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4:1  Listen, my children, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.
4:2  What I am offering to you is sound advice; do not forsake my teaching.
4:3  When I was a young boy in my father’s house, tender in years and my mother’s only child,
4:4  he taught me and said: “Let your heart hold fast to my words; follow my instructions and you will live.
4:5  “Acquire wisdom and gain understanding; never forget or turn aside from my words.
4:6  Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will watch over you.
4:7  “The beginning of wisdom is: acquire wisdom, and no matter what the cost, acquire understanding.
4:8  Extol wisdom, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.
4:9  She will place on your head a lovely garland and bestow on you a crown of beauty.”
4:10  Listen, my son, and take my words to heart, and the years of your life will be multiplied.
4:11  I have instructed you in the ways of wisdom and led you along the paths of righteousness.
4:12  When you walk, your steps will be unimpeded, and when you run, you will not stumble.
4:13  Hold fast to instruction and never let her go; guard her carefully, for she is your life.
4:14  Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk on the road that evildoers follow.
4:15  Avoid it; do not go by it; turn aside from it and go on your way.
4:16  For they cannot rest until they have first done wrong; they cannot sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
4:17  The bread of wickedness is their food, and the wine of violence is their drink.
4:18  The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which increases in brightness to the fullness of day.
4:19  But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness, and they cannot even see what they have stumbled over.
4:20  My son, concentrate attentively on my words; pay heed to the instructions I pass on to you.
4:21  Do not let them slip from your mind; keep them forever in your heart.
4:22  For they are life to those who find them and provide health to their entire being.
4:23  Guard your heart with all possible vigilance, for from it flow the wellsprings of life.
4:24  Turn away from the mouth that deceives and keep your distance from lips that mislead.
4:25  Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze on what lies before you.
4:26  Ensure that the path you tread is level, and then your ways will be sure.
4:27  Do not swerve either to the right or to the left; keep your foot far from evil.