King James Version

Proverbs 5:2

That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

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Hebrew

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לִשְׁמֹ֥רlishmorto bewardשָׁמַרpreposition, verb, qal, infinitive construct — “to beward”, the to-form of the verbH8104properly, 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).מְזִמּ֑וֹתmezimotdeviceמְזִמָּהnoun, common, feminine, plural, absolute — “device”, the ordinary formH4209a plan, usually evil (machination), sometimes good (sagacity)(wicked) device, discretion, intent, witty invention, lewdness, mischievous (device), thought, wickedly.וְ֝דַ֗עַתvedaatand cunningדַּעַתconjunction, noun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — “and cunning”, the ordinary formH1847knowledgecunning, (ig-) norantly, know(-ledge), (un-) awares (wittingly).שְׂפָתֶ֥יךָsefateykhalanguageשָׂפָהnoun, common, feminine, dual, construct, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, masculine, singular — “language”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH8193the lip (as a natural boundary); by implication, language; by analogy, a margin (of a vessel, water, cloth, etc.)band, bank, binding, border, brim, brink, edge, language, lip, prating, (sea-)shore, side, speech, talk, (vain) words.יִנְצֹֽרוּyintsorvbesiegedנָצַרverb, qal, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, plural — “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)

That thou mayest preserve discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

Compare Public-Domain Translations

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

American Standard Version (1901)

That thou mayest preserve discretion, And that thy lips may keep knowledge.

Young’s Literal Translation

To observe thoughtfulness, And knowledge do thy lips keep.

World English Bible

that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.

Darby Translation

that thou mayest keep reflection, and that thy lips may preserve knowledge.

Douay-Rheims

That thou mayst keep thoughts, and thy lips may preserve instruction. Mind not the deceit of a woman.

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

That thou mayest preserve discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

that thou mayest keep good understanding, and the discretion of my lips gives thee a charge. Give no heed to a worthless woman;

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

ἵνα φυλάξῃς ἔννοιαν ἀγαθήν· αἴσθησις δὲ ἐμῶν χειλέων ἐντέλλεταί σοι·