Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father,
And attend to know understanding:
For I give you good doctrine;
Forsake ye not my {Or, teaching}law.
For I was a son unto my father,
Tender and {Hebrew: an only one.}only beloved in the sight of my mother.
And he taught me, and said unto me:
Let thy heart retain my words;
Keep my commandments, and live;
Get wisdom, get understanding;
Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;
Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee;
Love her, and she will keep thee.
{Or, The beginning of wisdom is, Get wisdom}Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom;
Yea, with all {Or, thou hast gotten}thy getting get understanding.
Exalt her, and she will promote thee;
She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace;
A crown of {Or, glory}beauty will she deliver to thee.
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings;
And the years of thy life shall be many.
I have taught thee in the way of wisdom;
I have led thee in paths of uprightness.
When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened;
And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go:
Keep her; for she is thy life.
Enter not into the path of the wicked,
And walk not in the way of evil men.
Avoid it, pass not by it;
Turn from it, and pass on.
For they sleep not, except they do evil;
And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light,
That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
The way of the wicked is as darkness:
They know not at what they stumble.
My son, attend to my words;
Incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Let them not depart from thine eyes;
Keep them in the midst of thy heart.
For they are life unto those that find them,
And health to all their flesh.
Keep thy heart {Or, above all that thou guardest}with all diligence;
For out of it are the issues of life.
Put away from thee a wayward mouth,
And perverse lips put far from thee.
Let thine eyes look right on,
And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
{Or, Weigh carefully}Make level the path of thy feet,
And let all thy ways be {Or, ordered aright}established.
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:
Remove thy foot from evil.
Querverweise zu Sprüche 4,1 Spr 4,1
My son, hear the instruction of thy father,And forsake not the {Or, teaching}law of thy mother:
My son, if thou wilt receive my words,And lay up my commandments with thee;
So as to incline thine ear unto wisdom,And apply thy heart to understanding;
Yea, if thou cry after discernment,And lift up thy voice for understanding;
If thou seek her as silver,And search for her as for hid treasures:
Then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah,And find the knowledge of God.
My son, keep the commandment of thy father,And forsake not the {Or, teaching}law of thy mother:
Bind them continually upon thy heart;Tie them about thy neck.
When thou walkest, it shall lead thee;When thou {Hebrew: liest down.}sleepest, it shall watch over thee;And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
For {Or, their commandment}the commandment is a lamp; and {Or, their teaching}the law is light;And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
My son, attend unto my wisdom;Incline thine ear to my understanding:
Come, ye children, hearken unto me:I will teach you the fear of Jehovah.
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister;And call understanding thy {Or, familiar friend}kinswoman:
as ye know how we dealt with each one of you, as a father with his own children, exhorting you, and encouraging you, and testifying,
Now therefore, my sons, hearken unto me;For blessed are they that keep my ways.
Hear instruction, and be wise,And refuse it not.
Blessed is the man that heareth me,Watching daily at my gates,Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoso findeth me findeth life,And shall {Hebrew: draw forth.}obtain favor of Jehovah.
But he that {Or, misseth me}sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul:All they that hate me love death.
to the end that ye should walk worthily of God, who {Some ancient authorities read called.}calleth you into his own kingdom and glory.
Hear counsel, and receive {Or, correction}instruction,That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise,And apply thy heart unto my knowledge.
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them.