1 M y son, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you,

My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you;

2 M aking your ear attentive to skillful and godly Wisdom and inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding;

So as to turn your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;

3 Y es, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,

Yes, if you call out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding;

4 I f you seek as for silver and search for skillful and godly Wisdom as for hidden treasures,

If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures:

5 T hen you will understand the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

then you will understand the fear of Yahweh, and find the knowledge of God.

6 F or the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

For Yahweh gives wisdom. Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

7 H e hides away sound and godly Wisdom and stores it for the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him); He is a shield to those who walk uprightly and in integrity,

He lays up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity;

8 T hat He may guard the paths of justice; yes, He preserves the way of His saints.

that he may guard the paths of justice, and preserve the way of his saints.

9 T hen you will understand righteousness, justice, and fair dealing; yes, you will understand every good path.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.

10 F or skillful and godly Wisdom shall enter into your heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant to you.

For wisdom will enter into your heart. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

11 D iscretion shall watch over you, understanding shall keep you,

Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will keep you,

12 T o deliver you from the way of evil and the evil men, from men who speak perverse things and are liars,

to deliver you from the way of evil, from the men who speak perverse things;

13 M en who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,

who forsake the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

14 W ho rejoice to do evil and delight in the perverseness of evil,

who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the perverseness of evil;

15 W ho are crooked in their ways, wayward and devious in their paths.

who are crooked in their ways, and wayward in their paths:

16 t o deliver you from the alien woman, from the outsider with her flattering words,

To deliver you from the strange woman, even from the foreigner who flatters with her words;

17 W ho forsakes the husband and guide of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.

who forsakes the friend of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God:

18 F or her house sinks down to death and her paths to the spirits.

for her house leads down to death, her paths to the departed spirits.

19 N one who go to her return again, neither do they attain or regain the paths of life.

None who go to her return again, neither do they attain to the paths of life:

20 S o may you walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of the righteous (the upright, in right standing with God).

that you may walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

21 F or the upright shall dwell in the land, and the men of integrity, blameless and complete, shall remain in it;

For the upright will dwell in the land. The perfect will remain in it.

22 B ut the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the treacherous shall be rooted out of it.

But the wicked will be cut off from the land. The treacherous will be rooted out of it.