even from the foreigner that [ f ] flattereth with her words;
17 That forsaketh the [ g ] friend of her youth,
And forgetteth the covenant of her God:
18 For [ h ] her house inclineth unto death,
And her paths unto [ i ] the dead;
19 None that go unto her return again,
Neither do they attain unto the paths of life:
20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men,
And keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright shall dwell in the [ j ] land,
And the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the land,
[ k ] And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it.
2 My son, if you will receive my words,
and store up my commandments within you,
2 so as to turn your ear to wisdom,
and apply your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for discernment,
and lift up your voice for understanding;
4 if you seek her as silver,
and search for her as for hidden treasures:
5 then you will understand the fear of Yahweh,
and find the knowledge of God. [ a ]
6 For Yahweh gives wisdom.
Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
7 He lays up sound wisdom for the upright.
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 that he may guard the paths of justice,
and preserve the way of his saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
equity and every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter into your heart.
Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will watch over you.
Understanding will keep you,
12 to deliver you from the way of evil,
from the men who speak perverse things,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness,
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice to do evil,
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 who are crooked in their ways,
and wayward in their paths,
16 to deliver you from the strange woman,
even from the foreigner who flatters with her words,
17 who forsakes the friend of her youth,
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house leads down to death,
her paths to the departed spirits.
19 None who go to her return again,
neither do they attain to the paths of life.
20 So you may walk in the way of good men,
and keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will dwell in the land.
The perfect will remain in it.
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land.
The treacherous will be rooted out of it.
2 My son, if thou dost accept my sayings, And my commands dost lay up with thee,
2 To cause thine ear to attend to wisdom, Thou inclinest thy heart to understanding,
3 For, if for intelligence thou callest, For understanding givest forth thy voice,
4 If thou dost seek her as silver, And as hid treasures searchest for her,
5 Then understandest thou fear of Jehovah, And knowledge of God thou findest.
6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom, From His mouth knowledge and understanding.
7 Even to lay up for the upright substance, A shield for those walking uprightly.
8 To keep the paths of judgment, And the way of His saints He preserveth.
9 Then understandest thou righteousness, And judgment, and uprightness -- every good path.
10 For wisdom cometh into thy heart, And knowledge to thy soul is pleasant,
11 Thoughtfulness doth watch over thee, Understanding doth keep thee,
12 To deliver thee from an evil way, From any speaking froward things,
13 Who are forsaking paths of uprightness, To walk in ways of darkness,
14 Who are rejoicing to do evil, They delight in frowardness of the wicked,
15 Whose paths [are] crooked, Yea, they are perverted in their ways.
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, From the stranger who hath made smooth her sayings,
17 Who is forsaking the guide of her youth, And the covenant of her God hath forgotten.
18 For her house hath inclined unto death, And unto Rephaim her paths.
19 None going in unto her turn back, Nor do they reach the paths of life.
20 That thou dost go in the way of the good, And the paths of the righteous dost keep.
21 For the upright do inhabit the earth, And the perfect are left in it,
22 And the wicked from the earth are cut off, And treacherous dealers plucked out of it!
2 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and wilt hide my commandments with thee,
2 That thy ear may hearken to wisdom: Incline thy heart to know prudence:
3 For if thou shalt call for wisdom, and incline thy heart to prudence:
4 If thou shalt seek her as money, and shalt dig for her as for a treasure:
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and shalt find the knowledge of God.
6 Because the Lord giveth wisdom: and out of his mouth cometh prudence and knowledge.
7 He will keep the salvation of the righteous, and protect them that walk in simplicity.
8 Keeping the paths of justice, and guarding the ways of saints.
9 Then shalt thou understand justice, and judgment, and equity, and every good path.
10 If wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge please thy soul:
11 Counsel shall keep thee, and prudence shall preserve thee,
12 That thou mayst be delivered from the evil way, and from the man that speaketh perverse things:
13 Who leave the right way, and walk by dark ways:
14 Who are glad when they have done evil, and rejoice in most wicked things:
15 Whose ways are perverse, and their steps infamous.
16 That thou mayst be delivered from the strange women, and from the stranger, who softeneth her words:
17 And forsaketh the guide of her youth,
18 And hath forgotten the covenant of her God: for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths to hell.
19 None that go in unto her shall return again, neither shall they take hold of the paths of life,
20 That thou mayst walk in a good way: and mayst keep the paths of the just.
21 For they that are upright shall dwell in the earth, and the simple shall continue in it.
22 But the wicked shall be destroyed from the earth: and they that do unjustly shall be taken away from it.
