aMy son, if thou wilt receive my words,

aAnd bhide my commandments with thee;

2  So that thou bbincline thine ear unto wisdom,

And apply thine heart to understanding;

3  Yea, if thou criest after cknowledge,

And †liftest up thy voice for understanding;

4  If thou seekest her das silver,

And searchest for her as for ehid treasures;

5  kThen shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord,

And find the knowledge of God.

6  For fthe Lord giveth wisdom:

Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

7  He blayeth up gsound wisdom for the righteous:

He is a hbuckler to them that iwalk uprightly.

8  He iikeepeth the paths of judgment,

And jpreserveth the way of his saints.

9  kThen shalt thou understand lrighteousness, and judgment,

And mequity; yea, every good path.

10  When wisdom entereth into thine heart,

And knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

11  nDiscretion oshall preserve thee,

Understanding shall keep thee:

12  To deliver thee from the way of the evil man,

From the man that speaketh pfroward things;

13  Who leave the paths of uprightness,

To qwalk in the ways of darkness;

14  rWho rejoice to do evil,

And sdelight in the pfrowardness of the wicked;

15  Whose ways are tcrooked,

And they ufroward in their paths:

16  wTo deliver thee from the xstrange woman,

wEven from ythe stranger which zflattereth with her words;

17  Which forsaketh athe guide of her youth,

And forgetteth the covenant of her God.

18  For bher house inclineth unto death,

And her cpaths unto dthe dead.

19  None that go unto her return again,

Neither take they hold of the paths of life.

20  That thou mayest walk in the way of good men,

And keep the paths of the righteous.