| American Standard Version (ASV) | New International Version (NIV) |
| 1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, And lay up my commandments with thee; | 1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, |
| 2 So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thy heart to understanding; | 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, |
| 3 Yea, if thou cry after discernment, And lift up thy voice for understanding; | 3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, |
| 4 If thou seek her as silver, And search for her as for hid treasures: | 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, |
| 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah, And find the knowledge of God. | 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. |
| 6 For Jehovah giveth wisdom; Out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding: | 6 For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. |
| 7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; [He is] a shield to them that walk in integrity; | 7 He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, |
| 8 That he may guard the paths of justice, And preserve the way of his saints. | 8 for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. |
| 9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice, And equity, [yea], every good path. | 9 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair--every good path. |
| 10 For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul; | 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. |
| 11 Discretion shall watch over thee; Understanding shall keep thee: | 11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. |
| 12 To deliver thee from the way of evil, From the men that speak perverse things; | 12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, |
| 13 Who forsake the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness; | 13 who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, |
| 14 Who rejoice to do evil, And delight in the perverseness of evil; | 14 who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, |
| 15 Who are crooked in their ways, And wayward in their paths: | 15 whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. |
| 16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words; | 16 It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words, |
| 17 That forsaketh the friend of her youth, And forgetteth the covenant of her God: | 17 who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. |
| 18 For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead; | 18 For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. |
| 19 None that go unto her return again, Neither do they attain unto the paths of life: | 19 None who go to her return or attain the paths of life. |
| 20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous. | 20 Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous. |
| 21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. | 21 For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; |
| 22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it. | 22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it. |
| The American Standard Version is in the public domain. (The American Standard Version Bible Online) | Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |