| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; | 1My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. |
| 2So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; | 2Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. |
| 3Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; | 3Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. |
| 4If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; | 4Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. |
| 5Then shalt thou 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 giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. | 6For the LORD grants 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 grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. |
| 8He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. | 8He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. |
| 9Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. | 9Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. |
| 10When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; | 10For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. |
| 11Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: | 11Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. |
| 12To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; | 12Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. |
| 13Who 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 to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; | 14They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. |
| 15Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: | 15Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong. |
| 16To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; | 16Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman. |
| 17Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. | 17She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God. |
| 18For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. | 18Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave. |
| 19None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. | 19The man who visits her is doomed. He will never 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 steps of the good, and stay on the paths of the righteous. |
| 21For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. | 21For only the godly will live in the land, and those with 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 removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | 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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