Proverbs 2

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

My son, if you accept my sayings, And lay up my commands with you,

2 So that thou incline thy ear to wisdom, [and] apply thy heart to understanding;

To cause your ear to attend to wisdom, You incline your heart to understanding,

3 Yes, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding;

For if you call for intelligence, [And] give forth your voice for intelligence,

4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures;

If you seek her as silver, And search for her as hid treasures,

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

Then you understand the fear of YHWH, And you find the knowledge of God.

6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding.

For YHWH gives wisdom, Knowledge and understanding from His mouth.

7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: [he is] a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

Even to lay up substance for the upright, A shield for those walking uprightly.

8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

To keep the paths of judgment, And He preserves the way of His saints.

9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; [and] every good path.

Then you understand righteousness, And judgment, and uprightness—every good path.

10 When wisdom entereth into thy heart, and knowledge is pleasant to thy soul;

For wisdom comes into your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,

11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

Thoughtfulness watches over you, Understanding keeps you,

12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil [man], from the man that speaketh froward things;

To deliver you from an evil way, From any speaking contrary things,

13 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, [and] delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

Who are rejoicing to do evil, They delight in [the] contrariness of the wicked,

15 Whose ways [are] crooked, and [they] froward in their paths:

Whose paths [are] crooked, Indeed, they are perverted in their ways.

16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, [even] from the stranger [who] flattereth with her words;

To deliver you from the strange woman, From the stranger who has made her sayings smooth,

17 Who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

Who is forsaking the guide of her youth, And has forgotten the covenant of her God.

18 For her house inclineth to death, and her paths to the dead.

For her house has inclined to death, And her paths to Rephaim.

19 None that go to her return again, neither do they take hold of the paths of life.

None going in to her return, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

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

That you go in the way of the good, And keep the paths of the righteous.

21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

For the upright inhabit the earth, And the perfect are left in it,

22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

And the wicked are cut off from the earth, And treacherous dealers plucked out of it!