Proverbs, 4

¹ Listen, O sons, to the discipline of a father and pay attention, so as to know understanding.

² For good instruction is what I certainly shall give to YOU. My law DO not leave.

³ For I proved to be a real son to my father, tender and the only one before my mother.

⁴ And he would instruct me and say to me: “May your heart keep fast hold of my words. Keep my commandments and continue living.

⁵ Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding. Do not forget, and do not turn aside from the sayings of my mouth.

⁶ Do not leave it,^*1 and it will keep you. Love it, and it will safeguard you.

⁷ Wisdom is the prime thing. Acquire wisdom; and with all that you acquire, acquire understanding.

⁸ Highly esteem it, and it will exalt you. It will glorify you because you embrace it.

⁹ To your head it will give a wreath of charm; a crown of beauty it will bestow upon you.”

¹⁰ Hear, my son, and accept my sayings. Then for you the years of life will become many.^*1

¹¹ I will instruct you even in the way of wisdom; I will cause you to tread in the tracks of uprightness.

¹² When you walk, your pace will not be cramped; and if you run, you will not stumble.

¹³ Take hold on discipline; do not let go.^*1 Safeguard it,^*2 for it itself is your life.

¹⁴ Into the path of the wicked ones do not enter, and do not walk straight on into the way of the bad ones.

¹⁵ Shun it, do not pass along by it; turn aside from it, and pass along.

¹⁶ For they do not sleep unless they do badness, and their sleep has been snatched away unless they cause someone to stumble.

¹⁷ For they have fed themselves with the bread of wickedness, and the wine of acts of violence is what they drink.

¹⁸ But the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established.

¹⁹ The way of the wicked ones is like the gloom; they have not known at what they keep stumbling.

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

²¹ May they not get away from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart.

²² For they are life to those finding them and health to all their flesh.

²³ More than all else that is to be guarded, safeguard your heart, for out of it are the sources of life.

²⁴ Remove from yourself the crookedness of speech;^*1 and the deviousness of lips put far away from yourself.

²⁵ As for your eyes, straight ahead they should look, yes, your own beaming eyes should gaze straight in front of you.

²⁶ Smooth out the course of your foot,^*1 and may all your own ways be firmly established.

²⁷ Do not incline to the right hand or to the left. Remove your foot from what is bad.