Proverbs 2

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and lay up my commandments with thee;

My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,

2 So that thou make thine ear attend unto wisdom, and thy heart incline to discernment;

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

3 Yea, if thou call for understanding, and lift up thy voice for discernment;

if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,

4 If thou seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures;

if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,

5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.

6 For the LORD giveth wisdom, out of His mouth cometh knowledge and discernment;

For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright, He is a shield to them that walk in integrity;

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk with integrity,

8 That He may guard the paths of justice, and preserve the way of His godly ones.

to guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His saints.

9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice, and equity, yea, every good path.

Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity—every good path.

10 For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;

For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will delight your soul.

11 Discretion shall watch over thee, discernment shall guard thee;

Discretion will watch over you, and understanding will guard you,

12 To deliver thee from the way of evil, from the men that speak froward things;

to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perversity,

13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

from those who leave the straight paths to walk in the ways of darkness,

14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of evil;

from those who enjoy doing evil and rejoice in the twistedness of evil,

15 Who are crooked in their ways, and perverse in their paths;

whose paths are crooked and whose ways are devious.

16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the alien woman that maketh smooth her words;

It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words

17 That forsaketh the lord of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.

18 For her house sinketh down unto death, and her paths unto the shades;

For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits.

19 None that go unto her return, neither do they attain unto the paths of life;

None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life.

20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

So you will follow in the ways of the good, and keep to the paths of the righteous.

21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the whole-hearted shall remain in it.

For the upright will inhabit the land, and the blameless will remain in it;

22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and the faithless shall be plucked up out of it.

but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted.