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Proverbs 4

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1 ἀκούσατε παῖδες παιδείαν πατρὸς καὶ προσέχετε γνῶναι ἔννοιαν 2 δῶρον γὰρ ἀγαθὸν δωροῦμαι ὑμῖν τὸν ἐμὸν νόμον μὴ ἐγκαταλίπητε 3 υἱὸς γὰρ ἐγενόμην κἀγὼ πατρὶ ὑπήκοος καὶ ἀγαπώμενος ἐν προσώπῳ μητρός 4 οἳ ἔλεγον καὶ ἐδίδασκόν με ἐρειδέτω ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος εἰς σὴν καρδίαν 5 φύλασσε ἐντολάς μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ μηδὲ παρίδῃς ῥῆσιν ἐμοῦ στόματος 6 μηδὲ ἐγκαταλίπῃς αὐτήν καὶ ἀνθέξεταί σου ἐράσθητι αὐτῆς καὶ τηρήσει σε 7 8 περιχαράκωσον αὐτήν καὶ ὑψώσει σε τίμησον αὐτήν ἵνα σε περιλάβῃ 9 ἵνα δῷ τῇ σῇ κεφαλῇ στέφανον χαρίτων στεφάνῳ δὲ τρυφῆς ὑπερασπίσῃ σου

1 Sons of mine, take a lesson from your father; a lesson that will make discerning men of you, will you but heed it. 2 A precious heirloom it is, the tradition I teach, not to be lightly bartered away. 3 Time was when I had a father of my own; and when I was but a boy, my mother’s darling, 4 in such words as these he would teach me: Ever be thy heart true to my bidding; if thrive thou wouldst, hold fast the charge I give thee. 5 Wisdom be thy quest, thy quest discernment still; thy father’s apt and faithful pupil, 6 keep her at thy side, thy guardian; cherish her, thy preserver. 7 Wisdom be thy chief thought, make discernment thine at all hazards; 8 her attainment exalts, her embrace ennobles thee; 9 a wreath of fresh graces she will give thee, a crown of glory, to overshadow thy brow.

1

Audite, filii, disciplinam patris,
et attendite ut sciatis prudentiam. 2
Donum bonum tribuam vobis:
legem meam ne derelinquatis. 3
Nam et ego filius fui patris mei,
tenellus et unigenitus coram matre mea. 4
Et docebat me, atque dicebat:
Suscipiat verba mea cor tuum;
custodi præcepta mea, et vives. 5
Posside sapientiam, posside prudentiam:
ne obliviscaris, neque declines a verbis oris mei. 6
Ne dimittas eam, et custodiet te:
dilige eam, et conservabit te. 7
Principium sapientiæ: posside sapientiam,
et in omni possessione tua acquire prudentiam. 8
Arripe illam, et exaltabit te;
glorificaberis ab ea cum eam fueris amplexatus. 9
Dabit capiti tuo augmenta gratiarum,
et corona inclyta proteget te.

10 ἄκουε υἱέ καὶ δέξαι ἐμοὺς λόγους καὶ πληθυνθήσεται ἔτη ζωῆς σου ἵνα σοι γένωνται πολλαὶ ὁδοὶ βίου 11 ὁδοὺς γὰρ σοφίας διδάσκω σε ἐμβιβάζω δέ σε τροχιαῖς ὀρθαῖς 12 ἐὰν γὰρ πορεύῃ οὐ συγκλεισθήσεταί σου τὰ διαβήματα ἐὰν δὲ τρέχῃς οὐ κοπιάσεις 13 ἐπιλαβοῦ ἐμῆς παιδείας μὴ ἀφῇς ἀλλὰ φύλαξον αὐτὴν σεαυτῷ εἰς ζωήν σου 14 ὁδοὺς ἀσεβῶν μὴ ἐπέλθῃς μηδὲ ζηλώσῃς ὁδοὺς παρανόμων 15 ἐν ᾧ ἂν τόπῳ στρατοπεδεύσωσιν μὴ ἐπέλθῃς ἐκεῖ ἔκκλινον δὲ ἀ{P'} αὐτῶν καὶ παράλλαξον 16 οὐ γὰρ μὴ ὑπνώσωσιν ἐὰν μὴ κακοποιήσωσιν ἀφῄρηται ὁ ὕπνος αὐτῶν καὶ οὐ κοιμῶνται 17 οἵδε γὰρ σιτοῦνται σῖτα ἀσεβείας οἴνῳ δὲ παρανόμῳ μεθύσκονται 18 αἱ δὲ ὁδοὶ τῶν δικαίων ὁμοίως φωτὶ λάμπουσιν προπορεύονται καὶ φωτίζουσιν ἕως κατορθώσῃ ἡ ἡμέρα 19 αἱ δὲ ὁδοὶ τῶν ἀσεβῶν σκοτειναί οὐκ οἴδασιν πῶς προσκόπτουσιν

10 Listen, then, my son, and master the charge I give thee, as thou wouldst have long life. 11 Here lies the road to wisdom, here is the path that will bring thee straight to thy goal; 12 here thou mayst walk unhampered, run without fear of stumbling. 13 Hold fast by the instruction thou hast received, and never let it go; guard it as thou wouldst guard thy life. 14 For godless ways and the example of sinful men have thou neither love nor liking; 15 shun their haunts and turn thy back upon them. 16 Rest they never without some ill deed done; some traveller’s feet must stumble, or they lie sleepless on their beds; 17 godlessness is the very bread they eat, they crave for wrong-doing as for wine. 18 See how the path of the just grows ever brighter, like the light of dawn opening out into full day! 19 But these, the sinners, are fain to walk on in darkness, surprised by every fall.

