| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; | 1My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, |
| 2So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; | 2listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding; |
| 3Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; | 3furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, |
| 4If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; | 4if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, |
| 5Then shalt thou 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 giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. | 6For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. |
| 7He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. | 7He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity |
| 8He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. | 8so that He may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of His loyal followers. |
| 9Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. | 9Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and integrity--every good path. |
| 10When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; | 10For wisdom will enter your mind, and knowledge will delight your heart. |
| 11Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: | 11Discretion will watch over you, and understanding will guard you, |
| 12To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; | 12rescuing you from the way of evil-- from the one who says perverse things, |
| 13Who 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 to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; | 14from those who enjoy doing evil and celebrate perversion, |
| 15Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: | 15whose paths are crooked, and whose ways are devious. |
| 16To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; | 16It will rescue you from a forbidden woman, from a stranger with her flattering talk, |
| 17Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. | 17who abandons the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; |
| 18For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. | 18for her house sinks down to death and her ways to the land of the departed spirits. |
| 19None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. | 19None return who go to her; none reach the paths of life. |
| 20That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. | 20So follow the way of good people, and keep to the paths of the righteous. |
| 21For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. | 21For the upright will inhabit the land, and those of integrity will remain in it; |
| 22But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. | 22but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous uprooted from it. |
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