Proverbiorum 2

1 Fili mi, si susceperis sermones meos, et mandata mea absconderis penes te,

[My] son, if thou wilt receive the utterance of my commandment, and hide it with thee;

2 ut audiat sapientiam auris tua: inclina cor tuum ad cognoscendam prudentiam.

thine ear shall hearken to wisdom; thou shalt also apply thine heart to understanding, and shalt apply it to the instruction of thy son.

3 Si enim sapientiam invocaveris, et inclinaveris cor tuum prudentiæ:

For it thou shalt call to wisdom, and utter thy voice for understanding;

4 si quæsieris eam quasi pecuniam, et sicut thesauros effoderis illam:

and if thou shalt seek it as silver, and search diligently for it as for treasures;

5 tunc intelliges timorem Domini, et scientiam Dei invenies:

then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

6 quia Dominus dat sapientiam: et ex ore eius prudentia, et scientia.

For the Lord gives wisdom; and from his presence [come] knowledge and understanding,

7 Custodiet rectorum salutem, et proteget gradientes simpliciter,

and he treasures up salvation for them that walk uprightly: he will protect their way;

8 servans semitas iustitiæ, et vias sanctorum custodiens.

that he may guard the righteous ways: and he will preserve the way of them that fear him.

9 Tunc intelliges iustitiam, et iudicium, et æquitatem, et omnem semitam bonam.

Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment; and shalt direct all thy course aright.

10 Si intraverit sapientia cor tuum, et scientia animæ tuæ placuerit:

For if wisdom shall come into thine understanding, and discernment shall seem pleasing to thy soul,

11 consilium custodiet te, et prudentia servabit te,

good counsel shall guard thee, and holy understanding shall keep thee;

12 ut eruaris a via mala, et ab homine, qui perversa loquitur:

to deliver thee from the evil way, and from the man that speaks nothing faithfully.

13 qui relinquunt iter rectum, et ambulant per vias tenebrosas:

Alas [for those] who forsake right paths, to walk in ways of darkness;

14 qui lætantur cum malefecerint, et exultant in rebus pessimis:

who rejoice in evils, and delight in wicked perverseness;

15 quorum viæ perversæ sunt, et infames gressus eorum.

whose paths are crooked, and their courses winding;

16 Ut eruaris a muliere aliena, et ab extranea, quæ mollit sermones suos,

to remove thee far from the straight way, and to estrange thee from a righteous purpose. [My] son, let not evil counsel overtake thee,

17 et relinquit Ducem pubertatis suæ,

[of her] who has forsaken the instruction of her youth, and forgotten the covenant of God.

18 et pacti Dei sui oblita est. Inclinata est enim ad mortem domus eius, et ad inferos semitæ ipsius. (questioned)

For she has fixed her house near death, and [guided] her wheels near Hades with the giants.

19 Omnes, qui ingrediuntur ad eam, non revertentur, nec apprehendent semitas vitæ.

None that go by her shall return, neither shall they take hold of right paths, for they are not apprehended of the years of life.

20 Ut ambules in via bona: et calles iustorum custodias.

For had they gone in good paths, they would have found the paths of righteousness easy.

21 Qui enim recti sunt, habitabunt in terra, et simplices permanebunt in ea.

For the upright shall dwell in the earth, and the holy shall be left behind in it.

22 Impii vero de terra perdentur: et qui inique agunt, auferentur ex ea.

The paths of the ungodly shall perish out of the earth, and transgressors shall be driven away from it.