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 4,26 Spr 4,26
{Or, Lest thou find the level &c. Or, Lest thou weigh carefully the path of life}So that she findeth not the level path of life:Her ways are unstable, and {Or, thou canest not know them}she knoweth it not.
A man's goings are established of Jehovah;And he delighteth in his way.
I thought on my ways,And turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
He brought me up also out of {Hebrew: a pit of tumult (or, destruction)}a horrible pit, out of the miry clay;And he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
to the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before {Or, God and our Father}our God and Father, at the {Greek: presence. Compare 2 Corinthians 10:10.}coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints {Many ancient authorities add Amen.}.
Now therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: {Hebrew: Set your heart on your ways.}Consider your ways.
But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and guard you from {Or, evil}the evil one.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: {Hebrew: Set your heart on your ways.}Consider your ways.
And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall himself {Or, restore}perfect, establish, strengthen {Many ancient authorities add settle.} you.
Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise;
Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.