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he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
    he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
    and preserving the way of his saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice
    and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you;
    understanding will guard you;
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
    from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
    to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
    and delight in the perverseness of evil;
15 men whose paths are crooked,
    and who are devious in their ways.

16 You will be saved from the loose[a] woman,
    from the adventuress[b] with her smooth words,
17 who forsakes the companion of her youth
    and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house sinks down to death,
    and her paths to the shades;
19 none who go to her come back
    nor do they regain the paths of life.

20 So you will walk in the way of good men
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land,
    and men of integrity will remain in it;
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
    and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:16 Heb strange
  2. Proverbs 2:16 Heb foreign woman

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

20 My son, keep your father’s commandment,
    and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them upon your heart always;
    tie them about your neck.
22 When you walk, they[a] will lead you;
    when you lie down, they[b] will watch over you;
    and when you awake, they[c] will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
    and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman,
    from the smooth tongue of the adventuress.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:22 Heb it
  2. Proverbs 6:22 Heb it
  3. Proverbs 6:22 Heb it

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 False Attractions of Adultery

My son, keep my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
keep my commandments and live,
    keep my teachings as the apple of your eye;
bind them on your fingers,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and call insight your intimate friend;
to preserve you from the loose woman,
    from the adventuress with her smooth 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 When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
    but he who restrains his lips is prudent.

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

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The talk of a fool is a rod for his back,[a]
    but the lips of the wise will preserve them.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:3 Cn: Heb a rod of pride

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 tower;
    the righteous man runs 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 He who keeps his mouth and his tongue
    keeps himself out of trouble.

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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 himself will keep 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 a man given to anger,
    nor go with a wrathful man,
25 lest you learn his ways
    and entangle yourself in a snare.

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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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