Proverbs 4

¹Listen, sons, to the discipline of a father, and pay attention, so that you may know prudence

²I will bestow upon you a good gift. Do not relinquish my law

³For I, too, was the son of my father, tender and an only son in the sight of my mother

⁴And he taught me, and he also said: “Let your heart accept my words. Keep my precepts, and you shall live

⁵Obtain wisdom, obtain prudence. May you neither forget, nor turn away from, the words of my mouth

⁶Do not send her away, and she will guard you. Love her, and she will preserve you

⁷The beginning of wisdom is to obtain wisdom, and, with all that you possess, to acquire prudence

⁸Grasp her, and she will exalt you. You will be glorified by her, when you have embraced her

⁹She will bestow upon your head an increase in graces, and she will protect you with a noble crown

¹⁰Listen, my son, and accept my words, so that years of life may be multiplied for you

¹¹I will demonstrate to you the way of wisdom. I will lead you along the paths of equity

¹²When you have entered by these, your steps will not be constrained, and when running, you will have no obstacle

¹³Take hold of discipline. Do not dismiss it. Guard it, for it is your life

¹⁴Do not delight in the paths of the impious, nor permit the way of evil-doers to please you

¹⁵Take flight from it. Do not pass close to it. Turn away and abandon it

¹⁶For they do not sleep, unless they have done evil. And their sleep is quickly taken away from them, unless they have overthrown

¹⁷They eat the bread of impiety, and they drink the wine of iniquity

¹⁸But the path of the just is like a shining light: it advances and increases, even to the day of completion

¹⁹The way of the impious is darkened. They do not know where they may fall

²⁰My son, pay attention to my sermons, and incline your ear to my eloquent words

²¹Let them not recede from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart

²²For they are life to those who find them and health to all that is flesh

²³Preserve your heart with all watchfulness, for life proceeds from this

²⁴Remove from yourself a corrupt mouth, and let detracting lips be far from you

²⁵Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids precede your steps

²⁶Direct the path of your feet, and all your ways shall be secure

²⁷Turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left; yet turn your foot away from evil. For the Lord knows the ways that are on the right, and truly, those that are on the left are perverse. But he himself will make your courses straight. Then your journey will advance in peace