1Good friend, take to heart what I'm telling you; collect my counsels and guard them with your life.
2Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom; set your heart on a life of Understanding.
3That's right—if you make Insight your priority, and won't take no for an answer,
4Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt,
5Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours; you'll have come upon the Knowledge of God.
6And here's why: God gives out Wisdom free, is plainspoken in Knowledge and Understanding.
7He's a rich mine of Common Sense for those who live well, a personal bodyguard to the candid and sincere.
8He keeps his eye on all who live honestly, and pays special attention to his loyally committed ones.
9So now you can pick out what's true and fair, find all the good trails!
10Lady Wisdom will be your close friend, and Brother Knowledge your pleasant companion.
11Good Sense will scout ahead for danger, Insight will keep an eye out for you.
12They'll keep you from making wrong turns, or following the bad directions
13Of those who are lost themselves and can't tell a trail from a tumbleweed,
14These losers who make a game of evil and throw parties to celebrate perversity,
15Traveling paths that go nowhere, wandering in a maze of detours and dead ends.
16Wise friends will rescue you from the Temptress— that smooth-talking Seductress
17Who's faithless to the husband she married years ago, never gave a second thought to her promises before God.
18Her whole way of life is doomed; every step she takes brings her closer to hell.
19No one who joins her company ever comes back, ever sets foot on the path to real living.
20So—join the company of good men and women, keep your feet on the tried and true paths.
21It's the men who walk straight who will settle this land, the women with integrity who will last here.
22The corrupt will lose their lives; the dishonest will be gone for good.