| New American Standard Bible 1995 | King James Bible |
| 1Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention that you may gain understanding, | 1Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. |
| 2For I give you sound teaching; Do not abandon my instruction. | 2For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. |
| 3When I was a son to my father, Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, | 3For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. |
| 4Then he taught me and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live; | 4He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. |
| 5Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. | 5Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. |
| 6"Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you. | 6Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. |
| 7"The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding. | 7Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. |
| 8"Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her. | 8Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. |
| 9"She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty." | 9She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. |
| 10Hear, my son, and accept my sayings And the years of your life will be many. | 10Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. |
| 11I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths. | 11I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. |
| 12When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; And if you run, you will not stumble. | 12When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. |
| 13Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life. | 13Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. |
| 14Do not enter the path of the wicked And do not proceed in the way of evil men. | 14Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. |
| 15Avoid it, do not pass by it; Turn away from it and pass on. | 15Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. |
| 16For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble. | 16For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. |
| 17For they eat the bread of wickedness And drink the wine of violence. | 17For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. |
| 18But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day. | 18But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. |
| 19The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble. | 19The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. |
| 20My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. | 20My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. |
| 21Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. | 21Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. |
| 22For they are life to those who find them And health to all their body. | 22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. |
| 23Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. | 23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. |
| 24Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you. | 24Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. |
| 25Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. | 25Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. |
| 26Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. | 26Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. |
| 27Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil. | 27Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. |
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