⁸ My son, hear thou the teaching of thy father, and forsake thou not the law of thy mother; (My son, listen thou to thy father’s teaching; and do not thou abandon thy mother’s principles;)

⁹ (so) that grace be added, either increased, to thine head, and a band to thy neck. (so that favour be added unto thee, and a band of honour be put about thy neck.)

3 My son, forget thou not my law; and thine heart keep my commandments.

² For they shall set to thee the length of days, and the years of life, and peace.

4 Sons, hear ye the teaching of your father; and perceive ye (and understand ye), (so) that ye know prudence.

² I shall give to you a good gift; forsake ye not my law. (I give you a good gift; do not ye abandon my instructions.)

³ For why and I was the son of my father, a tender son, and one begotten, before my mother. (For I was my father’s son, a tender son, and my mother’s only child.)

⁴ And my father taught me, and said, Thine heart receive my words; keep thou my behests (obey my commands), and thou shalt live.

⁵ Wield thou wisdom, wield thou prudence; forget thou not, neither bow thou away from the words of my mouth.

⁶ Forsake thou not it, and it shall keep thee (safe); love thou it, and it shall keep thee (safe).

⁷ The beginning of wisdom, wield thou wisdom; and in all thy possession, get thou prudence. (The beginning of wisdom, is that thou first obtain wisdom; and among all thy possessions, of greatest importance is that thou get understanding.)

⁸ Take thou it, and it shall enhance thee; thou shalt be glorified of it, when thou hast embraced it. (Take thou it unto thy heart, and it shall advance thee, or shall promote thee, or raise thee up; thou shalt be honoured, when thou hast embraced it.)

⁹ It shall give increasings of graces to thine head; and a noble crown shall defend thee. (It shall bring many favours upon thee; and they shall adorn thee like a noble crown.)

¹⁰ My son, hear thou, and take my words (to heart); (so) that the years of (thy) life be multiplied to thee.

¹¹ I shall show to thee the way of wisdom; and I shall lead thee by the paths of equity (and I shall lead thee on the fair ways).

¹² Into which when thou hast entered, thy goings shall not be made strait; and thou shalt run, and shalt not have hurting (and thou shalt not be caused to stumble).

¹³ Hold thou (fast to my) teaching, and forsake [thou] it not; keep thou it (near), for it is thy life.

²⁰ My son, harken thou (to) my words; and bow down thine ears to my speeches.

²¹ Go not they away from thine eyes (Let them not go away from thine eyes); keep thou them in the middle of thine heart.

²² For those be life to men finding those, and health of all flesh. (For they be life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.)

5 My son, perceive thou my wisdom, and bow down thine ear to my prudence; (My son, pay attention to my wisdom, and listen to my understanding of things;)

² (so) that thou keep thy thoughts (proper), and thy lips keep teaching (and thy lips speak knowingly).

²⁰ My son, keep the commandments of thy father; and forsake [thou] not the law of thy mother. (My son, obey thy father’s commands; and do not thou abandon thy mother’s instructions.)

²¹ Bind thou those continually in thine heart; and encompass to thy throat. (Bind thou them continually to thy heart; and tie them about thy neck.)

²² When thou goest, go they with thee; when thou sleepest, keep they thee (safe); and thou waking, speak with them.

²³ For the commandment of God is a lantern, and the law is light, and the blaming of teaching is the way of life; (For the commandment of God is a lantern, and the Law is a light, and the rebukes of discipline pointeth to the way of life;)

7 My son, keep thou my words; and keep my behests to thee. (My son, remember my words; and keep my commands with thee.)

² Keep thou my behests, and thou shalt live; and my law, as the apple of thine eye. (Keep thou my commands, and thou shalt live; and my instructions, or my teaching, as the apple of thine eyes.)

³ Bind thou it in thy fingers; write thou it in the tables of thine heart. (Bind thou it to thy fingers; write thou it on the tablets of thy heart.)

¹⁷ The way of life is to him that keepeth chastising; but he that forsaketh blamings, erreth. (The way of life is for him who receiveth discipline; but he who forsaketh rebukes, erreth.)

¹⁶ He that keepeth the commandment of God, keepeth his soul; but he that chargeth not his way, shall be slain. (He who keepeth God’s commandments, keepeth his life safe; but he who despiseth the Lord’s way, shall die.)

²² Hear thy father, that begat thee (Listen to thy father, who begat thee); and despise not thy mother, when she is eld.