Proverbs 2
1 My son, if thou receivest my words, and layest up my commandments with thee,
My son, if you accept what I say and value my instructions,
2 so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom [and] thou apply thy heart to understanding;
if you pay attention to wisdom and really try to understand;
3 yea, if thou criest after discernment [and] liftest up thy voice to understanding;
if you cry out for insight and call loudly for help in understanding;
4 if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hidden treasures:
if you look for it as if it were silver and search for it as if it were hidden treasure;
5 then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God.
then you will understand how to relate to the Lord and discover the truth about God.
6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom; out of his mouth [come] knowledge and understanding.
The Lord is the source of wisdom; what he says provides knowledge that makes sense.
7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; [he] is a shield to them that walk in integrity;
He gives good judgment to those who live right; he defends those who have good sense.
8 guarding the paths of just judgment and keeping the way of his godly ones.
He supports those who act fairly and protects those who trust in him.
9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity: every good path.
Then you will be able to recognize what is right and just and fair, in fact all that is good in the way you should live.
10 When wisdom entereth into thy heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul,
For wisdom will fill your mind, and knowledge will make you happy.
11 discretion shall keep thee, understanding shall preserve thee:
Good decisions will keep you on track; thinking logically will keep you safe.
12 To deliver thee from the way of evil, from the man that speaketh froward things;
Doing this will save you from the ways of evil, from men who tell twisted lies,
13 [from those] who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
who turn away from following what is right to walk down paths of darkness.
14 who rejoice to do evil, [and] delight in the frowardness of evil;
They happily do wrong; they love how twisted evil is.
15 whose paths are crooked, and who are perverted in their course:
They live crooked lives doing deceitful things.
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, from the stranger who flattereth with her words;
Doing this will also save you from a woman who acts immorally, from a woman who like a prostitute tries to seduce you with flattering words.
17 who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God;
Such a woman has left her husband she married when she was young, forgetting the promises she made before God.
18 — for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead;
What happens in her house leads to death; following her way leads to the grave.
19 none that go unto her return again, neither do they attain to the paths of life:
No one who goes to her comes back; they don't ever find the way back to life again.
20 — that thou mayest walk in the way of the good, and keep the paths of the righteous.
So you should follow the way of the good, and make sure you stay on the paths of those who do right.
21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it;
For only people who live right will live in the land; only honest people will remain there.
22 but the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful shall be plucked up out of it.
But the wicked will be thrown out of the land; those who are untrustworthy will be pulled out by the roots.
