2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And lay up my commandments with thee;
2:1 My son, if you will receive my sayings, And treasure my commandments within you,

2:2 So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thy heart to understanding;
2:2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding;

2:3 Yea, if thou cry after discernment, And lift up thy voice for understanding;
2:3 For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding;

2:4 If thou seek her as silver, And search for her as for hid treasures:
2:4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;

2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, And find the knowledge of God.
2:5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD, And discover the knowledge of God.

2:6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom; Out of his mouth (cometh) knowledge and understanding:
2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth [come] knowledge and understanding.

2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; (He is) a shield to them that walk in integrity;
2:7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; [He is] a shield to those who walk in integrity,

2:8 That he may guard the paths of justice, And preserve the way of his saints.
2:8 Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones.

2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice, And equity, (yea), every good path.
2:9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity [and] every good course.

2:10 For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul;
2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

2:11 Discretion shall watch over thee; Understanding shall keep thee:
2:11 Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you,

2:12 To deliver thee from the way of evil, From the men that speak perverse things;
2:12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things;

2:13 Who forsake the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness;
2:13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness;

2:14 Who rejoice to do evil, And delight in the perverseness of evil;
2:14 Who delight in doing evil, And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

2:15 Who are crooked in their ways, And wayward in their paths:
2:15 Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways;

2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words;
2:16 To deliver you from the strange woman, From the adulteress who flatters with her words;

2:17 That forsaketh the friend of her youth, And forgetteth the covenant of her God:
2:17 That leaves the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God;

2:18 For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead;
2:18 For her house sinks down to death, And her tracks [lead] to the dead;

2:19 None that go unto her return again, Neither do they attain unto the paths of life:
2:19 None who go to her return again, Nor do they reach the paths of life.

2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous.
2:20 So you will walk in the way of good men, And keep to the paths of the righteous.

2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it.
2:21 For the upright will live in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;

2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it.
2:22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land, And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.