Proverbs 4

4 ¹Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father,

And attend to know understanding:

²For I give you good doctrine;

Forsake ye not my law.

³For I was a son unto my father,

Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.

⁴And he taught me, and said unto me:

Let thy heart retain my words;

Keep my commandments, and live;

⁵Get wisdom, get understanding;

Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;

⁶Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee;

Love her, and she will keep thee.

⁷Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom;

Yea, with all thy getting get understanding.

⁸Exalt her, and she will promote thee;

She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.

⁹She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace;

A crown of beauty will she deliver to thee.

¹⁰Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;

And the years of thy life shall be many.

¹¹I have taught thee in the way of wisdom;

I have led thee in paths of uprightness.

¹²When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;

And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

¹³Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:

Keep her; for she is thy life.

¹⁴Enter not into the path of the wicked,

And walk not in the way of evil men.

¹⁵Avoid it, pass not by it;

Turn from it, and pass on.

¹⁶For they sleep not, except they do evil;

And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness,

And drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light,

That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

¹⁹The way of the wicked is as darkness:

They know not at what they stumble.

²⁰My son, attend to my words;

Incline thine ear unto my sayings.

²¹Let them not depart from thine eyes;

Keep them in the midst of thy heart.

²²For they are life unto those that find them,

And health to all their flesh.

²³Keep thy heart with all diligence;

For out of it are the issues of life.

²⁴Put away from thee a wayward mouth,

And perverse lips put far from thee.

²⁵Let thine eyes look right on,

And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

²⁶Make level the path of thy feet,

And let all thy ways be established.

²⁷Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:

Remove thy foot from evil.