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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 layeth up sound wisdom for the upright;
[a]He is a shield to them that walk in integrity;
[b]That he may guard the paths of justice,
[c]And preserve the way of his saints.
Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice,
And equity, yea, every good path.
10 For wisdom shall enter into thy heart,
And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;
11 Discretion shall watch over thee;
Understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of [d]evil,
From the men that speak perverse things;
13 Who forsake the paths of uprightness,
To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil,
And delight in the perverseness of [e]evil;
15 Who are crooked in their ways,
And wayward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman,
Even from the foreigner that [f]flattereth with her words;
17 That forsaketh the [g]friend of her youth,
And forgetteth the covenant of her God:
18 For [h]her house inclineth unto death,
And her paths unto [i]the dead;
19 None that go unto her return again,
Neither do they attain unto the paths of life:
20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men,
And keep the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright shall dwell in the [j]land,
And the perfect shall remain in it.
22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the land,
[k]And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 2:7 Or, And a shield for etc.
  2. Proverbs 2:8 Or, That they may keep
  3. Proverbs 2:8 Or, Yea, he preserveth
  4. Proverbs 2:12 Or, the evil man
  5. Proverbs 2:14 Or, the evil man
  6. Proverbs 2:16 Hebrew maketh smooth her words.
  7. Proverbs 2:17 Or, guide
  8. Proverbs 2:18 Or, she sinketh down unto death, which is her house
  9. Proverbs 2:18 Or, the shades. Hebrew Rephaim.
  10. Proverbs 2:21 Or, earth
  11. Proverbs 2:22 Or, earth

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

20 My son, keep the commandment of thy father,
And forsake not the [a]law of thy mother:
21 Bind them continually upon thy heart;
Tie them about thy neck.
22 When thou walkest, it shall lead thee;
When thou [b]sleepest, it shall watch over thee;
And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
23 For [c]the commandment is a lamp; and [d]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 foreigner’s tongue.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 6:20 Or, teaching
  2. Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew liest down.
  3. Proverbs 6:23 Or, their commandment
  4. Proverbs 6:23 Or, their teaching

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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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 thy heart.
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister;
And call understanding thy [a]kinswoman:
That they may keep thee from the strange woman,
From the foreigner that [b]flattereth with her words.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 7:4 Or, familiar friend
  2. Proverbs 7:5 Hebrew maketh smooth her words.

19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
    but he who restrains his lips is prudent.

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19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not transgression;
But he that refraineth his lips [a]doeth wisely.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:19 Or, is wise

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

In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his pride;
But the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

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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 Jehovah is a strong tower;
The righteous runneth into it, and [a]is safe.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 18:10 Hebrew is set on high.

23 He who keeps his mouth and his tongue
    keeps himself out of trouble.

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

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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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Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse:
He that keepeth his soul shall be 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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24 Make no friendship with a man that is given to anger;
And with a wrathful man thou shalt not go:
25 Lest thou learn his ways,
And get a snare to thy soul.

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