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Proverbs 4-6
International Standard Version
Proverbs 4-6
International Standard Version
Diligently Pursue Wisdom
4 Listen, children,[a] to your father’s instruction,
and pay attention in order to gain understanding.
2 I give you sound teaching,
so do not abandon my instruction.[b]
3 When I was a son to my father,
not yet strong[c] and an only son to my mother,
4 he taught me and told me,
“Let your heart fully embrace what I have to say;[d]
keep my commandments and live!
5 Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget or turn aside from the words of my mouth!
6 Do not abandon her, and she will protect you.
Love her, and she will watch over you.
7 Wisdom is of utmost importance, therefore get wisdom,
and with all your effort work to acquire understanding.
8 Prize her and she will exalt you.
Indeed, if you embrace her, she will honor you.
9 She will place on your head a graceful garland;
she will present to you a crown of beauty.”
10 Listen, my son: accept my words,
and you’ll live a long, long time.[e]
11 I have directed you in the way of wisdom,
and I have led you along straight[f] paths.
12 When you walk, your step will not be hindered,
and when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go!
Guard wisdom,[g] because she is your life!
Avoiding the Ways of the Wicked
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
or go along the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it! Don’t travel on it!
Turn away from it, and pass on by.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they are doing evil,
and they are robbed of their sleep unless they cause someone to stumble.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,
and they drink the wine of violence.
18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn
that grows brighter until the full light of day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness,
and they do not know what they are stumbling over.
Remembering the Counsel of a Wise Father
20 My son, pay attention to my words,
and listen closely[h] to what I say.
21 Do not let them out of your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to their whole body.[i]
23 Above everything else[j] guard your heart,
because from it flow the springs of life.
24 Never talk deceptively
and don’t keep company with people whose speech is corrupt.[k]
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead;
fix your gaze straight in front of you.
26 Carefully measure[l] the paths for your feet,
and all your ways will be established.
27 Do not turn to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
Warning against Sexual Immorality
5 My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
and listen closely to my insight,
2 so you may carefully practice[m] discretion
and your lips preserve knowledge.
3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
and her speech[n] is smoother than oil.
4 But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood,[o]
and as sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead to Sheol.[p]
6 You aren’t thinking about[q] where her life is headed;
her steps wander, but you do not realize[r] it.
7 Now, children,[s] listen to me.
Don’t turn away from what I am saying.[t]
8 Keep[u] far away from her,
and don’t go near the entrance to her house,
9 so that you don’t give your honor to others,
and waste your best years;[v]
10 so that strangers don’t enrich themselves at your expense,[w]
and your work won’t end up the possession of foreigners.[x]
11 You will cry out in anguish when your end comes,
when your flesh and body are consumed,
12 and you will say, “How I hated instruction,[y]
and my heart rejected correction!
13 I did not obey my teachers
and did not listen[z] to my instructors.
14 Now I am at the point of utter disaster
in[aa] the assembly and in the congregation.”
The Delights of Marital Faithfulness
15 Drink water from your own cistern,
and fresh[ab] water from your own well.
16 Should your springs flow outside,
or streams of water in the street?
17 They should be for you alone
and not for strangers who are with you.
18 Let your fountain be blessed
and enjoy the wife of your youth.
19 Like a loving deer, a beautiful doe,
let her breasts satisfy you all the time.
Be constantly intoxicated by her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated by an adulteress, my son,
and embrace the bosom of a foreign woman?
21 Indeed, what a man does is[ac] always in the Lord’s presence,[ad]
and he weighs all his paths.
22 The wicked person’s iniquities will capture him,
and he will be held with the cords of his sin.
23 He will die for lack of discipline,
and he goes astray because of his great folly.
The Folly of Guaranteeing Loans
6 My son, if you guarantee a loan for your neighbor,
if you have agreed to a deal[ae] with a stranger,
2 trapped by your own words,
and caught by your own words,
3 then do this, my son, and deliver yourself,
because you have come under your neighbor’s control.[af]
Go, humble yourself!
Plead passionately with your neighbor!
4 Don’t allow yourself to sleep
or even to close your eyes.
5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a hunter’s hand,[ag]
or like a bird from a fowler’s hand.
The Folly of Laziness
6 Go to the ant, you lazy man!
Observe its ways and become wise.
