Proverbs 4

A Father’s Instruction

1 Listen, my sons, to the ^ainstruction of a father,
And ^bpay attention so that you may ▼

▼Lit know

gain understanding,
2 For I give you good ^dteaching;
^eDo not abandon my ▼

▼Or law

instruction.
3 When I was a son to my father,
^gTender and ^hthe only son in the sight of my mother,
4 He ⁱtaught me and said to me,
“Let your heart ^jtake hold of my words;
^kKeep my commandments and live;
5 ^lAcquire wisdom! ^mAcquire understanding!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 “Do not abandon her, and she will guard you;
ⁿLove her, and she will watch over you.
7 “ ^oThe ▼

▼Or primary thing is wisdom

beginning of wisdom is: ^qAcquire wisdom;
And with all your possessions, acquire understanding.
8 “ ^rPrize her, and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.
9 “She will place ^son your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.”

10 Listen, my son, and ^taccept my sayings,
And the ^uyears of your life will be many.
11 I have ^vinstructed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.
12 When you walk, your ^wsteps will not be hampered;
And if you run, you ^xwill not stumble.
13 ^yTake hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your ^zlife.
14 ^aaDo not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil people.
15 Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they ^abcannot sleep unless they do evil;
And ▼

▼Lit their sleep is robbed

they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
17 For they ^adeat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the ^aepath of the righteous is like the ^aflight of dawn
That ^agshines brighter and brighter until the ^ahfull day.
19 The ^aiway of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they ▼

▼Or may stumble

, ^akstumble.

20 My son, ^alpay attention to my words;
^amIncline your ear to my sayings.
21 ^anThey are not to escape from your sight;
^aoKeep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are ^aplife to those who find them,
And ^aqhealing to all ▼

▼Lit his

their body.
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For ^asfrom it flow the springs of life.
24 Rid yourself of a ^atdeceitful mouth
And ^aukeep devious ▼

▼Or lips

speech far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your ▼

▼Or eyelids

gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
26 ▼

▼I.e., prob. stay on the path

, ^ayWatch the path of your feet,
And all your ^azways will be established.
27 ^baDo not turn to the right or to the left;
^bbTurn your foot from evil.