Proverbs 4:1–6:11
4 Hear, amy children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding;
2 For I give you good doctrine:
Do not forsake my law.
bTender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
4 cHe also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words;
dKeep my commands, and live.
5 eGet wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
fLove her, and she will keep you.
7 gWisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
8 hExalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head ian ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,
jAnd the years of your life will be many.
11 I have ktaught you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in right paths.
12 When you walk, lyour steps will not be hindered,
mAnd when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;
Keep her, for she is your life.
14 nDo not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
16 oFor they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is 1taken away unless they make someone fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
18 pBut the path of the just qis like the shining 2sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
19 rThe way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.
20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of slife.
24 Put away from you a 3deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
26 Ponder the path of your tfeet,
And let all your ways be established.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;
1Lend your ear to my understanding,
2 That you may 2preserve discretion,
And your lips amay keep knowledge.
3 bFor the lips of 3an immoral woman drip honey,
And her mouth is csmoother than oil;
4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
Sharp as a two-edged sword.
6 Lest you ponder her path of life—
Her ways are unstable;
You do not know them.
7 Therefore hear me now, my children,
And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Remove your way far from her,
And do not go near the door of her house,
9 Lest you give your 5honor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
10 Lest aliens be filled with your 6wealth,
And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;
When your flesh and your body are consumed,
“How I have hated instruction,
And my heart despised correction!
13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
14 I was on the verge of total ruin,
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.
16 Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
7Streams of water in the streets?
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with ethe wife of your youth.
19 fAs a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be 8enraptured with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be enraptured by gan immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?
21 hFor the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He 9ponders all his paths.
22 iHis own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
23 jHe shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
6 My son, aif you become 1surety for your friend,
If you have 2shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
2 You are snared by the words of your mouth;
You are taken by the words of your mouth.
3 So do this, my son, and deliver yourself;
For you have come into the hand of your friend:
Go and humble yourself;
Plead with your friend.
4 bGive no sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids.
5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
And like a bird from the hand of the 3fowler.
6 cGo to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
7 Which, having no 4captain,
Overseer or ruler,
8 Provides her 5supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
9 dHow long will you 6slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
11 eSo shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.