Proverbs 2

¹Mi sone, if thou resseyuest my wordis, `and hidist myn heestis anentis thee;

²that thin eere here wisdom, bowe thin herte to knowe prudence.

³For if thou inwardli clepist wisdom, and bowist thin herte to prudence;

⁴if thou sekist it as money, and diggist it out as tresours;

⁵thanne thou schalt vndirstonde the drede of the Lord, and schalt fynde the kunnyng of God.

⁶For the Lord yyueth wisdom; and prudence and kunnyng is of his mouth.

⁷He schal kepe the heelthe of riytful men, and he schal defende hem that goen sympli.

⁸And he schal kepe the pathis of riytfulnesse, and he schal kepe the weies of hooli men.

⁹Thanne thou schalt vndirstonde riytfulnesse, and dom, and equytee, and ech good path.

¹⁰If wysdom entrith in to thin herte, and kunnyng plesith thi soule,

¹¹good councel schal kepe thee, and prudence schal kepe thee; that thou be delyuered fro an yuel weie,

¹²and fro a man that spekith weiward thingis.

¹³Whiche forsaken a riytful weie, and goen bi derk weies;

¹⁴whiche ben glad, whanne thei han do yuel, and maken ful out ioye in worste thingis;

¹⁵whose weies ben weywerd, and her goyingis ben of yuel fame.

¹⁶That thou be delyuered fro an alien womman, and fro a straunge womman, that makith soft hir wordis;

¹⁷and forsakith the duyk of hir tyme of mariage,

¹⁸and hath foryete the couenaunt of hir God. For the hous of hir is bowid to deeth, and hir pathis to helle.

¹⁹Alle that entren to hir, schulen not turne ayen, nether schulen catche the pathis of lijf.

²⁰That thou go in a good weie, and kepe the pathis of iust men.

²¹Forsothe thei that ben riytful, schulen dwelle in the lond; and symple men schulen perfitli dwelle ther ynne.

²²But vnfeithful men schulen be lost fro the loond; and thei that doen wickidli, schulen be takun awey fro it.

¹My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

²So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

³Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

⁴If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

⁵Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

⁶For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

⁷He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

⁸He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

⁹Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

¹⁰When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

¹¹Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

¹²To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

¹³Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

¹⁴Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

¹⁵Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

¹⁶To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

¹⁷Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

¹⁸For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

¹⁹None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

²⁰That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

²¹For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

²²But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.