Fili mi, si susceperis sermones meos, et mandata mea absconderis penes te:

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

Here, then, my son, is counsel for thee; take this bidding of mine to heart;

ut audiat sapientiam auris tua, inclina cor tuum ad cognoscendam prudentiam.

That thy ear may hearken to wisdom: incline thy heart to know prudence:

ever be thy ear attentive to wisdom, thy mind eager to attain discernment.

Si enim sapientiam invocaveris, et inclinaveris cor tuum prudentiæ;

For if thou shalt call for wisdom, and incline thy heart to prudence:

Wisdom if thou wilt call to thy side, and make discernment welcome,

si quæsieris eam quasi pecuniam, et sicut thesauros effoderis illam:

If thou shalt seek her as money, and shalt dig for her as for a treasure:

as thou wouldst fain hoard riches, or bring hidden treasure to light,

tunc intelliges timorem Domini, et scientiam Dei invenies,

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

then thou wilt learn what it is to fear God, make trial of what it is to know God.

quia Dominus dat sapientiam, et ex ore ejus prudentia et scientia.

Because the Lord giveth wisdom: and out of his mouth cometh prudence and knowledge.

Wisdom is the Lord’s gift; only by his word spoken comes true knowledge, true discernment.

Custodiet rectorum salutem, et proteget gradientes simpliciter,

He will keep the salvation of the righteous, and protect them that walk in simplicity.

So it is that he watches over the lives of the upright, bids the innocent walk unharmed;

servans semitas justitiæ, et vias sanctorum custodiens.

Keeping the paths of justice, and guarding the ways of saints.

safe and sound the chosen friends of God come and go.

Tunc intelliges justitiam, et judicium, et æquitatem, et omnem semitam bonam.

Then shalt thou understand justice, and judgment, and equity, and every good path.

Duty and right and honour thou shalt discern, and see ever where the best course lies,

Si intraverit sapientia cor tuum, et scientia animæ tuæ placuerit,

If wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge please thy soul:

if once wisdom finds a lodgement in thy heart, if knowledge once casts her spell upon thee.

consilium custodiet te, et prudentia servabit te:

Counsel shall keep thee, and prudence shall preserve thee,

Watch and ward right counsel shall keep over thee;

ut eruaris a via mala, et ab homine qui perversa loquitur;

That thou mayst be delivered from the evil way, and from the man that speaketh perverse things:

it shall save thee from the wrong choice, save thee from the false counsellor.

qui relinquunt iter rectum, et ambulant per vias tenebrosas;

Who leave the right way, and walk by dark ways:

False counsellors there are, that leave the high road to walk by dark alleys;

qui lætantur cum malefecerint, et exsultant in rebus pessimis;

Who are glad when they have done evil, and rejoice in most wicked things:

for sin and shame is all their love and liking;

quorum viæ perversæ sunt, et infames gressus eorum.

Whose ways are perverse, and their steps infamous.

ill guides on a wrong path all of them!

Ut eruaris a muliere aliena, et ab extranea quæ mollit sermones suos,

That thou mayst be delivered from the strange women, and from the stranger, who softeneth her words:

And from her, too, right counsel shall protect thee, the woman that is no daughter of Israel, with her mincing foreign ways,

et relinquit ducem pubertatis suæ,

And forsaketh the guide of her youth,

that has forsaken the love of her youth,

et pacti Dei sui oblita est. Inclinata est enim ad mortem domus ejus, et ad inferos semitæ ipsius.

And hath forgotten the covenant of her God: for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths to hell.

forgotten the troth once plighted to her God. The house she dwells in is death’s antechamber, the road by which she beckons leads to the grave;

Omnes qui ingrediuntur ad eam non revertentur, nec apprehendent semitas vitæ.

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

never man went in there that came back and set his face towards life.

Ut ambules in via bona, et calles justorum custodias:

That thou mayst walk in a good way: and mayst keep the paths of the just.

Thine to choose a nobler course, keeping ever the path of duty;

qui enim recti sunt habitabunt in terra, et simplices permanebunt in ea;

For they that are upright shall dwell in the earth, and the simple shall continue in it.

the upright, the innocent, shall have lands of their own and long enjoy them;

impii vero de terra perdentur, et qui inique agunt auferentur ex ea.

But the wicked shall be destroyed from the earth: and they that do unjustly shall be taken away from it.

the godless, the wrong-doer will be lost for ever to the scenes they knew.