Proverbs 2
1 My son, if thou wouldst but accept my words, and treasure up my commandments with thee;
My son, if thou dost accept my sayings, And my commands dost lay up with thee,
2 To let thy ear listen unto wisdom: [if] thou wouldst incline thy heart to understanding.
To cause thine ear to attend to wisdom, Thou inclinest thy heart to understanding,
3 For if thou wilt call after intelligence; if after understanding thou wilt lift up thy voice;
For, if for intelligence thou callest, For understanding givest forth thy voice,
4 If thou wilt seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures:
If thou dost seek her as silver, And as hid treasures searchest for her,
5 Then wilt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and the knowledge of God wilt thou find.
Then understandest thou fear of Jehovah, And knowledge of God thou findest.
6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [come] knowledge and understanding.
For Jehovah giveth wisdom, From His mouth knowledge and understanding.
7 He treasureth up sound wisdom for the righteous, as a shield to those that walk in integrity:
Even to lay up for the upright substance, A shield for those walking uprightly.
8 That men may keep the paths of justice; and the way of his pious servants doth he guard.
To keep the paths of judgment, And the way of His saints He preserveth.
9 Then wilt thou understand righteousness, and justice, and equity: yea, every track of goodness.
Then understandest thou righteousness, And judgment, and uprightness — every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter thy heart, and knowledge will be pleasant unto thy soul;
For wisdom cometh into thy heart, And knowledge to thy soul is pleasant,
11 Discretion will watch over thee, understanding will keep thee;
Thoughtfulness doth watch over thee, Understanding doth keep thee,
12 To deliver thee from the way of the bad, from the man that speaketh perverse things;
To deliver thee from an evil way, From any speaking froward things,
13 [From those] who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
Who are forsaking paths of uprightness, To walk in ways of darkness,
14 Who rejoice to do evil, who are delighted in the perverseness of the bad;
Who are rejoicing to do evil, They delight in frowardness of the wicked,
15 Who as regardeth their paths are crooked, and froward in their tracks.
Whose paths [are] crooked, Yea, they are perverted in their ways.
16 To deliver thee from the adulteress, from the alien woman that useth flattering speeches;
To deliver thee from the strange woman, From the stranger who hath made smooth her sayings,
17 That forsaketh the friend of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Who is forsaking the guide of her youth, And the covenant of her God hath forgotten.
18 For she sinketh unto death—her house, and unto the departed [lead] her tracks.
For her house hath inclined unto death, And unto Rephaim her paths.
19 All that come unto her return not again, and they will not reach the paths of life.
None going in unto her turn back, Nor do they reach the paths of life.
20 In order that thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and observe the paths of the righteous.
That thou dost go in the way of the good, And the paths of the righteous dost keep.
21 For the upright will dwell on the earth, and the perfect will be left remaining on it.
For the upright do inhabit the earth, And the perfect are left in it,
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, and the treacherous shall be plucked up therefrom.
And the wicked from the earth are cut off, And treacherous dealers plucked out of it!
