*Proverbs 4:1-27
Proverbs 4 instructs children to value their parents’ wisdom, pursue understanding, and avoid evil to live a good life.
- Fatherly Instruction:
- The passage begins with the fatherly instruction of King Solomon, urging his son to listen attentively to his teachings and to incline his ear to his words of wisdom.
- He implores his son not to forget or turn away from his instruction, emphasizing the importance of retaining his words in his heart.
- Value of Wisdom:
- Solomon extols the value of wisdom, declaring it to be the principal thing and urging his son to pursue wisdom above all else.
- He emphasizes the benefits of wisdom, describing it as a source of honor, grace, and a crown of glory, and advising his son to embrace wisdom and prize her highly.
- Path of Righteousness:
- Solomon instructs his son to walk in the path of righteousness and to avoid the ways of the wicked and the unrighteous.
- He warns his son against the dangers of wickedness, advising him to shun the company of evildoers and to guard his heart diligently.
- Guarding the Heart:
- Solomon admonishes his son to guard his heart above all else, for from it flow the springs of life.
- He exhorts his son to keep his heart pure and free from deceit and corruption, instructing him to remove perverse speech from his lips and to focus on that which is good and upright.
- The Path of the Righteous:
- Solomon concludes by describing the path of the righteous as shining brighter and brighter until the full light of day.
- He encourages his son to walk in the ways of righteousness and to follow the path of wisdom, promising that it will lead to a life of prosperity, success, and fulfillment.
4:1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
4:2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
4:3 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4:4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
4:6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
4:8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
4:9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
4:10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
4:11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
4:12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
4:13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
4:14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
4:15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
4:16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
4:17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
4:19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
4:21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
4:22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
4:24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
4:25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
4:26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
4:27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.