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

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

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

Making your ear attentive to skillful and godly Wisdom and inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding;

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

Yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,

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

If you seek as for silver and search for skillful and godly Wisdom as for hidden treasures,

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

Then you will understand the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

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

For the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

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

He 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,

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

That He may guard the paths of justice; yes, He preserves the way of His saints.

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

Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and fair dealing; yes, you will understand every good path.

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

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

11 D iscretion shall watch over thee; Understanding shall keep thee:

Discretion shall watch over you, understanding shall keep you,

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

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

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

Men 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, And wayward in their paths:

Who are crooked in their ways, wayward and devious in their paths.

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

to deliver you from the alien woman, from the outsider with her flattering words,

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

Who forsakes the husband and guide of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.

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

For her house sinks down to death and her paths to the spirits.

19 N one that go unto her return again, Neither do they attain unto the paths of life:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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