Proverbs 4

¹Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father,

²For I give you good doctrine;

³For I was a son unto my father,

⁴And he taught me, and said unto me:

⁵Get wisdom, get understanding;

⁶Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee;

⁷Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom;

⁸Exalt her, and she will promote thee;

⁹She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace;

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

¹¹I have taught thee in the way of wisdom;

¹²When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;

¹³Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:

¹⁴Enter not into the path of the wicked,

¹⁵Avoid it, pass not by it;

¹⁶For they sleep not, except they do evil;

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness,

¹⁸But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light,

¹⁹The way of the wicked is as darkness:

²⁰My son, attend to my words;

²¹Let them not depart from thine eyes;

²²For they are life unto those that find them,

²³Keep thy heart with all diligence;

²⁴Put away from thee a wayward mouth,

²⁵Let thine eyes look right on,

²⁶Make level the path of thy feet,

²⁷Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: