Proverbiorum 4
1 Audite filii disciplinam patris, et attendite ut sciatis prudentiam.
Hear, ye sons, the correction of a father, and attend, that ye may know understanding.
2 Donum bonum tribuam vobis, legem meam ne derelinquatis.
For, good teaching, have I given you, mine instruction, do not ye forsake.
3 Nam et ego filius fui patris mei, tenellus, et unigenitus coram matre mea:
For, a son, became I to my father, tender and most precious in the sight of my mother.
4 et docebat me, atque dicebat: Suscipiat verba mea cor tuum, custodi præcepta mea, et vives.
So he taught me, and said to me—Let thy heart, lay hold of my words, Keep my commandments and live!
5 Posside sapientiam, posside prudentiam: ne obliviscaris, neque declines a verbis oris mei.
Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding, Do not forget, neither decline thou from the sayings of my mouth.
6 Ne dimittas eam, et custodiet te: dilige eam, et conservabit te.
Do not forsake her, and she will guard thee, —love her and she will keep thee.
7 Principium sapientiæ, posside sapientiam, et in omni possessione tua acquire prudentiam:
The principal thing, is wisdom, acquire thou wisdom, With all thine acquisition, acquire thou understanding.
8 arripe illam, et exaltabit te: glorificaberis ab ea, cum eam fueris amplexatus.
Exalt her, and she will set thee on high, she will bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her:
9 dabit capiti tuo augmenta gratiarum, et corona inclyta proteget te.
She will give for thy head, a wreath of beauty, A crown of adorning, will she bestow upon thee.
10 Audi fili mi, et suscipe verba mea, ut multiplicentur tibi anni vitæ.
Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and they will multiply to thee the years of life.
11 Viam sapientiæ monstrabo tibi, ducam te per semitas æquitatis:
In the way of wisdom, have I taught thee, I have guided thee in tracks of uprightness.
12 quas cum ingressus fueris, non arctabuntur gressus tui, et currens non habebis offendiculum.
When thou walkest, thy step shall not be hemmed in, and, if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Tene disciplinam, ne dimittas eam: custodi illam, quia ipsa est vita tua.
Take fast hold of correction, let her not go, —keep her, for, she, is thy life.
14 Ne delecteris in semitis impiorum, nec tibi placeat malorum via.
Upon the path of the lawless, do not thou enter, and do not advance in the way of the wicked:
15 Fuge ab ea, nec transeas per illam: declina, et desere eam.
Avoid it, do not pass thereon—turn from it, and depart.
16 non enim dormiunt nisi malefecerint: et rapitur somnus ab eis nisi supplantaverint.
For they sleep not, unless they can do mischief, —They rob themselves of their sleep, if they cannot cause someone to stumble,
17 comedunt panem impietatis, et vinum iniquitatis bibunt.
For they consume bread gotten by lawlessness, and, wine obtained by violence, they drink.
18 Iustorum autem semita quasi lux splendens, procedit et crescit usque ad perfectam diem.
But, the path of the righteous, is as the light of dawn, —going on and brightening, unto meridian day.
19 Via impiorum tenebrosa: nesciunt ubi corruant.
The way of the lawless, is like darkness, they know not, at what they stumble.
20 Fili mi, ausculta sermones meos, et ad eloquia mea inclina aurem tuam.
My son, to my words, attend, to my sayings, incline thou thine ear;
21 ne recedant ab oculis tuis, custodi ea in medio cordis tui:
Let them not depart from thine eyes, keep them in the midst of thy heart;
22 vita enim sunt invenientibus ea, et universæ carni sanitas.
For, life, they are, to them who find them, —and, to every part of one’s flesh, they bring healing.
23 Omni custodia serva cor tuum, quia ex ipso vita procedit.
Above all that must be guarded, keep thou thy heart, for, out of it, are the issues of life.
24 Remove a te os pravum, et detrahentia labia sint procul a te.
Remove from thee, perverseness of mouth, and, craftiness of lips, put far from thee.
25 Oculi tui recta videant, et palpebræ tuæ præcedant gressus tuos.
Let, thine eyes, right onward, look, —and, thine eyelashes, point straight before thee.
26 Dirige semitam pedibus tuis, et omnes viæ tuæ stabilientur.
Make level the track of thy foot, that, all thy ways, may be directed aright:
27 Ne declines ad dexteram, neque ad sinistram: averte pedem tuum a malo. vias enim, quæ a dextris sunt, novit Dominus: perversæ vero sunt quæ a sinistris sunt. Ipse autem rectos faciet cursus tuos, itinera autem tua in pace producet.
Decline not, to the right hand or to the left, —Turn away thy foot from wickedness.
