Proverbs 4
1 Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.
Hear, ye sons, the correction of a father, and attend, that ye may know understanding.
2 For I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive.
For, good teaching, have I given you, mine instruction, do not ye forsake.
3 When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother,
For, a son, became I to my father, tender and most precious in the sight of my mother.
4 he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live.
So he taught me, and said to me—Let thy heart, lay hold of my words, Keep my commandments and live!
5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them.
Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding, Do not forget, neither decline thou from the sayings of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you.
Do not forsake her, and she will guard thee, —love her and she will keep thee.
7 Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.
The principal thing, is wisdom, acquire thou wisdom, With all thine acquisition, acquire thou understanding.
8 Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.
Exalt her, and she will set thee on high, she will bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her:
9 She will set a garland of grace on your head; she will present you with a crown of beauty.”
She will give for thy head, a wreath of beauty, A crown of adorning, will she bestow upon thee.
10 Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many.
Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and they will multiply to thee the years of life.
11 I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths.
In the way of wisdom, have I taught thee, I have guided thee in tracks of uprightness.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble.
When thou walkest, thy step shall not be hemmed in, and, if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction; do not let go. Guard it, for it is your life.
Take fast hold of correction, let her not go, —keep her, for, she, is thy life.
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.
Upon the path of the lawless, do not thou enter, and do not advance in the way of the wicked:
15 Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by.
Avoid it, do not pass thereon—turn from it, and depart.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.
For they sleep not, unless they can do mischief, —They rob themselves of their sleep, if they cannot cause someone to stumble,
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
For they consume bread gotten by lawlessness, and, wine obtained by violence, they drink.
18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
But, the path of the righteous, is as the light of dawn, —going on and brightening, unto meridian day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
The way of the lawless, is like darkness, they know not, at what they stumble.
20 My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
My son, to my words, attend, to my sayings, incline thou thine ear;
21 Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.
Let them not depart from thine eyes, keep them in the midst of thy heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to the whole body.
For, life, they are, to them who find them, —and, to every part of one’s flesh, they bring healing.
23 Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
Above all that must be guarded, keep thou thy heart, for, out of it, are the issues of life.
24 Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.
Remove from thee, perverseness of mouth, and, craftiness of lips, put far from thee.
25 Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.
Let, thine eyes, right onward, look, —and, thine eyelashes, point straight before thee.
26 Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.
Make level the track of thy foot, that, all thy ways, may be directed aright:
27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.
Decline not, to the right hand or to the left, —Turn away thy foot from wickedness.
