Proverbs 2:7-22
Holman Christian Standard Bible
7 He stores up success[a] for the upright;
He is a shield for those who live with integrity(A)
8 so that He may guard the paths of justice
and protect the way of His loyal followers.(B)
9 Then you will understand righteousness, justice,
and integrity—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your mind,
and knowledge will delight your heart.
11 Discretion will watch over you,
and understanding will guard you,(C)
12 rescuing you from the way of evil—
from the one who says perverse things,
13 from those who abandon the right paths
to walk in ways of darkness,(D)
14 from those who enjoy doing evil(E)
and celebrate perversion,
15 whose paths are crooked,(F)
and whose ways are devious.(G)
16 It will rescue you from a forbidden woman,(H)
from a stranger[b] with her flattering talk,(I)
17 who abandons the companion of her youth(J)
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house sinks down to death
and her ways to the land of the departed spirits.(K)
19 None return who go to her;
none reach the paths of life.(L)
20 So follow the way of good people,(M)
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those of integrity will remain in it;(N)
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,(O)
and the treacherous uprooted from it.(P)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:7 Or resourcefulness
- Proverbs 2:16 Or foreign woman
Proverbs 2:7-22
Lexham English Bible
7 For the upright, he stores[a] sound judgment, a shield for those who walk uprightly,
8 in order to guard paths of justice
and keep[b] the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and uprightness—every good course—
10 for wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul.[c]
11 Discretion will watch over you;
understanding will protect you,
12 in order to deliver you from the way of evil,[d]
from a man who speaks devious things—
13 those who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in ways of darkness,
14 those who are happy to do evil,
for they delight in the deviousness of evil,
15 who are crooked in their ways,[e]
and devious in their paths;
16 in order to deliver you from a strange woman,
from a foreign woman who flatters[f] with her sayings,
17 she who forsakes the partner of her youth
and has forgotten the covenant of her God,
18 for her house sinks to death,
and to the dead[g] are her paths.
19 Of all who go to her, none shall return,
nor do they reach paths of life.
20 So that you will walk on the road of those who are good,
and the paths of those who are righteous you shall keep.
21 For those who are upright will dwell in the land,[h]
and those who are blameless[i] will remain in it.
22 And those who are wicked will be cut off from the land,
and those who are treacherous will be uprooted from it.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:7 Or “hides, keeps”
- Proverbs 2:8 Or “preserve, guard, watch”
- Proverbs 2:10 Or “inner self”
- Proverbs 2:12 Or “evildoer”
- Proverbs 2:15 Literally “that in their ways are crooked”
- Proverbs 2:16 Or “makes smooth”
- Proverbs 2:18 Or “Rephaim”
- Proverbs 2:21 Or “earth”
- Proverbs 2:21 Or “innocent”
Proverbs 6:20-24
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Warning against Adultery
20 My son, keep your father’s command,
and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.(A)
21 Always bind them to your heart;
tie them around your neck.(B)
22 When you walk here and there, they will guide you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
when you wake up, they will talk to you.
23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light,(C)
and corrective discipline is the way to life.(D)
24 They will protect you from an evil woman,[a]
from the flattering[b] tongue of a stranger.(E)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:24 LXX reads from a married woman
- Proverbs 6:24 Lit smooth
Proverbs 6:20-24
Lexham English Bible
Commandment and Instruction as Guardians
20 My child, keep the commandment of your father,
and do not disregard the instruction of your mother.
21 Bind them on your heart continually;
tie them upon your neck.
22 When you walk,[a] she[b] will lead you,
When you lie down,[c] she will watch over you,
and when you awake, she will converse with you.
23 For like a lamp is a commandment, and instruction is light,
and the way of life[d] is the reproof of discipline,
24 in order to preserve you from an evil woman,[e]
from the smoothness of the tongue of an adulteress.[f]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:22 Literally “In your walking”
- Proverbs 6:22 That is, “commandment” and “instruction”
- Proverbs 6:22 Literally “In your lying down”
- Proverbs 6:23 Hebrew “lives”
- Proverbs 6:24 Or “wife”
- Proverbs 6:24 Literally “a foreign woman”
Proverbs 7:1-5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
7 My son, obey my words,
and treasure my commands.(A)
2 Keep my commands and live;(B)
protect my teachings
as the pupil of your eye.(C)
3 Tie them to your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.(D)
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”(E)
and call understanding your relative.
5 She will keep you from a forbidden woman,
a stranger with her flattering talk.(F)
Proverbs 7:1-5
Lexham English Bible
Warning Against the Strange Woman
7 My child, guard my sayings;
store my commandments with you.
2 Keep my commands and live,
and my teaching like the apple of your eye.[a]
3 Bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom,[b] “you are my sister,”
and you shall call insight,[c] “intimate friend.”[d]
5 In order to guard yourself from an adulteress,[e]
from the foreigner who makes her words smooth.[f]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:2 A single word meaning “pupil of the eye”
- Proverbs 7:4 Hebrew “the wisdom”
- Proverbs 7:4 Hebrew “the insight”
- Proverbs 7:4 Literally “one who is known.” To “know” is often a euphemism for intercourse. Therefore “intimate friend” may also be read “lover.”
- Proverbs 7:5 Literally “a strange woman”
- Proverbs 7:5 Literally “causes to be smooth her words”
Proverbs 10:19
Holman Christian Standard Bible
19 When there are many words, sin is unavoidable,
but the one who controls his lips is wise.(A)
Proverbs 10:19
Lexham English Bible
19 In many words, transgression is not lacking,
but he who restrains his lips is prudent.
Proverbs 14:3
Holman Christian Standard Bible
3 The proud speech of a fool brings a rod of discipline,[a]
but the lips of the wise protect them.(A)
Footnotes
- Proverbs 14:3 Some emend to In the mouth of a fool is a rod for his back
Proverbs 14:3
Lexham English Bible
3 In the mouth of a fool is the rod of pride,
but the lips of the wise preserve them.
Proverbs 18:10
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Footnotes
- Proverbs 18:10 Lit raised high
Proverbs 18:10
Lexham English Bible
10 A tower of strength is the name of Yahweh;
into him[a] the righteous will run and be safe.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 18:10 Or “it”
Proverbs 21:23
Holman Christian Standard Bible
23 The one who guards his mouth and tongue
keeps himself out of trouble.(A)
Proverbs 21:23
Lexham English Bible
23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue,
he guards his life[a] from danger.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:23 Or “soul,” or “inner self”
Proverbs 22:5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
5 There are thorns and snares on the path of the crooked;(A)
the one who guards himself stays far from them.
Proverbs 22:5
Lexham English Bible
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
he who guards himself[a] will keep away from them.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:5 Or “soul,” or “life”
Proverbs 22:24-25
Holman Christian Standard Bible
24 Don’t make friends with an angry man,[a]
and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered man,(A)
25 or you will learn his ways(B)
and entangle yourself in a snare.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:24 Lit with a master of anger
Proverbs 22:24-25
Lexham English Bible
24 Do not befriend an owner[a] of anger,[b]
and with a man of wrath you shall not associate;
25 lest you learn his way
and become entangled in a snare to yourself.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:24 Or “master”
- Proverbs 22:24 Literally “nostril”
- Proverbs 22:25 Or “soul,” or “inner self”
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