Proverbs 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proverbs 2

Wisdom and bad friends

1 My child, you must follow
and treasure my teachings
and my instructions.

2 Keep in tune with wisdom
and think what it means
to have common sense.

3 Beg as loud as you can
for good common sense.

4 Search for wisdom
as you would search for silver
or hidden treasure.

5 Then you will understand
what it means to respect
and to know the Lord God.

6 All wisdom comes from the Lord,
and so do common sense
and understanding.

7 God gives helpful advicet
to everyone who obeys him
and protects all those
who live as they should.

8 God sees that justice is done,
and he watches over everyone
who is faithful to him.

9 With wisdom you will learn
what is right
and honest and fair.

10 Wisdom will control your mind,
and you will be pleased
with knowledge.

11 Sound judgment and good sense
will watch over you.

12 Wisdom will protect you
from evil schemes
and from those liars

13 who turned from doing good
to live in the darkness.

14 Most of all they enjoy
being mean and deceitful.

15 They are dishonest themselves,
and all they do is crooked.

Wisdom and sexual purity

16 Wisdom will protect you
from the smooth talk
of a sinful woman,

17 who breaks her wedding vows
and leaves the man she married
when she was young.

18 The road to her house leads
down to the dark world
of the dead.

19 Visit her, and you will never
find the road to life again.

20 Follow the example
of good people
and live an honest life.

21 If you are honest and innocent,
you will keep your land;

22 if you do wrong
and can never be trusted,
you will be rooted out.