He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
(A)He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
He guards the paths of justice,
And (B)preserves the way of His saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path.

10 When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you;
(C)Understanding will keep you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things,
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To (D)walk in the ways of darkness;
14 (E)Who rejoice in doing evil,
And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
15 (F)Whose ways are crooked,
And who are devious in their paths;
16 To deliver you from (G)the immoral woman,
(H)From the seductress who flatters with her words,
17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth,
And forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For (I)her house [a]leads down to death,
And her paths to the dead;
19 None who go to her return,
Nor do they [b]regain the paths of life—
20 So you may walk in the way of goodness,
And keep to the paths of righteousness.
21 For the upright will dwell in the (J)land,
And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be [c]cut off from the [d]earth,
And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:18 sinks
  2. Proverbs 2:19 Lit. reach
  3. Proverbs 2:22 destroyed
  4. Proverbs 2:22 land

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous; He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of His saints.

Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity, yea, every good path.

10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul,

11 discretion shall preserve thee, and understanding shall keep thee,

12 to deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from men that speaketh froward things,

13 who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,

14 who rejoice to do evil and delight in the frowardness of the wicked,

15 whose ways are crooked and who are froward in their paths.

16 Wisdom will deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger, who flattereth with her words,

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

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

19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

20 Thus thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of the righteous.

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

22 but the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

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He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield(A) to those whose walk is blameless,(B)
for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.(C)

Then you will understand(D) what is right and just
    and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,(E)
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
    and understanding will guard you.(F)

12 Wisdom will save(G) you from the ways of wicked men,
    from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
    to walk in dark ways,(H)
14 who delight in doing wrong
    and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,(I)
15 whose paths are crooked(J)
    and who are devious in their ways.(K)

16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,(L)
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
    and ignored the covenant she made before God.[a](M)
18 Surely her house leads down to death
    and her paths to the spirits of the dead.(N)
19 None who go to her return
    or attain the paths of life.(O)

20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,(P)
    and the blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked(Q) will be cut off from the land,(R)
    and the unfaithful will be torn from it.(S)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:17 Or covenant of her God

Beware of Adultery

20 (A)My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.
21 (B)Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 (C)When you roam, [a]they will lead you;
When you sleep, (D)they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.
23 (E)For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24 (F)To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattering tongue of a seductress.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:22 Lit. it

20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother.

21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.

22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

23 For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life

24 to keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.

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Warning Against Adultery

20 My son,(A) keep your father’s command
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(B)
21 Bind them always on your heart;
    fasten them around your neck.(C)
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
    when you sleep, they will watch over you;
    when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this command is a lamp,
    this teaching is a light,(D)
and correction and instruction
    are the way to life,(E)
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
    from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.(F)

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The Wiles of a Harlot

My son, keep my words,
And (A)treasure my commands within you.
(B)Keep my commands and live,
(C)And my law as the apple of your eye.
(D)Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your nearest kin,
(E)That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
From the seductress who flatters with her words.

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My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

Keep my commandments and live, and my law as the apple of thine eye.

Bind them upon thy fingers; write them upon the tablet of thine heart.

Say unto wisdom, “Thou art my sister,” and call understanding thy kinswoman,

that they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the harlot who flattereth with her words.

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Warning Against the Adulterous Woman

My son,(A) keep my words
    and store up my commands within you.
Keep my commands and you will live;(B)
    guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.(C)
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and to insight, “You are my relative.”
They will keep you from the adulterous woman,
    from the wayward woman with her seductive words.(D)

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19 (A)In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But (B)he who restrains his lips is wise.

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19 In the multitude of words there lacketh not sin, but he that restraineth his lips is wise.

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19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
    but the prudent hold their tongues.(A)

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In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride,
(A)But the lips of the wise will preserve them.

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The mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride, but the lips of the wise shall preserve him.

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A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride,(A)
    but the lips of the wise protect them.(B)

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10 The name of the Lord is a strong (A)tower;
The righteous run to it and are [a]safe.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:10 secure, lit. set on high

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.

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10 The name of the Lord is a fortified tower;(A)
    the righteous run to it and are safe.(B)

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23 (A)Whoever guards his mouth and tongue
Keeps his soul from troubles.

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23 Whoso guardeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

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23 Those who guard their mouths(A) and their tongues
    keep themselves from calamity.(B)

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Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards his soul will be far from them.

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Thorns and snares are in the path of the froward; he that doth keep his soul shall stay far from them.

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In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,(A)
    but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

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24 Make no friendship with an angry man,
And with a (A)furious man do not go,
25 Lest you learn his ways
And set a snare for your soul.

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24 Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man thou shalt not go,

25 lest thou learn his ways and get a snare for thy soul.

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Saying 3

24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person,
    do not associate with one easily angered,
25 or you may learn their ways
    and get yourself ensnared.(A)

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