Proverbs 2
1 My son, if you accept what I say and value my instructions,
My son, if thou receivest my words, and layest up my commandments with thee,
2 if you pay attention to wisdom and really try to understand;
so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom [and] thou apply thy heart to understanding;
3 if you cry out for insight and call loudly for help in understanding;
yea, if thou criest after discernment [and] liftest up thy voice to understanding;
4 if you look for it as if it were silver and search for it as if it were hidden treasure;
if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hidden treasures:
5 then you will understand how to relate to the Lord and discover the truth about God.
then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God.
6 The Lord is the source of wisdom; what he says provides knowledge that makes sense.
For Jehovah giveth wisdom; out of his mouth [come] knowledge and understanding.
7 He gives good judgment to those who live right; he defends those who have good sense.
He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; [he] is a shield to them that walk in integrity;
8 He supports those who act fairly and protects those who trust in him.
guarding the paths of just judgment and keeping the way of his godly ones.
9 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.
Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity: every good path.
10 For wisdom will fill your mind, and knowledge will make you happy.
When wisdom entereth into thy heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul,
11 Good decisions will keep you on track; thinking logically will keep you safe.
discretion shall keep thee, understanding shall preserve thee:
12 Doing this will save you from the ways of evil, from men who tell twisted lies,
To deliver thee from the way of evil, from the man that speaketh froward things;
13 who turn away from following what is right to walk down paths of darkness.
[from those] who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
14 They happily do wrong; they love how twisted evil is.
who rejoice to do evil, [and] delight in the frowardness of evil;
15 They live crooked lives doing deceitful things.
whose paths are crooked, and who are perverted in their course:
16 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.
To deliver thee from the strange woman, from the stranger who flattereth with her words;
17 Such a woman has left her husband she married when she was young, forgetting the promises she made before God.
who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God;
18 What happens in her house leads to death; following her way leads to the grave.
— for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead;
19 No one who goes to her comes back; they don't ever find the way back to life again.
none that go unto her return again, neither do they attain to the paths of life:
20 So you should follow the way of the good, and make sure you stay on the paths of those who do right.
— that thou mayest walk in the way of the good, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For only people who live right will live in the land; only honest people will remain there.
For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be thrown out of the land; those who are untrustworthy will be pulled out by the roots.
but the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful shall be plucked up out of it.
