Proverbs 2

1My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And lay up my commandments with thee;

1My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands inside you,

2So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thy heart to understanding;

2listening closely to wisdom and focusing your heart on understanding;

3Yea, if thou cry after discernment, And lift up thy voice for understanding;

3yes, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding;

4If thou seek her as silver, And search for her as for hid treasures:

4if you look for it as if you were looking for silver and search for it like hidden treasure;

5Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, And find the knowledge of God.

5then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD and you will find the knowledge of God.

6For Jehovah giveth wisdom; Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding:

6For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; He isa shield to them that walk in integrity;

7He stores up success for the honest person; he is a shield to those who live with integrity.

8That he may guard the paths of justice, And preserve the way of his saints.

8He guards the paths of the just and protects the way of his faithful people.

9Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice, And equity, yea, every good path.

9Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair—every good path you should take.

10For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;

10For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be a pleasure to your soul.

11Discretion shall watch over thee; Understanding shall keep thee:

11Good judgment will watch over you, and understanding will keep you safe.

12To deliver thee from the way of evil, From the men that speak perverse things;

12Wisdom will save you from the way of evil people and from those whose words are twisted.

13Who forsake the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness;

13These are people who leave the straight paths to walk in the ways of darkness;

14Who rejoice to do evil, And delight in the perverseness of evil;

14who enjoy doing wrong and celebrate the wickedness of evil;

15Who are crooked in their ways, And wayward in their paths:

15whose roads are crooked and who are dishonest in everything they do.

16To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words;

16Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive woman with her flattering words.

17That forsaketh the friend of her youth, And forgetteth the covenant of her God:

17She has abandoned the husband of her youth and ignored the cows she made before her God.

18For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead;

18Her house leads down to death, and her tracks lead to the spirits of the dead.

19None that go unto her return again, Neither do they attain unto the paths of life:

19No one who goes to her returns, nor do they ever reach the paths of life.

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

20So follow the steps of good people and stay on the paths of those who do right.

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

21For the honest will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it.

22But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it.

22But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn out of it.