1: Hear, [my] sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding: 2: For I give you good doctrine; Forsake ye not my law. 3: For I was a son unto my father, Tender and 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: Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom; Yea, with all 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 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 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: Make level the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established. 27: Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove thy foot from evil.
