Proverbs 2

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

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,

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

make your ears pay attention to wisdom and incline your heart to understanding.

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

If you cry out for understanding and raise your voice for it,

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

if you seek it like you would seek silver and search for understanding as you would seek hidden treasures,

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

then you will understand the fear of Yahweh and you will find the knowledge of God.

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

For Yahweh gives wisdom, from his mouth comes 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 those who please him, he is a shield for those who walk in integrity,

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

he guards the paths of justice and he will preserve the way of those who are faithful to him.

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

Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and equity, and every good path.

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

For wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

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

Discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you.

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

They will rescue you from the way of evil, from those who speak perverse things,

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

who abandon the right paths and walk in the ways of darkness.

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

They rejoice when they do evil and delight in the perversities of evil.

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

They follow crooked paths, and using deception they hide their tracks.

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

Wisdom and discretion will save you from an adulterous woman, from an immoral woman and her flattering words.

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

She forsakes the companion 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 leads down to death and her tracks will lead you to those in the grave.

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

All who go in to her will not return again and they will not find 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 walk in the way of good people and follow the paths of righteous people.

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

For those doing right will make a home in the land, and those with integrity 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 faithless will be cut off from it.