2:1 My son, if thou receivest my words, and layest up my commandments with thee,

2:2 so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom [and] thou apply thy heart to understanding;

2:3 yea, if thou criest after discernment [and] liftest up thy voice to understanding;

2:4 if thou seekest her as silver and searchest for her as for hidden treasures:

2:5 then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, and find the knowledge of God.

2:6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom; out of 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;

2:8 guarding the paths of just judgment and keeping the way of his godly ones.

2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness and judgment and equity: every good path.

2:10 When wisdom entereth into thy heart and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul,

2:11 discretion shall keep thee, understanding shall preserve thee:

2:12 To deliver thee from the way of evil, from the man that speaketh froward things;

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 frowardness of evil;

2:15 whose paths are crooked, and who are perverted in their course:

2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, from the stranger who flattereth with her words;

2:17 who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God;

2:18 -- for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead;

2:19 none that go unto her return again, neither do they attain to the paths of life:

2:20 -- that thou mayest walk in the way of the good, and keep the paths of the righteous.

2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it;