Proverbs 2:11–19
11 hdiscretion will iwatch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to jwalk in the ways of darkness,
14 who krejoice in doing evil
and ldelight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose mpaths are crooked,
nand who are odevious in their ways.
16 So pyou will be delivered from the forbidden1 woman,
from qthe adulteress2 with rher smooth words,
17 who forsakes sthe companion of her youth
and forgets tthe covenant of her God;
18 ufor her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;3
19 none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:11–19 — The New International Version (NIV)
11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.
16 Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God.
18 Surely her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
19 None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:11–19 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
11 Discretion shall preserve thee,
Understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man,
From the man that speaketh froward things;
13 Who leave the paths of uprightness,
To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil,
And delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked,
And they froward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman,
Even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth,
And forgetteth the covenant of her God.
18 For her house inclineth unto death,
And her paths unto the dead.
19 None that go unto her return again,
Neither take they hold of the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:11–19 — New Living Translation (NLT)
11 Wise choices will watch over you.
Understanding will keep you safe.
12 Wisdom will save you from evil people,
from those whose words are twisted.
13 These men turn from the right way
to walk down dark paths.
14 They take pleasure in doing wrong,
and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.
15 Their actions are crooked,
and their ways are wrong.
16 Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman,
from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.
17 She has abandoned her husband
and ignores the covenant she made before God.
18 Entering her house leads to death;
it is the road to the grave.
19 The man who visits her is doomed.
He will never reach the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:11–19 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
11 Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things,
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice in doing evil,
And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked,
And who are devious in their paths;
16 To deliver you from the immoral woman,
From the seductress who flatters with her words,
17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth,
And forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For her house leads down to death,
And her paths to the dead;
19 None who go to her return,
Nor do they regain the paths of life—
Proverbs 2:11–19 — New Century Version (NCV)
11 Good sense will protect you;
understanding will guard you.
12 It will keep you from the wicked,
from those whose words are bad,
13 who don’t do what is right
but what is evil.
14 They enjoy doing wrong
and are happy to do what is crooked and evil.
15 What they do is wrong,
and their ways are dishonest.
16 It will save you from the unfaithful wife
who tries to lead you into adultery with pleasing words.
17 She leaves the husband she married when she was young.
She ignores the promise she made before God.
18 Her house is on the way to death;
those who took that path are now all dead.
19 No one who goes to her comes back
or walks the path of life again.
Proverbs 2:11–19 — American Standard Version (ASV)
11 Discretion shall watch over thee;
Understanding shall keep thee:
12 To deliver thee from the way of evil,
From the men that speak perverse things;
13 Who forsake the paths of uprightness,
To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who rejoice to do evil,
And delight in the perverseness of evil;
15 Who are crooked in their ways,
And wayward in their paths:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman,
Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words;
17 That forsaketh the friend of her youth,
And forgetteth the covenant of her God:
18 For her house inclineth unto death,
And her paths unto the dead;
19 None that go unto her return again,
Neither do they attain unto the paths of life:
Proverbs 2:11–19 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
11 discretion shall keep thee, understanding shall preserve thee: 12 To deliver thee from the way of evil, from the man that speaketh froward things; 13 from those who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; 14 who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of evil; 15 whose paths are crooked, and who are perverted in their course: 16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, from the stranger who flattereth with her words; 17 who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God; 18 —for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead; 19 none that go unto her return again, neither do they attain to the paths of life:
Proverbs 2:11–19 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
11 Foresight will protect you.
Understanding will guard you.
12 ⸤Wisdom will⸥ save you
from the way of evil,
from the person who speaks devious things,
13 from those who abandon the paths of righteousness
to walk the ways of darkness,
14 from those who enjoy doing evil,
from those who find joy in the deviousness of evil.
15 Their paths are crooked.
Their ways are devious.
16 ⸤Wisdom will⸥ also save you
from an adulterous woman,
from a loose woman with her smooth talk,
17 who leaves ⸤her husband,⸥ the closest friend of her youth,
and forgets her marriage vows to her God.
18 Her house sinks down to death.
Her ways lead to the souls of the dead.
19 None who have sex with her come back.
Nor do they ever reach the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:11–19 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
11 Discretion will watch over you,
and understanding will guard you,
12 rescuing you from the way of evil—
from the one who says perverse things,
13 from those who abandon the right paths
to walk in ways of darkness,
14 from those who enjoy doing evil
and celebrate perversion,
15 whose paths are crooked,
and whose ways are devious.
16 It will rescue you from a forbidden woman,
from a stranger with her flattering talk,
17 who abandons the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 for her house sinks down to death
and her ways to the land of the departed spirits.
19 None return who go to her;
none reach the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:11–19 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
11 prudence will watch over you;
and understanding will guard you.
12 It will save you from the way of evil,
from those who speak perversely,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil;
15 those whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
16 You will be saved from the loose woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
17 who forsakes the partner of her youth
and forgets her sacred covenant;
18 for her way leads down to death,
and her paths to the shades;
19 those who go to her never come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:11–19 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
11 Discretion will watch over you;
understanding will protect you,
12 in order to deliver you from the way of evil,
from a man who speaks devious things—
13 those who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in ways of darkness,
14 those who are happy to do evil,
for they delight in the deviousness of evil,
15 who are crooked in their ways,
and devious in their paths;
16 in order to deliver you from a strange woman,
from a foreign woman who flatters with her sayings,
17 she who forsakes the partner of her youth
and has forgotten the covenant of her God,
18 for her house sinks to death,
and to the dead are her paths.
19 Of all who go to her, none shall return,
nor do they reach paths of life.
Proverbs 2:11–19 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
11 Good sense will keep you safe.
Understanding will guard you.
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of evil men.
It will save you from men who twist their words.
13 Men like that leave the straight paths
to walk in dark ways.
14 They take delight in doing what is wrong.
They take joy in twisting everything around.
15 Their paths are crooked.
Their ways are not straight.
16 Wisdom will save you from a woman who commits adultery.
It will save you from a sinful wife and her tempting words.
17 She leaves the man she married when she was young.
She breaks the promise she made to her God.
18 Her house leads down to death.
Her paths lead to the spirits of the dead.
19 No one who goes to her comes back
or reaches the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:11–19 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
11 Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things;
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
15 Whose paths are crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
16 To deliver you from the strange woman,
From the adulteress who flatters with her words;
17 That leaves the companion of her youth
And forgets the covenant of her God;
18 For her house sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the dead;
19 None who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the paths of life.