1Children, hear the instruction of a father, and pay attention to know understanding, 2for I give you good teaching; do not forsake my law. 3For I was my father’s son, tender and an only one in the sight of my mother. 4And he taught me and said to me, Let your heart cling to my words; keep my commandments and live. 5Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. 6Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you. 7The first thing about wisdom is: Get wisdom. And with all your getting, get understanding. 8Exalt her, and she will lift you up; she shall bring you to honor when you embrace her. 9She shall bestow a wreath of grace upon your head; she shall give you a crown of glory. 10Oh my son, hear and receive my sayings, and the years of your life shall be many. 11I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in straight tracks; 12when you go, your steps shall not be constricted, and when you run, you shall not stumble. 13Take fast hold of instruction, do not let her go; keep her, for she is your life. 14Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not go in the way of evil. 15Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn from it and pass on. 16For they do not sleep unless they have done evil, and their sleep is taken away unless they cause someone to fall. 17For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 18But the path of the just is as the brightness of dawn, that keeps getting brighter until it is fully daytime. 19The way of the wicked is as darkness; they do not know at what they stumble. 20My son, pay attention to my sayings; extend your ear to my words; 21let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the center of your heart; 22for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. 23Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. 24Turn away from you the crooked mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. 25Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids look straight before you. 26Ponder the path of your feet, then all your ways will be established. 27Do not turn to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil.