Get Wisdom at Any Cost

4 Listen, my sons,b to a father’s instruction;c

pay attention and gain understanding.d

2 I give you sound learning,

so do not forsake my teaching.

3 For I too was a son to my father,

still tender, and cherished by my mother.

4 Then he taught me, and he said to me,

“Take holde of my words with all your heart;

keep my commands, and you will live.f

5 Get wisdom,g get understanding;

do not forget my words or turn away from them.

6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;h

love her, and she will watch over you.i

7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Geta wisdom.

Though it cost allj you have,b get understanding.k

8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;

embrace her, and she will honor you.l

9 She will give you a garland to grace your head

and present you with a glorious crown.m”

10 Listen, my son,n accept what I say,

and the years of your life will be many.o

11 I instructp you in the way of wisdom

and lead you along straight paths.q

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

when you run, you will not stumble.r

13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;

guard it well, for it is your life.s

14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked

or walk in the way of evildoers.t

15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;

turn from it and go on your way.

16 For they cannot rest until they do evil;u

they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.

17 They eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.v

18 The path of the righteousw is like the morning sun,x

shining ever brighter till the full light of day.y

19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;z

they do not know what makes them stumble.a

20 My son,b pay attention to what I say;

turn your ear to my words.c

21 Do not let them out of your sight,d

keep them within your heart;

22 for they are life to those who find them

and health to one’s whole body.e

23 Above all else, guardf your heart,

for everything you do flows from it.g

24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;

keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

25 Let your eyesh look straight ahead;

fix your gaze directly before you.

26 Give careful thought to thec paths for your feeti

and be steadfast in all your ways.

27 Do not turn to the right or the left;j

keep your foot from evil.

Warning Against Adultery

5 My son,k pay attention to my wisdom,

turn your ear to my wordsl of insight,

2 that you may maintain discretion

and your lips may preserve knowledge.

3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,

and her speech is smoother than oil;m

4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,n

sharp as a double-edged sword.

5 Her feet go down to death;

her steps lead straight to the grave.o

6 She gives no thought to the way of life;

her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.p

7 Now then, my sons, listenq to me;

do not turn aside from what I say.

8 Keep to a path far from her,r

do not go near the door of her house,

9 lest you lose your honor to others

and your dignitya to one who is cruel,

10 lest strangers feast on your wealth

and your toil enrich the house of another.s

11 At the end of your life you will groan,

when your flesh and body are spent.

12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!

How my heart spurned correction!t

13 I would not obey my teachers

or turn my ear to my instructors.

14 And I was soon in serious troubleu

in the assembly of God’s people.”v

15 Drink water from your own cistern,

running water from your own well.

16 Should your springs overflow in the streets,

your streams of water in the public squares?

17 Let them be yours alone,

never to be shared with strangers.

18 May your fountainw be blessed,

and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.x

19 A loving doe, a graceful deery—

may her breasts satisfy you always,

may you ever be intoxicated with her love.

20 Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?

Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

21 For your ways are in full viewz of the Lord,

and he examinesa all your paths.b

22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;c

the cords of their sins hold them fast.d

23 For lack of discipline they will die,e

led astray by their own great folly.f