1 Children, hear the instruction of a father, and pay attention to know understanding,

2 for I give you good teaching; do not forsake my law.

3 For I was my father’s son, tender and an only one in the sight of my mother.

4 And he taught me and said to me, Let your heart cling to my words; keep my commandments and live.

5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

6 Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you.

7 The first thing about wisdom is: Get wisdom. And with all your getting, get understanding.

8 Exalt her, and she will lift you up; she shall bring you to honor when you embrace her.

9 She shall bestow a wreath of grace upon your head; she shall give you a crown of glory.

10 Oh my son, hear and receive my sayings, and the years of your life shall be many.

11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in straight tracks;

12 when you go, your steps shall not be constricted, and when you run, you shall not stumble.

13 Take fast hold of instruction, do not let her go; keep her, for she is your life.

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not go in the way of evil.

15 Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn from it and pass on.

16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil, and their sleep is taken away unless they cause someone to fall.

17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

18 But the path of the just is as the brightness of dawn, that keeps getting brighter until it is fully daytime.

19 The way of the wicked is as darkness; they do not know at what they stumble.

20 My son, pay attention to my sayings; extend your ear to my words;

21 let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the center of your heart;

22 for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.

23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

24 Turn away from you the crooked mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.

25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids look straight before you.

26 Ponder the path of your feet, then all your ways will be established.

27 Do not turn to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil.