1 M y son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,

My son, if you receive my sayings and store up my teachings within you,

2 S o that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

make your ear open to wisdom. Turn your heart to understanding.

3 Y es, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,

If you cry out to know right from wrong, and lift your voice for understanding;

4 I f you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;

if you look for her as silver, and look for her as hidden riches;

5 T hen you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God.

then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find what is known of God.

6 F or the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

For the Lord gives wisdom. Much learning and understanding come from His mouth.

7 H e stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

He stores up perfect wisdom for those who are right with Him. He is a safe-covering to those who are right in their walk.

8 H e guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.

He watches over the right way, and He keeps safe the way of those who belong to Him.

9 T hen you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.

Then you will understand what is right and good, and right from wrong, and you will know what you should do.

10 W hen wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,

For wisdom will come into your heart. And much learning will be pleasing to your soul.

11 D iscretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you,

Good thinking will keep you safe. Understanding will watch over you.

12 T o deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,

You will be kept from the sinful man, and from the man who causes much trouble by what he says.

13 F rom those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness;

You will be kept from the man who leaves the right way to walk in the ways of darkness,

14 W ho rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked;

from the one who is happy doing wrong, and who finds joy in the way of sin.

15 W hose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;

His ways are not straight and are not good.

16 T o deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,

You will be saved from the strange woman, from the sinful woman with her smooth words.

17 W ho forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.

She leaves the husband she had when she was young, and forgets the agreement with her God.

18 F or her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;

For her house goes down to death, and her steps lead to the dead.

19 N one who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life—

None who go to her return again, and they do not find the paths of life.

20 S o you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness.

So may you walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of those who are right and good.

21 F or the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;

For those who are right with God will live in the land. The men without blame will stay in it,

22 B ut the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

but the sinful will be destroyed from the land, and those who are not faithful will be taken away from it.