Proverbs 4
1 Listen, sons, to a father's instruction, and pay attention so you will know what understanding is.
Hear, ye sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding.
2 I am giving you good instructions; do not forsake my teaching.
For good learning I have given to you, My law forsake not.
3 When I was a son of my father, the tender and only child of my mother,
For, a son I have been to my father — tender, And an only one before my mother.
4 he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast to my words; keep my commands and live.
And he directeth me, and he saith to me: 'Let thy heart retain my words, Keep my commands, and live.
5 Acquire wisdom and understanding; do not forget and do not reject the words of my mouth;
Get wisdom, get understanding, Do not forget, nor turn away From the sayings of my mouth.
6 do not abandon wisdom and she will watch over you; love her and she will keep you safe.
Forsake her not, and she doth preserve thee, Love her, and she doth keep thee.
7 Wisdom is the most important thing, so acquire wisdom and spend all you own so you can get understanding.
The first thing [is] wisdom — get wisdom, And with all thy getting get understanding.
8 Cherish wisdom and she will exalt you; she will honor you when you embrace her.
Exalt her, and she doth lift thee up, She honoureth thee, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She will put a wreath of honor on your head; she will give you a beautiful crown.”
She giveth to thy head a wreath of grace, A crown of beauty she doth give thee freely.
10 Listen, my son, and pay attention to my words, and you will have many years in your life.
Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And years of life [are] multiplied to thee.
11 I direct you in the way of wisdom; I lead you down straight paths.
In a way of wisdom I have directed thee, I have caused thee to tread in paths of uprightness.
12 When you walk, no one will stand in your way and if you run, you will not stumble.
In thy walking thy step is not straitened, And if thou runnest, thou stumblest not.
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it, for it is your life.
Lay hold on instruction, do not desist, Keep her, for she [is] thy life.
14 Do not follow the path of the wicked and do not go along the way of those who do evil.
Into the path of the wicked enter not, And be not happy in a way of evil doers.
15 Avoid it, do not go on it; turn away from it and go another way.
Avoid it, pass not over into it, Turn aside from it, and pass on.
16 For they cannot sleep until they do evil and they are robbed of sleep until they cause someone to stumble.
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 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
For they have eaten bread of wickedness, And wine of violence they drink.
18 But the path of righteous people is like the first light that grows brighter; it shines more and more until the fullness of the day comes.
And the path of the righteous [is] as a shining light, Going and brightening till the day is established,
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness— they do not know what it is they stumble over.
The way of the wicked [is] as darkness, They have not known at what they stumble.
20 My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
My son, to my words give attention, To my sayings incline thine ear,
21 Do not let them turn away from your eyes; keep them in your heart.
Let them not turn aside from thine eyes, Preserve them in the midst of thy heart.
22 For my words are life to those who find them and health to their whole body.
For life they [are] to those finding them, And to all their flesh healing.
23 Keep your heart safe and guard it with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.
Above every charge keep thy heart, For out of it [are] the outgoings of life.
24 Put crooked speech away from you and put corrupt talk 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 fix your gaze straight before you.
Thine eyes do look straightforward, And thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Make a level path for your foot; then all your ways will be secure.
Ponder thou the path of thy feet, And all thy ways [are] established.
27 Do not turn aside to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
Incline not [to] the right or to the left, Turn aside thy foot from evil!
