Proverbs 2
1 My son, if you accept my sayings, And lay up my commands with you,
My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,
2 To cause your ear to attend to wisdom, You incline your heart to understanding,
if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding,
3 For if you call for intelligence, [And] give forth your voice for intelligence,
if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as hid treasures,
if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,
5 Then you understand the fear of YHWH, And you find the knowledge of God.
then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.
6 For YHWH gives wisdom, Knowledge and understanding from His mouth.
For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 Even to lay up substance for the upright, A shield for those walking uprightly.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk with integrity,
8 To keep the paths of judgment, And He preserves the way of His saints.
to guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His saints.
9 Then you understand righteousness, And judgment, and uprightness—every good path.
Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity—every good path.
10 For wisdom comes into your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will delight your soul.
11 Thoughtfulness watches over you, Understanding keeps you,
Discretion will watch over you, and understanding will guard you,
12 To deliver you from an evil way, From any speaking contrary things,
to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perversity,
13 Who are forsaking paths of uprightness, To walk in ways of darkness,
from those who leave the straight paths to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 Who are rejoicing to do evil, They delight in [the] contrariness of the wicked,
from those who enjoy doing evil and rejoice in the twistedness of evil,
15 Whose paths [are] crooked, Indeed, they are perverted in their ways.
whose paths are crooked and whose ways are devious.
16 To deliver you from the strange woman, From the stranger who has made her sayings smooth,
It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words
17 Who is forsaking the guide of her youth, And has forgotten the covenant of her God.
who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For her house has inclined to death, And her paths to Rephaim.
For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits.
19 None going in to her return, Nor do they reach the paths of life.
None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life.
20 That you go in the way of the good, 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 inhabit the earth, And the perfect are left in it,
For the upright will inhabit the land, and the blameless will remain in it;
22 And the wicked are cut off from the earth, And treacherous dealers plucked out of it!
but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted.
