⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright,
A ^(A)shield to those who walk in integrity,
⁸ To guard the paths of justice,
And He ^(B)keeps the way of His holy ones.
⁹ Then you will understand ^(C)righteousness and justice
And equity—every ^(D)good track.
¹⁰ For ^(E)wisdom will enter your heart
And ^(F)knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
¹¹ Discretion will ^(G)keep you,
Discernment will guard you,
¹² To ^(H)deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks ^(I)perverse things;
¹³ From those who ^(J)forsake the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ^(K)ways of darkness;
¹⁴ Who are ^(L)glad to do evil
And they rejoice in the perversity of evil;
¹⁵ Whose paths are ^(M)crooked,
And who are devious in their tracks;
¹⁶ To deliver you from the ^[a](N)strange woman,
From the ^[b](O)foreign woman who flatters with her words;
¹⁷ Who forsakes the close ^(P)companion of her youth
And forgets the ^(Q)covenant of her God;
¹⁸ For ^(R)her house ^[c]sinks down to death
And her tracks descend to the ^[d]dead;
¹⁹ All ^(S)who go to her will not return,
And they will not reach the ^(T)paths of life.
²⁰ So that you will ^(U)walk in the way of good men
And keep to the ^(V)paths of the righteous.
²¹ For ^(W)the upright will dwell in the land
And ^(X)the blameless will remain in it;
²² But ^(Y)the wicked will be cut off from the land
And ^(Z)the treacherous will be ^(AA)torn away from it.

^20 (A)My son, observe the commandment of your father
And do not abandon the ^[a]law of your mother;
^21 (B)Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
²² When you ^(C)walk about, ^[b]they will lead you;
When you sleep, ^[c]they will keep watch over you;
And when you awake, ^[d]they will speak to you.
²³ For ^(D)the commandment is a lamp and the ^[e]law is light;
And reproofs for discipline are the way of life
²⁴ To ^(E)keep you from the evil woman,
From the smooth tongue of the foreign woman.

7 My son, ^(A)keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
^2 (B)Keep my commandments and live,
And my ^[a]law ^(C)as the ^[b]apple of your eye.
^3 (D)Bind them on your fingers;
^(E)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend;
⁵ In order to keep you from the strange woman,
From the foreign woman who ^[c]flatters with her words.

¹⁹ When there are ^(A)many words, transgression is unavoidable,
But ^(B)he who holds back his lips has insight.