Proverbs 4

Wycliffe Bible

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.

¹⁴ Delight 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.)

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

¹⁶ For 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.)

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

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

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

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.)

²³ With all (safe) keeping keep thine heart (safe), for life cometh forth of it (for life cometh forth from it).

²⁴ Remove thou a shrewd mouth from thee (Do not thou speak depraved things); and backbiting lips be far from thee.

²⁵ Thine eyes see rightful things; and thine eyelids go before thy steps.

²⁶ (Ad)dress thou [the] paths to thy feet (Direct thou the steps of thy feet), and all thy ways shall be stablished.

²⁷ Bow thou not to the right side, neither to the left side; turn away thy foot from evil.