Proverbs 2
1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and wilt hide my commandments with thee,
My son, if you accept what I say and value my instructions,
2 That thy ear may hearken to wisdom: Incline thy heart to know prudence:
if you pay attention to wisdom and really try to understand;
3 For if thou shalt call for wisdom, and incline thy heart to prudence:
if you cry out for insight and call loudly for help in understanding;
4 If thou shalt seek her as money, and shalt dig for her as for a treasure:
if you look for it as if it were silver and search for it as if it were hidden treasure;
5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and shalt find the knowledge of God.
then you will understand how to relate to the Lord and discover the truth about God.
6 Because the Lord giveth wisdom: and out of his mouth cometh prudence and knowledge.
The Lord is the source of wisdom; what he says provides knowledge that makes sense.
7 He will keep the salvation of the righteous, and protect them that walk in simplicity.
He gives good judgment to those who live right; he defends those who have good sense.
8 Keeping the paths of justice, and guarding the ways of saints.
He supports those who act fairly and protects those who trust in him.
9 Then shalt thou understand justice, and judgment, and equity, and every good path.
Then you will be able to recognize what is right and just and fair, in fact all that is good in the way you should live.
10 If wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge please thy soul:
For wisdom will fill your mind, and knowledge will make you happy.
11 Counsel shall keep thee, and prudence shall preserve thee,
Good decisions will keep you on track; thinking logically will keep you safe.
12 That thou mayst be delivered from the evil way, and from the man that speaketh perverse things:
Doing this will save you from the ways of evil, from men who tell twisted lies,
13 Who leave the right way, and walk by dark ways:
who turn away from following what is right to walk down paths of darkness.
14 Who are glad when they have done evil, and rejoice in most wicked things:
They happily do wrong; they love how twisted evil is.
15 Whose ways are perverse, and their steps infamous.
They live crooked lives doing deceitful things.
16 That thou mayst be delivered from the strange women, and from the stranger, who softeneth her words:
Doing this will also save you from a woman who acts immorally, from a woman who like a prostitute tries to seduce you with flattering words.
17 And forsaketh the guide of her youth,
Such a woman has left her husband she married when she was young, forgetting the promises she made before God.
18 And hath forgotten the covenant of her God: for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths to hell. (questioned)
What happens in her house leads to death; following her way leads to the grave.
19 None that go in unto her shall return again, neither shall they take hold of the paths of life,
No one who goes to her comes back; they don't ever find the way back to life again.
20 That thou mayst walk in a good way: and mayst keep the paths of the just.
So you should follow the way of the good, and make sure you stay on the paths of those who do right.
21 For they that are upright shall dwell in the earth, and the simple shall continue in it.
For only people who live right will live in the land; only honest people will remain there.
22 But the wicked shall be destroyed from the earth: and they that do unjustly shall be taken away from it.
But the wicked will be thrown out of the land; those who are untrustworthy will be pulled out by the roots.
