Proverbs 4
1 Listen, sons, to the discipline of a father, and pay attention, so that you may know prudence.
Audite filii disciplinam patris, et attendite ut sciatis prudentiam.
2 I will bestow upon you a good gift. Do not relinquish my law.
Donum bonum tribuam vobis, legem meam ne derelinquatis.
3 For I, too, was the son of my father, tender and an only son in the sight of my mother.
Nam et ego filius fui patris mei, tenellus, et unigenitus coram matre mea:
4 And he taught me, and he also said: “Let your heart accept my words. Keep my precepts, and you shall live.
et docebat me, atque dicebat: Suscipiat verba mea cor tuum, custodi praecepta mea, et vives.
5 Obtain wisdom, obtain prudence. May you neither forget, nor turn away from, the words of my mouth.
Posside sapientiam, posside prudentiam: ne obliviscaris, neque declines a verbis oris mei.
6 Do not send her away, and she will guard you. Love her, and she will preserve you.
Ne dimittas eam, et custodiet te: dilige eam, et conservabit te.
7 The beginning of wisdom is to obtain wisdom, and, with all that you possess, to acquire prudence.
Principium sapientiae, posside sapientiam, et in omni possessione tua acquire prudentiam:
8 Grasp her, and she will exalt you. You will be glorified by her, when you have embraced her.
arripe illam, et exaltabit te: glorificaberis ab ea, cum eam fueris amplexatus.
9 She will bestow upon your head an increase in graces, and she will protect you with a noble crown.
dabit capiti tuo augmenta gratiarum, et corona inclyta proteget te.
10 Listen, my son, and accept my words, so that years of life may be multiplied for you.
Audi fili mi, et suscipe verba mea, ut multiplicentur tibi anni vitae.
11 I will demonstrate to you the way of wisdom. I will lead you along the paths of equity.
Viam sapientiae monstrabo tibi, ducam te per semitas aequitatis:
12 When you have entered by these, your steps will not be constrained, and when running, you will have no obstacle.
quas cum ingressus fueris, non arctabuntur gressus tui, et currens non habebis offendiculum.
13 Take hold of discipline. Do not dismiss it. Guard it, for it is your life.
Tene disciplinam, ne dimittas eam: custodi illam, quia ipsa est via tua.
14 Do not delight in the paths of the impious, nor permit the way of evil-doers to please you.
Ne delecteris in semitis impiorum, nec tibi placeat malorum via.
15 Take flight from it. Do not pass close to it. Turn away and abandon it.
Fuge ab ea, nec transeas per illam: declina, et desere eam.
16 For they do not sleep, unless they have done evil. And their sleep is quickly taken away from them, unless they have overthrown.
non enim dormiunt nisi malefecerint: et non capitur somnus ab eis nisi supplantaverint.
17 They eat the bread of impiety, and they drink the wine of iniquity.
comedunt panem impietatis, et vinum iniquitatis bibunt.
18 But the path of the just is like a shining light: it advances and increases, even to the day of completion.
Iustorum autem semita quasi lux splendens, procedit et crescit usque ad perfectam diem.
19 The way of the impious is darkened. They do not know where they may fall.
Via impiorum tenebrosa: nesciunt ubi corruant.
20 My son, pay attention to my sermons, and incline your ear to my eloquent words.
Fili mi, ausculta sermones meos, et ad eloquia mea inclina aurem tuam.
21 Let them not recede from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart.
ne recedant ab oculis tuis, custodi ea in medio cordis tui:
22 For they are life to those who find them and health to all that is flesh.
vita enim sunt invenientibus ea, et universae carni sanitas.
23 Preserve your heart with all watchfulness, for life proceeds from this.
Omni custodia serva cor tuum, quia ex ipso vita procedit.
24 Remove from yourself a corrupt mouth, and let detracting lips be far from you.
Remove a te os pravum, et detrahentia labia sint procul a te.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids precede your steps.
Oculi tui recta videant, et palpebrae tuae praecedant gressus tuos.
26 Direct the path of your feet, and all your ways shall be secure.
Dirige semitam pedibus tuis, et omnes viae tuae stabilientur.
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.
Ne declines ad dexteram, neque ad sinistram: averte pedem tuum a malo. vias enim, quae a dextris sunt, novit Dominus: perversae vero sunt quae a sinistris sunt. Ipse autem rectos faciet cursus tuos, itinera autem tua in pace producet.
