Proverbs - The Old Testament

¹ My child, if you take my words to heart, if you set store by my commandments,

² tuning your ear to wisdom, tuning your heart to understanding,

³ yes, if your plea is for clear perception, if you cry out for understanding,

⁴ if you look for it as though for silver, search for it as though for buried treasure,

⁵ then you will understand what the fear of Yahweh is, and discover the knowledge of God.

⁶ For Yahweh himself is giver of wisdom, from his mouth issue knowledge and understanding.

⁷ He reserves his advice for the honest, a shield to those whose ways are sound;

⁸ he stands guard over the paths of equity, he keeps watch over the way of those faithful to him.

⁹ Then you will understand uprightness, equity and fair dealing, the paths that lead to happiness.

¹⁰ When wisdom comes into your heart and knowledge fills your soul with delight,

¹¹ then prudence will be there to watch over you, and understanding will be your guardian

¹² to keep you from the way that is evil, from those whose speech is deceitful,

¹³ from those who leave the paths of honesty to walk the roads of darkness:

¹⁴ those who find their joy in doing wrong, and their delight in deceitfulness,

¹⁵ whose tracks are twisted, and the paths that they tread crooked.

¹⁶ To keep you, too, from the woman who belongs to another, from the stranger, with her wheedling words;

¹⁷ she has left the partner of her younger days, she has forgotten the covenant of her God;

¹⁸ her house is tilting towards Death, down to the Shades go her paths.

¹⁹ Of those who go to her not one returns, they never regain the paths of life.

²⁰ Thus you will tread the way of good people, persisting in the paths of the upright.

²¹ For the land will be for the honest to live in, the innocent will have it for their home;

²² while the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the faithless rooted out of it.