1 - Hear, [my] sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding:
2 - For I give you good doctrine; Forsake ye not my law.
3 - For I was a son unto my father, Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4 - And he taught me, and said unto me: Let thy heart retain my words; Keep my commandments, and live;
5 - Get wisdom, get understanding; Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;
6 - Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee; Love her, and she will keep thee.
7 - Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom; Yea, with all thy getting get understanding.
8 - Exalt her, and she will promote thee; She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
9 - She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace; A crown of beauty will she deliver to thee.
10 - Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many.
11 - I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness.
12 - When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 - Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: Keep her; for she is thy life.
14 - Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men.
15 - Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on.
16 - For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 - For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.
18 - But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
19 - The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.
20 - My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 - Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thy heart.
22 - For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh.
23 - Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.
24 - Put away from thee a wayward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee.
25 - Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 - Make level the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established.
27 - Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove thy foot from evil.