Shared Word Translation
Proverbs 4
A Father's Instruction
Hear, children, the discipline of a father,
and pay attention
so that you may know understanding.
For I give you good teaching;
do not abandon my instruction.
When I was a child with my father,
tender and the only one
before my mother,
he taught me and said to me:
“Let your heart hold fast to my words;
keep my commandments and live.
Acquire wisdom;
acquire understanding.
Do not forget,
and do not turn away
from the words of my mouth.
Do not abandon wisdom,
and she will guard you;
love her,
and she will keep you.
The beginning of wisdom is this:
Acquire wisdom,
and with all you acquire,
acquire understanding.
Prize her,
and she will exalt you;
she will honor you
when you embrace her.
She will place a graceful wreath
upon your head;
she will give you
a beautiful crown.”
The Path of Wisdom
Hear, my child,
and receive my words,
and the years of your life
will be many.
I have instructed you
in the way of wisdom;
I have led you
in upright paths.
When you walk,
your steps will not be restricted,
and if you run,
you will not stumble.
Hold fast to discipline;
do not let go.
Guard her,
for she is your life.
Do Not Enter the Path of the Wicked
Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not walk
in the way of evildoers.
Avoid it;
do not pass along it.
Turn away from it
and pass on.
For they cannot sleep
unless they have done evil;
their sleep is taken away
unless they make someone stumble.
For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
But the path of the righteous
is like the light of dawn,
shining brighter and brighter
until the full day.
The way of the wicked
is like deep darkness;
they do not know
what makes them stumble.
Guard Your Heart
My child,
pay attention to my words;
incline your ear
to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
keep them within your heart.
For they are life
to those who find them
and healing
to their whole body.
Above all that you guard,
guard your heart,
for from it flow
the springs of life.
Put crooked speech away from you,
and keep deceptive lips far from you.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
and let your gaze be fixed
directly before you.
Make level the path of your feet,
and let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.