Proverbs 4

1 Listen, sons, to a father's instruction, and pay attention so you will know what understanding is.

Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

2 I am giving you good instructions; do not forsake my teaching.

For I give you good doctrine; forsake ye not my teaching.

3 When I was a son of my father, the tender and only child of my mother,

For I was a son unto my father, tender and an only one in the sight of 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 taught me, and said unto me: 'Let thy heart hold fast my words, keep my commandments, and live;

5 Acquire wisdom and understanding; do not forget and do not reject the words of my mouth;

Get wisdom, get understanding; forget not, neither decline from the words 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 will preserve thee; love her, and she will keep thee.

7 Wisdom is the most important thing, so acquire wisdom and spend all you own so you can get understanding.

The beginning of wisdom is: Get wisdom; yea, with all thy getting get understanding.

8 Cherish wisdom and she will exalt you; she will honor you when you embrace her.

Extol her, and she will exalt thee; she will bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

9 She will put a wreath of honor on your head; she will give you a beautiful crown.”

She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace; a crown of glory will she bestow on thee.'

10 Listen, my son, and pay attention to my words, and you will have many years in your life.

Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

11 I direct you in the way of wisdom; I lead you down straight paths.

I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness.

12 When you walk, no one will stand in your way and if you run, you will not stumble.

When thou goest, thy step shall not be straitened; and if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it, for it is your life.

Take fast hold of instruction, let her not go; 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.

Enter not into the path of the wicked, and walk not in the way of evil men.

15 Avoid it, do not go on it; turn away from it and go another way.

Avoid it, pass not by it; turn 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, except they have done evil; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

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.

But the path of the righteous is as the light of dawn, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

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 know not at what they stumble.

20 My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.

My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

21 Do not let them turn away from your eyes; keep them in your heart.

Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep 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 they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

23 Keep your heart safe and guard it with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.

Above all that thou guardest keep thy heart; for out of it are the issues of life.

24 Put crooked speech away from you and put corrupt talk far from you.

Put away 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.

Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

26 Make a level path for your foot; then all your ways will be secure.

Make plain the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

27 Do not turn aside to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil.