< Proverbs 2 >
1 My son, if you accept my sayings, And lay up my commands with you,
My sonne, if thou wilt receiue my wordes, and hide my commandements within thee,
2 To cause your ear to attend to wisdom, You incline your heart to understanding,
And cause thine eares to hearken vnto wisdome, and encline thine heart to vnderstanding,
3 For if you call for intelligence, [And] give forth your voice for intelligence,
(For if thou callest after knowledge, and cryest for vnderstanding:
4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as hid treasures,
If thou seekest her as siluer, and searchest for her as for treasures,
5 Then you understand the fear of YHWH, And you find the knowledge of God.
Then shalt thou vnderstand the feare of the Lord, and finde the knowledge of God.
6 For YHWH gives wisdom, Knowledge and understanding from His mouth.
For the Lord giueth wisdome, out of his mouth commeth knowledge and vnderstanding.
7 Even to lay up substance for the upright, A shield for those walking uprightly.
He preserueth the state of the righteous: he is a shielde to them that walke vprightly,
8 To keep the paths of judgment, And He preserves the way of His saints.
That they may keepe the wayes of iudgement: and he preserueth the way of his Saintes)
9 Then you understand righteousness, And judgment, and uprightness—every good path.
Then shalt thou vnderstand righteousnes, and iudgement, and equitie, and euery good path.
10 For wisdom comes into your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
When wisdome entreth into thine heart, and knowledge deliteth thy soule,
11 Thoughtfulness watches over you, Understanding keeps you,
Then shall counsell preserue thee, and vnderstanding shall keepe thee,
12 To deliver you from an evil way, From any speaking contrary things,
And deliuer thee from the euill way, and from the man that speaketh froward things,
13 Who are forsaking paths of uprightness, To walk in ways of darkness,
And from them that leaue the wayes of righteousnes to walke in the wayes of darkenes:
14 Who are rejoicing to do evil, They delight in [the] contrariness of the wicked,
Which reioyce in doing euill, and delite in the frowardnesse of the wicked,
15 Whose paths [are] crooked, Indeed, they are perverted in their ways.
Whose wayes are crooked and they are lewde in their paths.
16 To deliver you from the strange woman, From the stranger who has made her sayings smooth,
And it shall deliuer thee from the strange woman, euen from the stranger, which flattereth with her wordes.
17 Who is forsaking the guide of her youth, And has forgotten the covenant of her God.
Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the couenant of her God.
18 For her house has inclined to death, And her paths to Rephaim.
Surely her house tendeth to death, and her paths vnto the dead.
19 None going in to her return, Nor do they reach the paths of life.
All they that goe vnto her, returne not againe, neither take they holde of the wayes of life.
20 That you go in the way of the good, And keep the paths of the righteous.
Therefore walke thou in the way of good men, and keepe the wayes of the righteous.
21 For the upright inhabit the earth, And the perfect are left in it,
For the iust shall dwell in the land, and the vpright men shall remaine in it.
22 And the wicked are cut off from the earth, And treacherous dealers plucked out of it!
But the wicked shalbe cut off from ye earth, and the transgressours shalbe rooted out of it.