| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, | 1My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, |
| 2So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; | 2listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding; |
| 3Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, | 3furthermore, if you 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 for it like hidden treasure, |
| 5Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. | 5then you will understand 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 success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity |
| 8He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. | 8so that He may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His loyal followers. |
| 9Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. | 9Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and integrity--every good path. |
| 10When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, | 10For wisdom will enter your mind, and knowledge will delight your heart. |
| 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, | 12rescuing you from the way of evil-- from the one who says perverse things, |
| 13From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; | 13from those who abandon the right paths to walk in ways of darkness, |
| 14Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; | 14from those who enjoy doing evil and celebrate perversion, |
| 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 a forbidden woman, from a stranger with her flattering talk, |
| 17Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. | 17who abandons the companion 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 ways to the land of the departed spirits. |
| 19None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life— | 19None return who go to her; none reach the paths of life. |
| 20So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness. | 20So follow the way of good people, 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 those of integrity 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 treacherous uprooted from it. |
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