| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, | 1My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. |
| 2So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; | 2Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. |
| 3Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, | 3Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. |
| 4If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; | 4Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. |
| 5Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. | 5Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God. |
| 6For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; | 6For the LORD grants 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 grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. |
| 8He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. | 8He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. |
| 9Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. | 9Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. |
| 10When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, | 10For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. |
| 11Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, | 11Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. |
| 12To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, | 12Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. |
| 13From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; | 13These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. |
| 14Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; | 14They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. |
| 15Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths; | 15Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong. |
| 16To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words, | 16Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman. |
| 17Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. | 17She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God. |
| 18For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead; | 18Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave. |
| 19None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life— | 19The man who visits her is doomed. He will never reach the paths of life. |
| 20So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness. | 20So follow the steps of the good, and stay on the paths of the righteous. |
| 21For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it; | 21For only the godly will live in the land, and those with 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 removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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