Proverbs 2:9-22

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Proverbs 2:9-22 The Message (MSG)

So now you can pick out what’s true and fair, find all the good trails! Lady Wisdom will be your close friend, and Brother Knowledge your pleasant companion. Good Sense will scout ahead for danger, Insight will keep an eye out for you. They’ll keep you from making wrong turns, or following the bad directions Of those who are lost themselves and can’t tell a trail from a tumbleweed, These losers who make a game of evil and throw parties to celebrate perversity, Traveling paths that go nowhere, wandering in a maze of detours and dead ends. Wise friends will rescue you from the Temptress— that smooth-talking Seductress Who’s faithless to the husband she married years ago, never gave a second thought to her promises before God. Her whole way of life is doomed; every step she takes brings her closer to hell. No one who joins her company ever comes back, ever sets foot on the path to real living. So—join the company of good men and women, keep your feet on the tried-and-true paths. It’s the men who walk straight who will settle this land, the women with integrity who will last here. The corrupt will lose their lives; the dishonest will be gone for good.

Proverbs 2:9-22 King James Version (KJV)

Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, And equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, And knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, Understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, From the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, And delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, And they froward in their paths: To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, And forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, Neither take they hold of the paths of life. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, And the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

Proverbs 2:9-22 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things; From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; Who delight in doing evil And rejoice in the perversity of evil; Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways; To deliver you from the strange woman, From the adulteress who flatters with her words; That leaves the companion of her youth And forgets the covenant of her God; For her house sinks down to death And her tracks lead to the dead; None who go to her return again, Nor do they reach the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of good men And keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will live in the land And the blameless will remain in it; But the wicked will be cut off from the land And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.

Proverbs 2:9-22 New Century Version (NCV)

Then you will understand what is honest and fair and what is the good and right thing to do. Wisdom will come into your mind, and knowledge will be pleasing to you. Good sense will protect you; understanding will guard you. It will keep you from the wicked, from those whose words are bad, who don’t do what is right but what is evil. They enjoy doing wrong and are happy to do what is crooked and evil. What they do is wrong, and their ways are dishonest. It will save you from the unfaithful wife who tries to lead you into adultery with pleasing words. She leaves the husband she married when she was young. She ignores the promise she made before God. Her house is on the way to death; those who took that path are now all dead. No one who goes to her comes back or walks the path of life again. But wisdom will help you be good and do what is right. Those who are honest will live in the land, and those who are innocent will remain in it. But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the unfaithful will be thrown out of it.

Proverbs 2:9-22 American Standard Version (ASV)

Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice, And equity, yea, every good path. For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, And knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall watch over thee; Understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of evil, From the men that speak perverse things; Who forsake the paths of uprightness, To walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, And delight in the perverseness of evil; Who are crooked in their ways, And wayward in their paths: To deliver thee from the strange woman, Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words; That forsaketh the friend of her youth, And forgetteth the covenant of her God: For her house inclineth unto death, And her paths unto the dead; None that go unto her return again, Neither do they attain unto the paths of life: That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, And keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, And the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, And the treacherous shall be rooted out of it.

Proverbs 2:9-22 New International Version (NIV)

Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life. Thus you will walk in the ways of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it.

Proverbs 2:9-22 New King James Version (NKJV)

Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path. When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths; To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words, Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead; None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life— So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness. For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it; But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

Proverbs 2:9-22 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Then you will understand righteousness and justice [in every circumstance] And integrity and every good path. For [skillful and godly] wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will watch over you, Understanding and discernment will guard you, To keep you from the way of evil and the evil man, From the man who speaks perverse things; From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; Who find joy in doing evil And delight in the perversity of evil, Whose paths are crooked, And who are devious in their ways; To keep you from the immoral woman; From the seductress with her flattering words, [Prov 2:11] Who leaves the companion (husband) of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. For her house leads down to death And her paths lead to the dead; None who go to her return again, Nor do they regain the paths of life— So you will walk in the way of good men [that is, those of personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character], And keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright [those who are in right standing with God] will live in the land And those [of integrity] who are blameless [in God’s sight] will remain in it; But the wicked will be cut off from the land And the treacherous shall be [forcibly] uprooted and removed from it.

Proverbs 2:9-22 New Living Translation (NLT)

Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong. Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman. She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God. Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave. The man who visits her is doomed. He will never reach the paths of life. So follow the steps of the good, and stay on the paths of the righteous. For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it. But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.

Proverbs 2:9-22 The Passion Translation (TPT)

Then you will discover all that is just, proper, and fair, and be empowered to make the right decisions as you walk into your destiny. When wisdom wins your heart and revelation breaks in, true pleasure enters your soul. If you choose to follow good counsel, divine design will watch over you and understanding will protect you from making poor choices. It will rescue you from evil in disguise and from those who speak duplicities. For they have left the paths of righteousness and walk in the ways of darkness. They take pleasure when evil prospers and thoroughly enjoy a lifestyle of sin. But they’re walking on a path to nowhere, wandering away into deeper deception. Only wisdom can save you from the flattery of the promiscuous woman— she’s such a smooth-talking seductress! She left her husband and has forgotten her wedding vows. You’ll find her house on the road to hell, and all the men who go through her doors will never come back to the place they were— they will find nothing but desolation and despair. Follow those who follow wisdom and stay on the right path. For all my godly lovers will enjoy life to the fullest and will inherit their destinies. But the treacherous ones who love darkness will lose not only all they could have had, but even their own souls!

Proverbs 2:9-22 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life. So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.