Mishlei (Pro) 4

1Listen, children, to a father’s instruction;

pay attention, in order to gain insight;

2for I am giving you good advice;

so don’t abandon my teaching.

3For I too was once a child to my father;

and my mother, too, thought of me as her special darling.

4He too taught me; he said to me,

“Let your heart treasure my words;

keep my commands, and live;

5gain wisdom, gain insight;

don’t forget or turn from the words I am saying.

6Don’t abandon [wisdom]; then she will preserve you;

love her, and she will protect you.

7The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom!

And along with all your getting, get insight!

8Cherish her, and she will exalt you;

embrace her, and she will bring you honor;

9she will give your head a garland of grace,

bestow on you a crown of glory.”

10Listen, my son, receive what I say,

and the years of your life will be many.

11I’m directing you on the way of wisdom,

guiding you in paths of uprightness;

12when you walk, your step won’t be hindered;

and if you run, you won’t stumble.

13Hold fast to discipline, don’t let it go;

guard it, for it is your life.

14Don’t follow the path of the wicked

or walk on the way of evildoers.

15Avoid it, don’t go on it,

turn away from it, and pass on.

16For they can’t sleep if they haven’t done evil,

they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone fall.

17For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

18But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

shining ever brighter until full daylight.

19The way of the wicked is like darkness;

they don’t even know what makes them stumble.

20My son, pay attention to what I am saying;

incline your ear to my words.

21Don’t let them out of your sight,

keep them deep in your heart;

22for they are life to those who find them

and health to their whole being.

23Above everything else, guard your heart;

for it is the source of life’s consequences.

24Keep crooked speech out of your mouth,

banish deceit from your lips.

25Let your eyes look straight ahead,

fix your gaze on what lies in front of you.

26Level the path for your feet,

let all your ways be properly prepared;

27then deviate neither right nor left;

and keep your foot far from evil.

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Mishlei (Pro) 4: CJB

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Proverbs 4

Cherish Wisdom

1Sons,

listen to ⌞your⌟ father’s discipline,

and pay attention in order to gain understanding.

2After all, I have taught you well.

Do not abandon my teachings.

3When I was a boy ⌞learning⌟ from my father,

when I was a tender and only child of my mother,

4they used to teach me and say to me,

“Cling to my words wholeheartedly.

Obey my commands so that you may live.

5Acquire wisdom.

Acquire understanding.

Do not forget.

Do not turn away from the words that I have spoken.

6Do not abandon wisdom, and it will watch over you.

Love wisdom, and it will protect you.

7The beginning of wisdom is to acquire wisdom.

Acquire understanding with all that you have.

8Cherish wisdom.

It will raise you up.

It will bring you honor when you embrace it.

9It will give you a graceful garland for your head.

It will hand you a beautiful crown.”

Stay on the Path of Wisdom

10My son,

listen and accept my words,

and they will multiply the years of your life.

11I have taught you the way of wisdom.

I have guided you along decent paths.

12When you walk, your stride will not be hampered.

Even if you run, you will not stumble.

13Cling to discipline.

Do not relax your grip on it.

Keep it because it is your life.

14Do not stray onto the path of wicked people.

Do not walk in the way of evil people.

15Avoid it.

Do not walk near it.

Turn away from it,

and keep on walking.

16Wicked people cannot sleep

unless they do wrong,

and they are robbed of their sleep

unless they make someone stumble.

17They eat food obtained through wrongdoing

and drink wine obtained through violence.

18But the path of righteous people is like the light of dawn

that becomes brighter and brighter until it reaches midday.

19The way of wicked people is like deep darkness.

They do not know what makes them stumble.

Stay Focused on Wisdom

20My son,

pay attention to my words.

Open your ears to what I say.

21Do not lose sight of these things.

Keep them deep within your heart

22because they are life to those who find them

and they heal the whole body.

23Guard your heart more than anything else,

because the source of your life flows from it.

24Remove dishonesty from your mouth.

Put deceptive speech far away from your lips.

25Let your eyes look straight ahead

and your sight be focused in front of you.

26Carefully walk a straight path,

and all your ways will be secure.

27Do not lean to the right or to the left.

Walk away from evil.

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