1 My son, if you accept my words and treasure my mitzvot within you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom, inclining your heart to discernment,
3 yes, if you call out for insight, lifting up your voice for discernment,
4 if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will know the fear of Adonai and discover the knowledge of God.
6 For Adonai gives wisdom. Out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.
8 He guards the paths of justice, and protects the way of His kedoshim.
9 Then you will discern what is right and just and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will watch over you —discernment will guard you—
12 to deliver you from the way of evil, from those speaking perverse things,
13 who leave the straight paths to walk in ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing wrong and delight in the perversity of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked and are devious in their ways—
16 to deliver you from a seducing woman— a wayward wife with seductive words,
17 who forsakes the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For her house sinks down to death and her tracks to the dead.
19 None who go to her return nor reach 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 dwell in the land and the blameless will remain in it.
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land and the treacherous uprooted from it.