Proverbs 4
1 Listen, sons, to a father’s instruction. Pay attention and know understanding;
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend that you may know prudence.
2 for I give you sound learning. Don’t forsake my law.
I will give you a good gift, forsake not my law.
3 For I was a son to my father, tender and an only child in the sight of my mother.
For I also was my father’s son, tender and as an only son in the sight of my mother:
4 He taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words. Keep my commandments, and live.
And he taught me, and said: Let thy heart receive my words, keep my commandments, and thou shalt live.
5 Get wisdom. Get understanding. Don’t forget, and don’t deviate from the words of my mouth.
Get wisdom, get prudence: forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth.
6 Don’t forsake her, and she will preserve you. Love her, and she will keep you.
Forsake her not, and she shall keep thee: love her, and she shall preserve thee.
7 Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding.
The beginning of wisdom, get wisdom, and with all thy possession purchase prudence.
8 Esteem her, and she will exalt you. She will bring you to honour when you embrace her.
Take hold on her, and she shall exalt thee: thou shalt be glorified by her, when thou shalt embrace her.
9 She will give to your head a garland of grace. She will deliver a crown of splendour to you.”
She shall give to thy head increase of graces, and protect thee with a noble crown.
10 Listen, my son, and receive my sayings. The years of your life will be many.
Hear, O my son, and receive my words, that years of life may be multiplied to thee.
11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom. I have led you in straight paths.
I will shew thee the way of wisdom, I will lead thee by the paths of equity:
12 When you go, your steps will not be hampered. When you run, you will not stumble.
Which when thou shalt have entered, thy steps shall not be straitened, and when thou runnest thou shalt not meet a stumblingblock.
13 Take firm hold of instruction. Don’t let her go. Keep her, for she is your life.
Take hold on instruction, leave it not: keep it, because it is thy life.
14 Don’t enter into the path of the wicked. Don’t walk in the way of evil men.
Be not delighted in the paths of the wicked, neither let the way of evil men please thee.
15 Avoid it, and don’t pass by it. Turn from it, and pass on.
Flee from it, pass not by it: go aside, and forsake it.
16 For they don’t sleep unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall.
For they sleep not except they have done evil: and their sleep is taken away unless they have made some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
They eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of iniquity.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light that shines more and more until the perfect day.
But the path of the just, as a shining light, goeth forwards and increaseth even to perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness. They don’t know what they stumble over.
The way of the wicked is darksome: they know not where they fall.
20 My son, attend to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings.
My son, hearken to my words, and incline thy ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the centre of your heart.
Let them not depart from thy eyes, keep them in the midst of thy heart:
22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to their whole body.
For they are life to those that find them, and health to all flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.
With all watchfulness keep thy heart, because life issueth out from it.
24 Put away from yourself a perverse mouth. Put corrupt lips far from you.
Remove from thee a froward mouth, and let detracting lips be far from thee.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead. Fix your gaze directly before you.
Let thy eyes look straight on, and let thy eyelids go before thy steps.
26 Make the path of your feet level. Let all of your ways be established.
Make straight the path for thy feet, and all thy ways shall be established.
27 Don’t turn to the right hand nor to the left. Remove your foot from evil.
Decline not to the right hand, nor to the left: turn away thy foot from evil. For the Lord knoweth the ways that are on the right hand: but those are perverse which are on the left hand. But he will make thy courses straight, he will bring forward thy ways in peace.
