2:1 [My] son, if tho wilt receive the
utterance of my commandment, and hide it with thee;
2:2 thine ear shall hearken to wisdom; thou shalt also apply thine heart to
understanding, and shalt apply it to the instruction of thy son.
2:3 For it thou shalt call to wisdom, and utter thy voice for understanding;
2:4 and if thou shalt seek it as silver, and search diligently for it as for
treasures;
2:5 then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge
of God.
2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom; and from his presence [come] knowledge and
understanding,
2:7 and he treasures up salvation for them that walk uprightly: he will
protect their way;
2:8 that he may guard the righteous ways: and he will preserve the way of
them that fear him.
2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgement; and shalt
direct all thy course aright.
2:10 For if wisdom shall come into thine understanding, and discernment
shall seem pleasing to thy soul,
2:11 good counsel shall guard thee, and holy understanding shall keep thee;
2:12 to deliver thee from the evil way, and from the man that speaks nothing
faithfully.
2:13 Alas [for those] who forsake right paths, to walk in ways of darkness;
2:14 who rejoice in evils, and delight in wicked perverseness;
2:15 whose paths are crooked, and their courses winding;
2:16 to remove thee far from the straight way, and to estrange thee from a
righteous purpose. [My] son, let not evil counsel overtake thee,
2:17 [of her] who has forsaken the instruction of her youth, and forgotten
the covenant of God.
2:18 For she has fixed her house near death, and [guided] her wheels near
Hades with the giants.
2:19 None that go by her shall return, neither shall they take hold of right
paths, for they are not apprehended of the years of life.
2:20 For had they gone in good paths, they would have found the paths of
righteousness easy.
2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the earth, and the holy shall be left
behind in it.
2:22 The paths of the ungodly shall perish out of the earth, and
transgressors shall be driven away from it. |
2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words,
and hide my commandments with thee;
2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to
understanding;
2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for
understanding;
2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid
treasures;
2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge
of God.
2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and
understanding.
2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them
that walk uprightly.
2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea,
every good path.
2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto
thy soul;
2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
2:12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that
speaketh froward things;
2:13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
2:14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
2:15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which
flattereth with her words;
2:17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of
her God.
2:18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
2:19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths
of life.
2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the
righteous.
2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain
in it.
2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors
shall be rooted out of it. |