Proverbs 4
A Father’s Instruction
¹ Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.
² For I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive.
³ When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother,
⁴ he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live.
⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them.
⁶ Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you.
⁷ Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire,1 gain understanding.
⁸ Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.
⁹ She will set a garland of grace on your head; she will present you with a crown of beauty.”
¹⁰ Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many.
¹¹ I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths.
¹² When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble.
¹³ Hold on to instruction; do not let go. Guard it, for it is your life.
¹⁴ Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.
¹⁵ Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by.
¹⁶ For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.
¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
²⁰ My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹ Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.
²² For they are life to those who find them, and health to the whole body.
²³ Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
²⁴ Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.
²⁵ Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.
²⁶ Make a level path for your feet,2 and all your ways will be sure.
²⁷ Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.