11 then prudence shall guard thee, understanding shall guard thee,

12 To save thee from the way of evil, from the man that speaketh lies,

13 of those who leave the straight paths to walk in the ways of darkness;

14 From those who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in evil debauchery,

15 Whose paths are crooked, and who wander in their paths;

16 To save thee from another's wife, from a stranger, who softeneth her speech,

17 who forsook the ruler of her youth, and forgot the covenant of her God.

18 Her house leadeth unto death, and her paths unto the dead;

19 No one who enters her returns or enters the way of life.

20 Therefore walk in the way of the good, and keep in the paths of the righteous,

21 For the righteous shall dwell in the earth, and the blameless shall abide in it;

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

Chapter 3

1 My son! do not forget my instructions, and let your heart guard my commandments;

2 For the lengths of days, the years of life, and the world they shall add to thee.

3 Let mercy and truth not leave thee: bind them around thy neck, and write them on the tablet of thy heart,

4 and thou shalt find mercy and favor in the sight of God and men.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and shun evil;

8 It shall be health to thy body, and nourishment to thy bones.

9 Honour the Lord from thy possessions, and from the firstfruits of all thy gains,

10 And thy barns shall be filled to an abundance, and thy winepresses shall be overflowing with new wine.

11 Do not reject the chastisement of the Lord, my son, neither be burdened with his chastisement;

12 For whom the Lord loves, he chastens, and delights in him as a father to his son.

13 Blessed is the man who has gained wisdom, and the man who has gained understanding,

14 For the acquisition of it is better than the acquisition of silver, and the profit of it is greater than that of gold;

15 it is more precious than precious stones; [no evil can resist it; it is well known to all who approach it,] and nothing that you desire can compare with it.