7 It has no commander,
officer, or ruler,
8 but prepares its provisions in the summer
and gathers its food in the harvest.
9 How long will you lie down, lazy man?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and your poverty will come on you like a bandit
and your desperation like an armed man.
The Folly of Causing Strife
12 A worthless man, a wicked man,
goes around with devious speech,
13 winking with his eyes, making signs[ah] with[ai] his feet,
pointing with his fingers,
14 planning evil with a perverse mind,[aj]
continually stirring up discord.
15 Therefore, disaster will overtake him suddenly.
He will be broken in an instant,
and he will never recover.
What God Hates
16 Here are six things that the Lord hates—
seven, in fact,[ak] are detestable to him:[al]
17 Arrogant eyes,
a lying tongue,
and hands shedding innocent blood;
18 a heart crafting evil plans,
feet running swiftly to wickedness,
19 a false witness snorting lies,
and someone sowing quarrels between brothers.
Parental Counsel about Immorality
20 Keep your father’s commands, my son,
and never forsake your mother’s rules,[am]
21 by binding them to your heart continuously,
fastening them around your neck.
22 During your travels wisdom[an] will lead you;
she will watch over you while you rest;
and when you are startled from your sleep,
she will commune with you.
23 Because the command is a lamp
and the Law a light,
rebukes that discipline are a way of life—
24 to protect you from the evil[ao] woman,
from the words of the seductive woman.
25 Do not focus on her beauty in your mind,
nor allow her to take you prisoner with her flirting eyes,
26 because the price of a whore is a loaf of bread,
and an adulterous woman stalks a man’s precious life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his bosom
without burning his clothes?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without scorching his feet?
29 So also is it with someone who has sex with his neighbor’s wife;
anyone touching her will not remain unpunished.
30 A thief isn’t despised
if he steals to meet his needs[ap] when he is hungry,
31 but when he is discovered,
he must restore seven-fold,
forfeiting the entire value of his house.
32 Whoever commits adultery with a woman is out of his mind;
by doing so he corrupts his own soul.
33 He will receive a beating and dishonor,
and his shame won’t disappear,
34 because jealousy incites[aq] a strong man’s rage,
and he will show no mercy when it’s time for revenge.
35 He will not consider any payment,
nor will he be willing to accept it,[ar]
no matter how large the bribe.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:1 Lit. sons
- Proverbs 4:2 Or law
- Proverbs 4:3 Lit. delicate
- Proverbs 4:4 Lit. embrace my words
- Proverbs 4:10 Lit. and the years of your life will be many
- Proverbs 4:11 Or upright
- Proverbs 4:13 Lit. her
- Proverbs 4:20 Lit. turn your ear
- Proverbs 4:22 Lit. flesh
- Proverbs 4:23 Lit. Above all watching
- Proverbs 4:24 Lit. keep corrupt lips far from you
- Proverbs 4:26 Lit. Weigh
- Proverbs 5:2 Lit. guard
- Proverbs 5:3 Lit. palate
- Proverbs 5:4 Wormwood is a plant with an extremely bitter taste.
- Proverbs 5:5 I.e. the realm of the dead
- Proverbs 5:6 Or She does not consider
- Proverbs 5:6 Or she does not realize
- Proverbs 5:7 Or sons
- Proverbs 5:7 Lit. from the words of my mouth
- Proverbs 5:8 Lit. Keep your path
- Proverbs 5:9 Lit. and your years to the cruel
- Proverbs 5:10 Lit. don’t satisfy themselves with your strength
- Proverbs 5:10 Lit. won’t go into a foreigner’s house
- Proverbs 5:12 Or discipline
- Proverbs 5:13 Lit. incline my ear
- Proverbs 5:14 Lit. in the midst of
- Proverbs 5:15 Lit. flowing
- Proverbs 5:21 Lit. Indeed, a man’s ways are
- Proverbs 5:21 Lit. in front of the Lord’s eyes
- Proverbs 6:1 Lit. have clapped your hands; i.e. have shaken hands
- Proverbs 6:3 Lit. into the hands of your neighbor
- Proverbs 6:5 So MT; LXX Syr Targ read from the hunter; or a noose
- Proverbs 6:13 Lit. scraping
- Proverbs 6:13 The Heb. lacks with
- Proverbs 6:14 Or heart
- Proverbs 6:16 The Heb. lacks in fact
- Proverbs 6:16 Lit. to his soul
- Proverbs 6:20 Or laws
- Proverbs 6:22 Lit. wisdom; i.e. wisdom personified as a woman
- Proverbs 6:24 So MT; LXX reads married
- Proverbs 6:30 Lit. to refresh his soul
- Proverbs 6:34 The Heb. lacks incites
- Proverbs 6:35 The Heb. lacks to accept it
Proverbs 4-6
New International Version
Proverbs 4-6
New International Version
Get Wisdom at Any Cost
4 Listen, my sons,(A) to a father’s instruction;(B)
pay attention and gain understanding.(C)
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 hold(D) of my words with all your heart;
keep my commands, and you will live.(E)
5 Get wisdom,(F) get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;(G)
love her, and she will watch over you.(H)
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get[a] wisdom.
