Proverbs 4

A Father’s Instruction

¹Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;

pay attention and gain understanding.

²For I give you sound teaching;

do not abandon my directive.

³When I was a son to my father,

tender and the only child of my mother,

⁴he taught me and said,

“Let your heart lay hold of my words;

keep my commands and you will live.

⁵Get wisdom, get understanding;

do not forget my words or turn from them.

⁶Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you;

love her, and she will guard you.

⁷Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom.

And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.

⁸Prize her, and she will exalt you;

if you embrace her, she will honor you.

⁹She will set a garland of grace on your head;

she will present you with a crown of beauty.”

¹⁰Listen, my son, and receive my words,

and the years of your life will be many.

¹¹I will guide you in the way of wisdom;

I will lead you on straight paths.

¹²When you walk, your steps will not be impeded;

when you run, you will not stumble.

¹³Hold on to instruction; do not let go.

Guard it, for it is your life.

¹⁴Do not set foot on the path of the wicked

or walk in the way of evildoers.

¹⁵Avoid it; do not travel on it.

Turn from it and pass on by.

¹⁶For they cannot sleep

unless they do evil;

they are deprived of slumber

until they make someone fall.

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,

shining brighter and brighter until midday.1

¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom;

they do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰My son, pay attention to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings.

²¹Do not lose sight of them;

keep them within your heart.

²²For they are life to those who find them,

and health to the whole body.

²³Guard your heart with all diligence,

for from it flow springs of life.

²⁴Put away deception from your mouth;

keep your lips from perverse speech.

²⁵Let your eyes look forward;

fix your gaze straight ahead.

²⁶Make a level path for your feet,

and all your ways will be sure.1

²⁷Do not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your feet away from evil.1