10

Audi, fili mi, et suscipe verba mea,
ut multiplicentur tibi anni vitæ. 11
Viam sapientiæ monstrabo tibi;
ducam te per semitas æquitatis: 12
quas cum ingressus fueris, non arctabuntur gressus tui,
et currens non habebis offendiculum. 13
Tene disciplinam, ne dimittas eam;
custodi illam, quia ipsa est vita tua. 14
Ne delecteris in semitis impiorum,
nec tibi placeat malorum via. 15
Fuge ab ea, nec transeas per illam;
declina, et desere eam. 16
Non enim dormiunt nisi malefecerint,
et rapitur somnus ab eis nisi supplantaverint. 17
Comedunt panem impietatis,
et vinum iniquitatis bibunt. 18
Justorum autem semita quasi lux splendens procedit,
et crescit usque ad perfectam diem. 19
Via impiorum tenebrosa;
nesciunt ubi corruant.

20 υἱέ ἐμῇ ῥήσει πρόσεχε τοῖς δὲ ἐμοῖς λόγοις παράβαλε σὸν οὖς 21 ὅπως μὴ ἐκλίπωσίν σε αἱ πηγαί σου φύλασσε αὐτὰς ἐν σῇ καρδίᾳ 22 ζωὴ γάρ ἐστιν τοῖς εὑρίσκουσιν αὐτὰς καὶ πάσῃ σαρκὶ ἴασις 23 πάσῃ φυλακῇ τήρει σὴν καρδίαν ἐκ γὰρ τούτων ἔξοδοι ζωῆς 24 περίελε σεαυτοῦ σκολιὸν στόμα καὶ ἄδικα χείλη μακρὰν ἀπὸ σοῦ ἄπωσαι 25 οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὀρθὰ βλεπέτωσαν τὰ δὲ βλέφαρά σου νευέτω δίκαια 26 ὀρθὰς τροχιὰς ποίει σοῖς ποσὶν καὶ τὰς ὁδούς σου κατεύθυνε 27 μὴ ἐκκλίνῃς εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ μηδὲ εἰς τὰ ἀριστερά ἀπόστρεψον δὲ σὸν πόδα ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ κακῆς ὁδοὺς γὰρ τὰς ἐκ δεξιῶν οἶδεν ὁ θεός διεστραμμέναι δέ εἰσιν αἱ ἐξ ἀριστερῶν αὐτὸς δὲ ὀρθὰς ποιήσει τὰς τροχιάς σου τὰς δὲ πορείας σου ἐν εἰρήνῃ προάξει

20 Hear then and heed, my son, these words of warning; 21 never lose sight of them, cherish them in thy inmost heart; 22 let a man master them, they will bring life and healing to his whole being. 23 Use all thy watchfulness to keep thy heart true; that is the fountain whence life springs. 24 Far, very far from thy tongue be the cheating word, from thy lips the whisper of calumny; 25 let thy eyes see straight, thy gaze ever scan the path that lies before thee. 26 Consider[1] that path well, and on safe ground thou shalt journey still; 27 swerving neither to right nor left, but keeping thy steps ever clear of wrong-doing. (To the right lie such ways as win the Lord’s favour, to the left such as miss the goal. He it is that will guide thy course aright, and set thy journey forward in peace.[2])

20
Fili mi, ausculta sermones meos,
et ad eloquia mea inclina aurem tuam. 21
Ne recedant ab oculis tuis:
custodi ea in medio cordis tui: 22
vita enim sunt invenientibus ea,
et universæ carni sanitas. 23
Omni custodia serva cor tuum,
quia ex ipso vita procedit. 24
Remove a te os pravum,
et detrahentia labia sint procul a te. 25
Oculi tui recta videant,
et palpebræ tuæ præcedant gressus tuos. 26
Dirige semitam pedibus tuis,
et omnes viæ tuæ stabilientur. 27
Ne declines ad dexteram neque ad sinistram;
averte pedem tuum a malo:
vias enim quæ a dextris sunt novit Dominus:
perversæ vero sunt quæ a sinistris sunt.
Ipse autem rectos faciet cursus tuos,
itinera autem tua in pace producet.

[1] Literally, ‘direct’ in the Latin version, ‘weigh’ in the Hebrew text. The Hebrew verb is ordinarily interpreted ‘smooth out’, but it is difficult to see the relevance of such a metaphor here.

[2] The words enclosed in brackets are found in the Septuagint Greek, but not in the Hebrew text. They have perhaps been misplaced by accident; evidently they do not suit the thought of the present passage.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd