Proverbs 4:5-22

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

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

⁷The 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.)

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

⁹It 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.)

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

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

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

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

¹⁴Delight thou not in the paths of wicked men; and the way of evil men please not thee. (Delight thou not in the paths of the wicked; and do not let the ways of evil people please thee.)

¹⁵Flee thou from it, and pass thou not thereby; bow thou away, and forsake it.

¹⁶For they sleep not, no but they have done evil; and sleep is ravished from them, no but they have deceived simple men. (For they do not sleep, unless first they have done some evil; and sleep is taken from them, unless first they have deceived those who be honest, or have integrity.)

¹⁷They eat the bread of unpiety, and drink the wine of wickedness. (They eat evil bread, and drink wicked wine.)

¹⁸But the path of just men goeth forth as light shining (or But the path of the righteous goeth forth like a shining light), and increaseth till to perfect day.

¹⁹The way of wicked men is dark (or The way of the wicked is dark); they know not where, (or when), they shall fall.

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

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

²²For 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.)