Proverbs 2
1 My son, if you accept what I say and value my instructions,
My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
2 if you pay attention to wisdom and really try to understand;
So that thou incline thy ear to wisdom, [and] apply thy heart to understanding;
3 if you cry out for insight and call loudly for help in understanding;
Yes, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for 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] hid 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 the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
6 The Lord is the source of wisdom; what he says provides knowledge that makes sense.
For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] 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 righteous: [he is] a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
8 He supports those who act fairly and protects those who trust in him.
He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
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; [and] 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 to thy soul;
11 Good decisions will keep you on track; thinking logically will keep you safe.
Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep 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 the evil [man], from the man that speaketh froward things;
13 who turn away from following what is right to walk down paths of darkness.
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 the wicked;
15 They live crooked lives doing deceitful things.
Whose ways [are] crooked, and [they] froward in their paths:
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, [even] 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 to death, and her paths to 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 to her return again, neither do they take hold of 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 good [men], 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 earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
