Parental Wisdom

¹Listen, my sons, to the instruction of a father,[#Ps 34:11; Pr 1:8]

and be attentive, that you may gain understanding,

²for I give you good teaching;

do not forsake my teaching.

³When I was a son to my father,[#1Ch 22:5; 29:1]

tender and the only beloved in the sight of my mother,

⁴he taught me and said to me,

“Let your heart retain my words;

keep my commandments, and live.

⁵Get wisdom; get understanding;

do not forget or turn away from the words of my mouth.

⁶Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;[#2Th 2:10]

love her, and she will guard you.

⁷The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom,

and with all your possessions, get understanding.

⁸Exalt her, and she will promote you;

she will bring you honor when you embrace her.

⁹She will place on your head an ornament of grace;[#Pr 1:9]

a crown of glory will she bestow on you.”

¹⁰Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,

and the years of your life will be many.

¹¹I have taught you in the way of wisdom;

I have led you in upright paths.

¹²When you walk, your steps will not be hampered,[#Ps 18:36]

and when you run, you will not stumble.

¹³Take hold of instruction; do not let her go;[#Pr 3:18]

guard her, for she is your life.

¹⁴Do not enter the path of the wicked,

and do not walk in the way of evil men.

¹⁵Avoid it, do not travel on it;

turn away from it and pass on.

¹⁶For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;[#Ps 36:4; Mic 2:1]

their sleep is taken away unless they make someone stumble.

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,[#2Sa 23:4]

which shines brighter and brighter until the full daytime.

¹⁹The way of the wicked is like darkness;

they do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰My son, attend to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings.

²¹Let them not depart from your sight;[#Pr 3:21]

keep them within your heart.

²²For they are life to those who find them,

and healing to all their flesh.

²³Keep your heart with all diligence,

for out of it flow the springs of life.

²⁴Put away from you a deceitful mouth,

and put perverse lips far from you.

²⁵Let your eyes look straight ahead,

and your gaze be directly before you.

²⁶Ponder the path of your feet,[#Pr 5:6; Heb 12:13]

and let all your ways be established.

²⁷Do not turn to the right or to the left;[#Dt 5:32; 28:14]

turn your foot away from evil.