Proverbs 4
1 Listen, sons, to the discipline of a father, and pay attention, so that you may know prudence.
Hear, ye sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding.
2 I will bestow upon you a good gift. Do not relinquish my law.
For good learning I have given to you, My law forsake not.
3 For I, too, was the son of my father, tender and an only son in the sight of my mother.
For, a son I have been to my father — tender, And an only one before my mother.
4 And he taught me, and he also said: “Let your heart accept my words. Keep my precepts, and you shall live.
And he directeth me, and he saith to me: 'Let thy heart retain my words, Keep my commands, and live.
5 Obtain wisdom, obtain prudence. May you neither forget, nor turn away from, the words of my mouth.
Get wisdom, get understanding, Do not forget, nor turn away From the sayings of my mouth.
6 Do not send her away, and she will guard you. Love her, and she will preserve you.
Forsake her not, and she doth preserve thee, Love her, and she doth keep thee.
7 The beginning of wisdom is to obtain wisdom, and, with all that you possess, to acquire prudence.
The first thing [is] wisdom — get wisdom, And with all thy getting get understanding.
8 Grasp her, and she will exalt you. You will be glorified by her, when you have embraced her.
Exalt her, and she doth lift thee up, She honoureth thee, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She will bestow upon your head an increase in graces, and she will protect you with a noble crown.
She giveth to thy head a wreath of grace, A crown of beauty she doth give thee freely.
10 Listen, my son, and accept my words, so that years of life may be multiplied for you.
Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And years of life [are] multiplied to thee.
11 I will demonstrate to you the way of wisdom. I will lead you along the paths of equity.
In a way of wisdom I have directed thee, I have caused thee to tread in paths of uprightness.
12 When you have entered by these, your steps will not be constrained, and when running, you will have no obstacle.
In thy walking thy step is not straitened, And if thou runnest, thou stumblest not.
13 Take hold of discipline. Do not dismiss it. Guard it, for it is your life.
Lay hold on instruction, do not desist, Keep her, for she [is] thy life.
14 Do not delight in the paths of the impious, nor permit the way of evil-doers to please you.
Into the path of the wicked enter not, And be not happy in a way of evil doers.
15 Take flight from it. Do not pass close to it. Turn away and abandon it.
Avoid it, pass not over into it, Turn aside from it, and pass on.
16 For they do not sleep, unless they have done evil. And their sleep is quickly taken away from them, unless they have overthrown.
For they sleep not if they do not evil, And their sleep hath been taken violently away, If they cause not [some] to stumble.
17 They eat the bread of impiety, and they drink the wine of iniquity.
For they have eaten bread of wickedness, And wine of violence they drink.
18 But the path of the just is like a shining light: it advances and increases, even to the day of completion.
And the path of the righteous [is] as a shining light, Going and brightening till the day is established,
19 The way of the impious is darkened. They do not know where they may fall.
The way of the wicked [is] as darkness, They have not known at what they stumble.
20 My son, pay attention to my sermons, and incline your ear to my eloquent words.
My son, to my words give attention, To my sayings incline thine ear,
21 Let them not recede from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart.
Let them not turn aside from thine eyes, Preserve them in the midst of thy heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them and health to all that is flesh.
For life they [are] to those finding them, And to all their flesh healing.
23 Preserve your heart with all watchfulness, for life proceeds from this.
Above every charge keep thy heart, For out of it [are] the outgoings of life.
24 Remove from yourself a corrupt mouth, and let detracting lips be far from you.
Turn aside from thee a froward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee,
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids precede your steps.
Thine eyes do look straightforward, And thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Direct the path of your feet, and all your ways shall be secure.
Ponder thou the path of thy feet, And all thy ways [are] established.
27 Turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left; yet turn your foot away from evil. For the Lord knows the ways that are on the right, and truly, those that are on the left are perverse. But he himself will make your courses straight. Then your journey will advance in peace.
Incline not [to] the right or to the left, Turn aside thy foot from evil!
