| 1 | Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know intelligence; |
| 2 | for I give you good doctrine: forsake ye not my law. |
| 3 | For I was a son unto my father, tender and an only one 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 intelligence: forget [it] not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. |
| 6 | Forsake her not, and she shall keep thee; love her, and she shall preserve thee. |
| 7 | The beginning of wisdom [is], Get wisdom; and with all thy getting get intelligence. |
| 8 | Exalt her, and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honour when thou dost embrace her. |
| 9 | She shall give to thy head a garland of grace; a crown of glory will she bestow upon thee. |
| 10 | Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of thy life shall be multiplied. |
| 11 | I will teach thee in the way of wisdom, I will lead thee in paths of uprightness. |
| 12 | When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when 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 go not in the way of evil [men]: |
| 15 | avoid it, pass not by it; turn from it, and pass away. |
| 16 | For they sleep not except they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away unless they have caused [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 shining light, going on and brightening until the day be fully come. |
| 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 more than anything that is guarded; for out of it are the issues of life. |
| 24 | Put away from thee perverseness of mouth, and corrupt lips put far from thee. |
| 25 | Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. |
| 26 | Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be well-ordered. |
| 27 | Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil. |