4 Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father,
And attend to know understanding:
² For I give you good doctrine;
Forsake ye not my ^[a]law.
³ For I was a son unto my father,
Tender and ^[b]only beloved in the sight of my mother.
⁴ And he taught me, and said unto me:
Let thy heart retain my words;
Keep my commandments, and live;
⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding;
Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;
⁶ Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee;
Love her, and she will keep thee.
^7 [c]Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom;
Yea, with all ^[d]thy getting get understanding.
⁸ Exalt her, and she will promote thee;
She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
⁹ She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace;
A crown of ^[e]beauty will she deliver to thee.

¹⁰ Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;
And the years of thy life shall be many.
¹¹ I have taught thee in the way of wisdom;
I have led thee in paths of uprightness.
¹² When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;
And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
¹³ Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:
Keep her; for she is thy life.
¹⁴ Enter not into the path of the wicked,
And walk not in the way of evil men.
¹⁵ Avoid it, pass not by it;
Turn from it, and pass on.
¹⁶ For they sleep not, except they do evil;
And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
¹⁸ But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light,
That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
¹⁹ The way of the wicked is as darkness:
They know not at what they stumble.

²⁰ My son, attend to my words;
Incline thine ear unto my sayings.
²¹ Let them not depart from thine eyes;
Keep them in the midst of thy heart.
²² For they are life unto those that find them,
And health to all their flesh.
²³ Keep thy heart ^[f]with all diligence;
For out of it are the issues of life.
²⁴ Put away from thee a wayward mouth,
And perverse lips put far from thee.
²⁵ Let thine eyes look right on,
And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
^26 [g]Make level the path of thy feet,
And let all thy ways be ^[h]established.
²⁷ Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:
Remove thy foot from evil.