Proverbs 4

New King James Version

Security in Wisdom

4 Hear, ^(A)my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding;
²For I give you good doctrine:
Do not forsake my law.
³When I was my father’s son,
^(B)Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
⁴^(C)He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words;
^(D)Keep my commands, and live.
⁵^(E)Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
⁶Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you;
^(F)Love her, and she will keep you.
⁷^(G)Wisdom is the principal thing;
Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding.
⁸^(H)Exalt her, and she will promote you;
She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
⁹She will place on your head ^(I)an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

¹⁰Hear, my son, and receive my sayings,
^(J)And the years of your life will be many.
¹¹I have ^(K)taught you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in right paths.
¹²When you walk, ^(L)your steps will not be hindered,
^(M)And when you run, you will not stumble.
¹³Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go;
Keep her, for she is your life.

¹⁴^(N)Do not enter the path of the wicked,
And do not walk in the way of evil.
¹⁵Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
¹⁶^(O)For they do not sleep unless they have done evil;
And their sleep is ^[a]taken away unless they make someone fall.
¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.

¹⁸^(P)But the path of the just ^(Q)is like the shining ^[b]sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
¹⁹^(R)The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble.

²⁰My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
²¹Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst 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 spring the issues of ^(S)life.
²⁴Put away from you a ^[c]deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
²⁵Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
²⁶Ponder the path of your ^(T)feet,
And let all your ways be established.
²⁷Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.

Footnotes

Proverbs 4:16 Lit. robbed
Proverbs 4:18 Lit. light
Proverbs 4:24 devious

Psalm 13-16

New King James Version

Trust in the Salvation of the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
^(A)How long will You hide Your face from me?
²How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

³Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;
^(B)Enlighten my eyes,
^(C)Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
⁴Lest my enemy say,
“I have prevailed against him”;
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

⁵But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Folly of the Godless, and God’s Final Triumph^(D)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

14 The ^(E)fool has said in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.

²^(F)The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
³^(G)They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.

⁴Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And ^(H)do not call on the Lord?
⁵There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.
⁶You shame the counsel of the poor,
But the Lord is his ^(I)refuge.

⁷^(J)Oh,^[a] that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
^(K)When the Lord brings back ^[b]the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the Lord

A Psalm of David.

15 Lord, ^(L)who may ^[c]abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

²He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the ^(M)truth in his heart;
³He who ^(N)does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
^(O)Nor does he ^[d]take up a reproach against his friend;
⁴^(P)In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
He who ^(Q)swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things ^(R)shall never be moved.

The Hope of the Faithful, and the Messiah’s Victory

A ^(S)Michtam of David.

16 Preserve^[e] me, O God, for in You I put my trust.

²O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
^(T)My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
³As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in ^(U)whom is all my delight.”

⁴Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of ^(V)blood I will not offer,
^(W)Nor take up their names on my lips.

⁵O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You ^[f]maintain my lot.
⁶The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

⁷I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My ^[g]heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
⁸^(X)I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will ^[h]rest in hope.
¹⁰^(Y)For You will not leave my soul in ^[i]Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to ^[j]see corruption.
¹¹You will show me the ^(Z)path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.