The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Listen, children, to a father's instruction; pay attention, in order to gain insight;
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Give ear, my sons, to the teaching of a father; give attention so that you may have knowledge:
2 for I am giving you good advice; so don't abandon my teaching.
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For I give you good teaching; do not give up the knowledge you are getting from me.
3 For I too was once a child to my father; and my mother, too, thought of me as her special darling.
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For I was a son to my father, a gentle and an only one to my mother.
4 He too taught me; he said to me, "Let your heart treasure my words; keep my commands, and live;
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And he gave me teaching, saying to me, Keep my words in your heart; keep my rules so that you may have life:
5 gain wisdom, gain insight; don't forget or turn from the words I am saying.
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Get wisdom, get true knowledge; keep it in memory, do not be turned away from the words of my mouth.
6 Don't abandon [wisdom]; then she will preserve you; love her, and she will protect you.
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Do not give her up, and she will keep you; give her your love, and she will make you safe.
7 The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom! And along with all your getting, get insight!
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The first sign of wisdom is to get wisdom; go, give all you have to get true knowledge.
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will bring you honor;
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Put her in a high place, and you will be lifted up by her; she will give you honour, when you give her your love.
9 she will give your head a garland of grace, bestow on you a crown of glory."
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She will put a crown of grace on your head, giving you a head-dress of glory.
10 Listen, my son, receive what I say, and the years of your life will be many.
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Give ear, O my son, and let your heart be open to my sayings; and long life will be yours.
11 I'm directing you on the way of wisdom, guiding you in paths of uprightness;
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I have given you teaching in the way of wisdom, guiding your steps in the straight way.
12 when you walk, your step won't be hindered; and if you run, you won't stumble.
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When you go, your way will not be narrow, and in running you will not have a fall.
13 Hold fast to discipline, don't let it go; guard it, for it is your life.
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Take learning in your hands, do not let her go: keep her, for she is your life.
14 Don't follow the path of the wicked or walk on the way of evildoers.
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Do not go in the road of sinners, or be walking in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, don't go on it, turn away from it, and pass on.
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Keep far from it, do not go near; be turned from it, and go on your way.
16 For they can't sleep if they haven't done evil, they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone fall.
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For they take no rest till they have done evil; their sleep is taken away if they have not been the cause of someone's fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
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The bread of evil-doing is their food, the wine of violent acts their drink.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining ever brighter until full daylight.
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But the way of the upright is like the light of early morning, getting brighter and brighter till the full day.
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; they don't even know what makes them stumble.
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The way of sinners is dark; they see not the cause of their fall.
20 My son, pay attention to what I am saying; incline your ear to my words.
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My son, give attention to my words; let your ear be turned to my sayings.
21 Don't let them out of your sight, keep them deep in your heart;
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Let them not go from your eyes; keep them deep in your heart.
22 for they are life to those who find them and health to their whole being.
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For they are life to him who gets them, and strength to all his flesh.
23 Above everything else, guard your heart; for it is the source of life's consequences.
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And keep watch over your heart with all care; so you will have life.
24 Keep crooked speech out of your mouth, banish deceit from your lips.
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Put away from you an evil tongue, and let false lips be far from you.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze on what lies in front of you.
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Keep your eyes on what is in front of you, looking straight before you.
26 Level the path for your feet, let all your ways be properly prepared;
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Keep a watch on your behaviour; let all your ways be rightly ordered.
27 then deviate neither right nor left; and keep your foot far from evil.
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Let there be no turning to the right or to the left, keep your feet from evil.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.