Proverbs 4

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

A father instructs his sons to listen to his teaching, recalling how his own father previously taught him to acquire wisdom and understanding. He explains that holding onto wisdom brings preservation, honor, and a long life of unhindered paths. He contrasts this righteous way, which shines brightly like the dawn, with the path of the wicked who consume violence and cannot sleep without doing evil. Finally, the father urges his son to keep his words in his heart, maintain truthful speech, and keep his eyes focused straight ahead while avoiding evil entirely.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. ²For I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive. ³When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother, ⁴he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live. ⁵Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them. ⁶Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you. ⁷Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding. ⁸Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you. ⁹She will set a garland of grace on your head; she will present you with a crown of beauty.” ¹⁰Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many. ¹¹I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths. ¹²When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble. ¹³Hold on to instruction; do not let go. Guard it, for it is your life. ¹⁴Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. ¹⁵Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by. ¹⁶For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall. ¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. ¹⁸The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. ¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble. ²⁰My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. ²¹Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart. ²²For they are life to those who find them, and health to the whole body. ²³Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life. ²⁴Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech. ²⁵Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. ²⁶Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure. ²⁷Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.