1 M y son, if thou receivest my words, and layest up my commandments with thee,

My son, if thou dost accept my sayings, And my commands dost lay up with thee,

2 s o that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom thou apply thy heart to understanding;

To cause thine ear to attend to wisdom, Thou inclinest thy heart to understanding,

3 y ea, if thou criest after discernment liftest up thy voice to understanding;

For, if for intelligence thou callest, For understanding givest forth thy voice,

4 i f thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hidden treasures:

If thou dost seek her as silver, And as hid treasures searchest for her,

5 t hen shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God.

Then understandest thou fear of Jehovah, And knowledge of God thou findest.

6 F or Jehovah giveth wisdom; out of his mouth knowledge and understanding.

For Jehovah giveth wisdom, From His mouth knowledge and understanding.

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

Even to lay up for the upright substance, A shield for those walking uprightly.

8 g uarding the paths of just judgment and keeping the way of his godly ones.

To keep the paths of judgment, And the way of His saints He preserveth.

9 T hen shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity: every good path.

Then understandest thou righteousness, And judgment, and uprightness -- every good path.

10 W hen wisdom entereth into thy heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul,

For wisdom cometh into thy heart, And knowledge to thy soul is pleasant,

11 d iscretion shall keep thee, understanding shall preserve thee:

Thoughtfulness doth watch over thee, Understanding doth keep thee,

12 T o deliver thee from the way of evil, from the man that speaketh froward things;

To deliver thee from an evil way, From any speaking froward things,

13 w ho leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

Who are forsaking paths of uprightness, To walk in ways of darkness,

14 w ho rejoice to do evil, delight in the frowardness of evil;

Who are rejoicing to do evil, They delight in frowardness of the wicked,

15 w hose paths are crooked, and who are perverted in their course:

Whose paths crooked, Yea, they are perverted in their ways.

16 T o deliver thee from the strange woman, from the stranger who flattereth with her words;

To deliver thee from the strange woman, From the stranger who hath made smooth her sayings,

17 w ho forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God;

Who is forsaking the guide of her youth, And the covenant of her God hath forgotten.

18 — for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead;

For her house hath inclined unto death, And unto Rephaim her paths.

19 n one that go unto her return again, neither do they attain to the paths of life:

None going in unto her turn back, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

20 — that thou mayest walk in the way of the good, and keep the paths of the righteous.

That thou dost go in the way of the good, And the paths of the righteous dost keep.

21 F or the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it;

For the upright do inhabit the earth, And the perfect are left in it,

22 b ut the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful shall be plucked up out of it.

And the wicked from the earth are cut off, And treacherous dealers plucked out of it!