Proverbs 4

^aHear, ye children, the instruction of a father,

And attend to know ^bunderstanding.

²For I give you good ^cdoctrine,

Forsake you not my law.

³For I was my father’s son,

^dTender and ^eonly beloved in the sight of my mother.

^4fHe taught me also, and said unto me,

Let thine heart retain my words:

^gKeep my commandments, and live.

^5hiGet wisdom, ⁱget ^bunderstanding:

Forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

⁶Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee:

^jLove her, and she shall keep thee.

⁷Wisdom is ^kthe principal thing; therefore ⁱget wisdom:

And with all thy getting ⁱget ^bunderstanding.

⁸Exalt her, and she shall promote thee:

She shall ^lbring thee to honour, when thou dost ^membrace her.

⁹She shall give to thine head ⁿan ornament of grace:

A crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

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

And ^othe years of thy life shall be many.

^11pI have taught thee in the way of wisdom;

I have led thee in right paths.

¹²When thou goest ^qthy steps shall not be straitened;

And ^rwhen thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

^13sTake fast hold of instruction; ^slet her not go:

Keep her; for she is thy life.

^14tEnter not into the path of the wicked,

And ^ugo not in the way of evil men.

^15xAvoid it, pass not by it,

^yTurn from it, and pass away.

^16zFor they sleep not, except they have done mischief;

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.

^18aBut the path of the just is ^bas the shining light,

That shineth ^cmore and more unto the perfect day.

^19dThe way of the wicked is as darkness:

They know not ^eat what they stumble.

^20eeMy son, attend to my words;

Incline thine ear unto my sayings.

^21fLet them not depart from thine eyes;

^gKeep them in the midst of thine heart.

²²For they are ^hlife unto those that find them,

And health to all their flesh.

²³Keep thy heart with all diligence;

ⁱFor out of it are ^kthe issues of life.

²⁴Put away from thee a ^lfroward mouth,

And ^mperverse lips put far from thee.

²⁵Let thine eyes look right on,

And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

²⁶ⁿPonder the path of thy feet,

And let all thy ways be established.

^27oTurn not to the right hand nor to the left:

^pRemove thy foot from evil.

V.