| New King James Version | International Standard Version |
| 1My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, | 1My son, if you accept my words, and treasure my instructions — |
| 2So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; | 2making your ear attentive to wisdom, and turning your heart to understanding— |
| 3Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, | 3if, indeed, you call out for insight and raise your voice for 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 learn to know God. |
| 6For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; | 6For the LORD gives wisdom, and 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 and is a shield to those who walk in integrity— |
| 8He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. | 8guarding the paths of the just and protecting the way of his faithful ones. |
| 9Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. | 9Then you will understand what is right, just, and upright—every good path. |
| 10When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, | 10For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. |
| 11Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, | 11Discretion will protect you; understanding will watch over you, |
| 12To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, | 12delivering you from the way of evil, from men who speak perverse things, |
| 13From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; | 13and from those who abandon the right path to travel along the ways of darkness; |
| 14Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; | 14who delight in doing evil, and rejoice in the perverseness of evil; |
| 15Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths; | 15whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways, |
| 16To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words, | 16delivering you from the adulteress, from the immoral woman with her seductive words, |
| 17Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. | 17someone who abandoned the companion of her youth and forgot the covenant of her God. |
| 18For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead; | 18For her house leads down to death, and her paths down to the realm of the dead. |
| 19None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life— | 19None who go to her return, nor do they reach the paths of life. |
| 20So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness. | 20This is how you will walk in the way of good men and will 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 live in the land, and people 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 will be uprooted from it. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
|
