Proverbs 2:7-22
English Standard Version
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is (A)a shield to those who (B)walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and (C)watching over the way of his (D)saints.
9 (E)Then you will understand (F)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 (G)discretion will (H)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 (I)walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who (J)rejoice in doing evil
and (K)delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose (L)paths are crooked,
(M)and who are (N)devious in their ways.
16 So (O)you will be delivered from the forbidden[a] woman,
from (P)the adulteress[b] with (Q)her smooth words,
17 who forsakes (R)the companion of her youth
and forgets (S)the covenant of her God;
18 (T)for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;[c]
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 the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright (U)will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
22 but the wicked will be (V)cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be (W)rooted out of it.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:16 Hebrew strange
- Proverbs 2:16 Hebrew foreign woman
- Proverbs 2:18 Hebrew to the Rephaim
Proverbs 2:7-22
International Standard Version
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright
and is a shield to those who walk in integrity—
8 guarding the paths of the just
and protecting the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand what is right, just,
and upright—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion[a] will protect you;
understanding will watch over you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men who speak perverse things,
13 and from those who abandon the right[b] path
to travel along the ways of darkness;
14 who delight in doing evil,
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil;
15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways,
16 delivering you from the adulteress,
from the immoral[c] woman with her seductive words,
17 someone who abandoned the companion of her youth
and forgot the covenant of her God.
18 For her house leads down to death,
and her paths down to the realm of the dead.
19 None who go to her return,
nor do they reach the paths of life.
20 This is how you will walk in the way of good men
and will keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,
and people of integrity will remain in it.
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be uprooted from it.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 2:11 Or Wise planning
- Proverbs 2:13 Lit. straight or upright
- Proverbs 2:16 Lit. foreign; i.e. one whose values are foreign to God’s Law
Proverbs 6:20-24
English Standard Version
Warnings Against Adultery
20 (A)My son, keep your father's commandment,
(B)and forsake not your mother's teaching.
21 (C)Bind them on your heart always;
(D)tie them around your neck.
22 (E)When you walk, they[a] will lead you;
(F)when you lie down, they will (G)watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23 For the commandment is (H)a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the (I)reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24 to preserve you from the evil woman,[b]
from the smooth tongue of (J)the adulteress.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse
- Proverbs 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor
- Proverbs 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman
Proverbs 6:20-24
International Standard Version
Parental Counsel about Immorality
20 Keep your father’s commands, my son,
and never forsake your mother’s rules,[a]
21 by binding them to your heart continuously,
fastening them around your neck.
22 During your travels wisdom[b] will lead you;
she will watch over you while you rest;
and when you are startled from your sleep,
she will commune with you.
23 Because the command is a lamp
and the Law a light,
rebukes that discipline are a way of life—
24 to protect you from the evil[c] woman,
from the words of the seductive woman.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 6:20 Or laws
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit. wisdom; i.e. wisdom personified as a woman
- Proverbs 6:24 So MT; LXX reads married
Proverbs 7:1-5
English Standard Version
Warning Against the Adulteress
7 (A)My son, keep my words
and (B)treasure up my commandments with you;
2 (C)keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as (D)the apple of your eye;
3 (E)bind them on your fingers;
(F)write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
5 to keep you from (G)the forbidden[a] woman,
from (H)the adulteress[b] with her smooth words.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew strange
- Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew the foreign woman
Proverbs 7:1-5
International Standard Version
On Avoiding the Immoral Woman
7 My son, guard what I say
and treasure my commands.
2 Keep my commands and you’ll live.
Guard[a] my teaching as you do your eyesight.
3 Strap them to your fingers
and engrave them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You’re my sister!”
and call understanding your close relative,
5 so they can keep you from an adulterous woman,
from the immoral woman with her seductive words.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 7:2 The Heb. lacks Guard
Proverbs 10:19
English Standard Version
19 (A)When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
(B)but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
Proverbs 10:19
International Standard Version
19 Transgression is at work where people talk too much,
but anyone who holds his tongue is prudent.
Proverbs 14:3
English Standard Version
3 By the mouth of a fool comes (A)a rod for his back,[a]
(B)but the lips of the wise will preserve them.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 14:3 Or In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride
Proverbs 14:3
International Standard Version
3 What a fool says brings[a] a rod to his back,
but the words of the wise protect them.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 14:3 Lit. The mouth of the fool
Proverbs 18:10
English Standard Version
Proverbs 18:10
International Standard Version
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
a righteous person rushes to it and is lifted up above the danger.[a]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 18:10 The Heb. lacks above the danger
Proverbs 21:23
English Standard Version
Proverbs 21:23
International Standard Version
23 Whoever watches his mouth and tongue
keeps himself from trouble.
Proverbs 22:5
English Standard Version
5 (A)Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;
whoever (B)guards his soul will keep far from them.
Proverbs 22:5
International Standard Version
5 Thorns and snares lie in the path of the perverse person,
but whoever is cautious stays far away from them.
Proverbs 22:24-25
English Standard Version
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.
Proverbs 22:24-25
International Standard Version
24 Don’t make friends with a hot-tempered man,
and do not associate with someone who is easily angered,
25 or you may learn his ways
and find yourself caught in a trap.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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