< Proverbs 2 >

1 My son, if thou dost accept my sayings, And my commands dost lay up with thee,
My son, if you accept what I say and value my instructions,
2 To cause thine ear to attend to wisdom, Thou inclinest thy heart to understanding,
if you pay attention to wisdom and really try to understand;
3 For, if for intelligence thou callest, For understanding givest forth thy voice,
if you cry out for insight and call loudly for help in understanding;
4 If thou dost seek her as silver, And as hid treasures searchest for her,
if you look for it as if it were silver and search for it as if it were hidden treasure;
5 Then understandest thou fear of Jehovah, And knowledge of God thou findest.
then you will understand how to relate to the Lord and discover the truth about God.
6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom, From His mouth knowledge and understanding.
The Lord is the source of wisdom; what he says provides knowledge that makes sense.
7 Even to lay up for the upright substance, A shield for those walking uprightly.
He gives good judgment to those who live right; he defends those who have good sense.
8 To keep the paths of judgment, And the way of His saints He preserveth.
He supports those who act fairly and protects those who trust in him.
9 Then understandest thou righteousness, And judgment, and uprightness — every good path.
Then you will be able to recognize what is right and just and fair, in fact all that is good in the way you should live.
10 For wisdom cometh into thy heart, And knowledge to thy soul is pleasant,
For wisdom will fill your mind, and knowledge will make you happy.
11 Thoughtfulness doth watch over thee, Understanding doth keep thee,
Good decisions will keep you on track; thinking logically will keep you safe.
12 To deliver thee from an evil way, From any speaking froward things,
Doing this will save you from the ways of evil, from men who tell twisted lies,
13 Who are forsaking paths of uprightness, To walk in ways of darkness,
who turn away from following what is right to walk down paths of darkness.
14 Who are rejoicing to do evil, They delight in frowardness of the wicked,
They happily do wrong; they love how twisted evil is.
15 Whose paths [are] crooked, Yea, they are perverted in their ways.
They live crooked lives doing deceitful things.
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, From the stranger who hath made smooth her sayings,
Doing this will also save you from a woman who acts immorally, from a woman who like a prostitute tries to seduce you with flattering words.
17 Who is forsaking the guide of her youth, And the covenant of her God hath forgotten.
Such a woman has left her husband she married when she was young, forgetting the promises she made before God.
18 For her house hath inclined unto death, And unto Rephaim her paths.
What happens in her house leads to death; following her way leads to the grave.
19 None going in unto her turn back, Nor do they reach the paths of life.
No one who goes to her comes back; they don't ever find the way back to life again.
20 That thou dost go in the way of the good, And the paths of the righteous dost keep.
So you should follow the way of the good, and make sure you stay on the paths of those who do right.
21 For the upright do inhabit the earth, And the perfect are left in it,
For only people who live right will live in the land; only honest people will remain there.
22 And the wicked from the earth are cut off, And treacherous dealers plucked out of it!
But the wicked will be thrown out of the land; those who are untrustworthy will be pulled out by the roots.

< Proverbs 2 >