| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, | 1My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you, |
| 2So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; | 2if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding, |
| 3Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, | 3if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, |
| 4If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; | 4if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure, |
| 5Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. | 5then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. |
| 6For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; | 6For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. |
| 7He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; | 7He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk with integrity, |
| 8He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. | 8to guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His saints. |
| 9Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. | 9Then you will discern righteousness and justice and equity—every good path. |
| 10When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, | 10For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will delight your soul. |
| 11Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, | 11Discretion will watch over you, and understanding will guard you, |
| 12To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, | 12to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perversity, |
| 13From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; | 13from those who leave the straight paths to walk in the ways of darkness, |
| 14Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; | 14from those who enjoy doing evil and rejoice in the twistedness of evil, |
| 15Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths; | 15whose paths are crooked and whose ways are devious. |
| 16To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words, | 16It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words |
| 17Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. | 17who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God. |
| 18For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead; | 18For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits. |
| 19None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life— | 19None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life. |
| 20So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness. | 20So you will follow in the ways of the good, and keep to the paths of the righteous. |
| 21For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it; | 21For the upright will inhabit the land, and the blameless will remain in it; |
| 22But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it. | 22but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted. |
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