King James Version

Proverbs 2:11

Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

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Hebrew

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מְ֭זִמָּהmezimahdeviceמְזִמָּהnoun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — “device”, the ordinary formH4209a plan, usually evil (machination), sometimes good (sagacity)(wicked) device, discretion, intent, witty invention, lewdness, mischievous (device), thought, wickedly.תִּשְׁמֹ֥רtishmorbewardשָׁמַרverb, qal, imperfect, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “beward”, an unfinished actionH8104properly, to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.beward, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man).עָלֶ֗יךָaleykhaaboveעַלpreposition, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “above”H5921above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsabove, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, [idiom] as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, [idiom] both and, by (reason of), [idiom] had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of,…תְּבוּנָ֥הtevunahdiscretionתָּבוּןnoun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — “discretion”, the ordinary formH8394intelligence; by implication, an argument; by extension, capricediscretion, reason, skilfulness, understanding, wisdom.תִנְצְרֶֽכָּהtintserekahbesiegedנָצַרverb, qal, imperfect, 3rd person, feminine, singular, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “besieged”, an unfinished actionH5341to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etc.) or a bad one (to conceal, etc.)besieged, hidden thing, keep(-er, -ing), monument, observe, preserve(-r), subtil, watcher(-man).

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

Discretion shall watch over thee, discernment shall guard thee;

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

Discretion shall watch over thee; Understanding shall keep thee:

Young’s Literal Translation

Thoughtfulness doth watch over thee, Understanding doth keep thee,

World English Bible

Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will keep you,

Darby Translation

discretion shall keep thee, understanding shall preserve thee:

Douay-Rheims

Counsel shall keep thee, and prudence shall preserve thee,

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

Discretion shall watch over thee, discernment shall guard thee;

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

good counsel shall guard thee, and holy understanding shall keep thee;

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

βουλὴ καλὴ φυλάξει σε, ἔννοια δὲ ὁσία τηρήσει σε·