^7-9 How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord!

Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will gain you many honors.^[a]

4 ^1-2 Young men, listen to me as you would to your father. Listen, and grow wise, for I speak the truth—don’t turn away. ³ For I, too, was once a son, tenderly loved by my mother as an only child, and the companion of my father. ⁴ He told me never to forget his words. “If you follow them,” he said, “you will have a long and happy life.

10 Happy is the man with a level-headed son; sad the mother of a rebel.

²⁹ The fool who provokes his family to anger and resentment will finally have nothing worthwhile left. He shall be the servant of a wiser man.

²⁰ A sensible son gladdens his father. A rebellious son saddens his mother.^[a]