Though it cost all(I) you have,[b] get understanding.(J)
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.(K)
9 She will give you a garland to grace your head
and present you with a glorious crown.(L)”
10 Listen, my son,(M) accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.(N)
11 I instruct(O) you in the way of wisdom
and lead you along straight paths.(P)
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when you run, you will not stumble.(Q)
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.(R)
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of evildoers.(S)
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;(T)
they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.(U)
18 The path of the righteous(V) is like the morning sun,(W)
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.(X)
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;(Y)
they do not know what makes them stumble.(Z)
20 My son,(AA) pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.(AB)
21 Do not let them out of your sight,(AC)
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.(AD)
23 Above all else, guard(AE) your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.(AF)
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes(AG) look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[c] paths for your feet(AH)
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;(AI)
keep your foot from evil.
Warning Against Adultery
5 My son,(AJ) pay attention to my wisdom,
turn your ear to my words(AK) 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;(AL)
4 but in the end she is bitter as gall,(AM)
sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.(AN)
6 She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.(AO)
7 Now then, my sons, listen(AP) to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.
8 Keep to a path far from her,(AQ)
do not go near the door of her house,
9 lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignity[d] to one who is cruel,
10 lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.(AR)
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!(AS)
13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
14 And I was soon in serious trouble(AT)
in the assembly of God’s people.”(AU)
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 fountain(AV) be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.(AW)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer(AX)—
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 view(AY) of the Lord,
and he examines(AZ) all your paths.(BA)
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;(BB)
the cords of their sins hold them fast.(BC)
23 For lack of discipline they will die,(BD)
led astray by their own great folly.(BE)
Warnings Against Folly
6 My son,(BF) if you have put up security(BG) for your neighbor,(BH)
if you have shaken hands in pledge(BI) for a stranger,
2 you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
3 So do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—[e]
and give your neighbor no rest!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.(BJ)
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle(BK) from the hand of the hunter,(BL)
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.(BM)
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;(BN)
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer(BO)
and gathers its food at harvest.(BP)
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?(BQ)
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest(BR)—
11 and poverty(BS) will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.
12 A troublemaker and a villain,
who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks maliciously with his eye,(BT)
signals with his feet
and motions with his fingers,(BU)
14 who plots evil(BV) with deceit in his heart—
he always stirs up conflict.(BW)
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;(BX)
he will suddenly(BY) be destroyed—without remedy.(BZ)
16 There are six things the Lord hates,(CA)
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,(CB)
a lying tongue,(CC)
hands that shed innocent blood,(CD)
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,(CE)
19 a false witness(CF) who pours out lies(CG)
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.(CH)
Warning Against Adultery
20 My son,(CI) keep your father’s command
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.(CJ)
21 Bind them always on your heart;
fasten them around your neck.(CK)
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
23 For this command is a lamp,
this teaching is a light,(CL)
and correction and instruction
are the way to life,(CM)
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.(CN)
25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes.
26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
but another man’s wife preys on your very life.(CO)
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps(CP) with another man’s wife;(CQ)
no one who touches her will go unpunished.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,(CR)
though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
32 But a man who commits adultery(CS) has no sense;(CT)
whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
and his shame will never(CU) be wiped away.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:7 Or Wisdom is supreme; therefore get
- Proverbs 4:7 Or wisdom. / Whatever else you get
- Proverbs 4:26 Or Make level
- Proverbs 5:9 Or years
- Proverbs 6:3 Or Go and humble yourself,
International Standard Version (ISV) 
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.