Proverbs 4
4
Wisdom Is Important
1My children, listen to your father’s teaching.
Pay attention so you will understand.
2What I am telling you is good.
Do not forget what I teach you.
3I was once a young boy in my father’s house.
I was like an only child to my mother.
4And my father taught me and said,
“Hold on to my words with all your heart.
Keep my commands and you will live.
5Get wisdom and understanding.
Don’t forget or ignore my words.
6Use wisdom, and it will take care of you.
Love wisdom, and it will keep you safe.
7Wisdom is the most important thing. So get wisdom.
If it costs everything you have, get understanding.
8Believe in the value of wisdom, and it will make you great.
Use it, and it will bring honor to you.
9Like flowers in your hair, it will beautify your life.
Like a crown, it will make you look beautiful.”
10My child, listen and accept what I say.
Then you will have a long life.
11I am guiding you in wisdom.
And I am leading you to do what is right.
12Nothing will hold you back.
You will not be overwhelmed.
13Always remember what you have been taught.
Don’t let go of it.
Keep safe all that you have learned.
It is the most important thing in your life.
14Don’t follow the ways of the wicked.
Don’t do what evil people do.
15Avoid their ways. Don’t go near what they do.
Stay away from them and keep on going.
16They cannot sleep until they do evil.
They cannot rest until they hurt someone.
17They fill themselves with wickedness and cruelty
as if they were eating bread and drinking wine.
18The way of the good person is like the light of dawn.
It grows brighter and brighter until it is full daylight.
19But the wicked are like those who stumble in the dark.
They can’t even see what has hurt them.
20My child, pay attention to my words.
Listen closely to what I say.
21Don’t ever forget my words.
Keep them deep within your heart.
22These words are the secret to life for those who find them.
They bring health to the whole body.
23Be very careful about what you think.
Your thoughts run your life.
24Don’t use your mouth to tell lies.
Don’t ever say things that are not true.
25Keep your eyes focused on what is right.
Keep looking straight ahead to what is good.
26Be careful what you do.
Always do what is right.
27Do not do anything unless it is right.
Stay away from evil.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Proverbs 4
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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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.