Proverbs · Bible in Basic English
Proverbs 4 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Give ear, my sons, to the teaching of a father; give attention so that you may have knowledge:
1 Listen, sons, to a father’s instruction. Pay attention and know understanding;
2 For I give you good teaching; do not give up the knowledge you are getting from me.
2 for I give you sound learning. Don’t forsake my law.
3 For I was a son to my father, a gentle and an only one to my mother.
3 For I was a son to my father, tender and an only child in the sight of my mother.
4 And he gave me teaching, saying to me, Keep my words in your heart; keep my rules so that you may have life:
4 He taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words. Keep my commandments, and live.
5 Get wisdom, get true knowledge; keep it in memory, do not be turned away from the words of my mouth.
5 Get wisdom. Get understanding. Don’t forget, and don’t deviate from the words of my mouth.
6 Do not give her up, and she will keep you; give her your love, and she will make you safe.
6 Don’t forsake her, and she will preserve you. Love her, and she will keep you.
7 The first sign of wisdom is to get wisdom; go, give all you have to get true knowledge.
7 Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding.
8 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.
8 Esteem her, and she will exalt you. She will bring you to honor when you embrace her.
9 She will put a crown of grace on your head, giving you a head-dress of glory.
9 She will give to your head a garland of grace. She will deliver a crown of splendor to you.”
10 Give ear, O my son, and let your heart be open to my sayings; and long life will be yours.
10 Listen, my son, and receive my sayings. The years of your life will be many.
11 I have given you teaching in the way of wisdom, guiding your steps in the straight way.
11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom. I have led you in straight paths.
12 When you go, your way will not be narrow, and in running you will not have a fall.
12 When you go, your steps will not be hampered. When you run, you will not stumble.
13 Take learning in your hands, do not let her go: keep her, for she is your life.
13 Take firm hold of instruction. Don’t let her go. Keep her, for she is your life.
14 Do not go in the road of sinners, or be walking in the way of evil men.
14 Don’t enter into the path of the wicked. Don’t walk in the way of evil men.
15 Keep far from it, do not go near; be turned from it, and go on your way.
15 Avoid it, and don’t pass by it. Turn from it, and pass on.
16 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.
16 For they don’t sleep unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall.
17 The bread of evil-doing is their food, the wine of violent acts their drink.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the way of the upright is like the light of early morning, getting brighter and brighter till the full day.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light that shines more and more until the perfect day.
19 The way of sinners is dark; they see not the cause of their fall.
19 The way of the wicked is like darkness. They don’t know what they stumble over.
20 My son, give attention to my words; let your ear be turned to my sayings.
20 My son, attend to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not go from your eyes; keep them deep in your heart.
21 Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the center of your heart.
22 For they are life to him who gets them, and strength to all his flesh.
22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to their whole body.
23 And keep watch over your heart with all care; so you will have life.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.
24 Put away from you an evil tongue, and let false lips be far from you.
24 Put away from yourself a perverse mouth. Put corrupt lips far from you.
25 Keep your eyes on what is in front of you, looking straight before you.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead. Fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Keep a watch on your behaviour; let all your ways be rightly ordered.
26 Make the path of your feet level. Let all of your ways be established.
27 Let there be no turning to the right or to the left, keep your feet from evil.
27 Don’t turn to the right hand nor to the left. Remove your foot from evil.
Cross references (27)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Hebrews 2:1; Psalm 34:11; Proverbs 1:8; Proverbs 2:1–5; 1 Thessalonians 2:11–12
- 2 1 Timothy 4:6; Titus 1:9; Psalm 89:30–32; Proverbs 8:6–9; Deuteronomy 32:2
- 3 1 Chronicles 22:5; Romans 12:16; 1 Chronicles 29:1; Zechariah 12:10; 1 Chronicles 3:5
- 4 Proverbs 3:1; Ephesians 6:4; John 12:50; Proverbs 7:2; 1 Chronicles 28:9
- 5 James 1:5; Proverbs 3:13–18; Proverbs 1:22–23; 2 Chronicles 34:2; Psalm 44:18
- 6 2 Thessalonians 2:10; Proverbs 4:21–22; Ephesians 3:17; Proverbs 2:10–12
- 7 Ecclesiastes 7:12; Ecclesiastes 9:16–18; Proverbs 23:23; Proverbs 16:16; Philippians 3:8
- 8 Daniel 12:3; 1 Samuel 2:30; Proverbs 3:35; 1 Kings 3:5–13; Proverbs 22:4
- 9 Proverbs 1:9; 1 Peter 5:4; Hebrews 2:7–9; Proverbs 16:31; Isaiah 28:5
- 10 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Proverbs 3:2; Deuteronomy 6:2; Jeremiah 9:20; Proverbs 3:16
- 11 Psalm 25:4–5; Ecclesiastes 12:9; Proverbs 8:9; Proverbs 8:6; 1 Samuel 12:23–24
- 12 Proverbs 3:23; Psalm 18:36; 2 Samuel 22:37; 1 Peter 2:8; John 11:9–10
- 13 Proverbs 3:18; Hebrews 2:1; Proverbs 23:23; Deuteronomy 32:47; Acts 2:42
- 14 Psalm 1:1; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Proverbs 1:15; Proverbs 1:10; Proverbs 13:20
- 15 Ephesians 5:11; Job 22:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; Exodus 23:7; Job 11:14
- 16 Psalm 36:4; Micah 2:1; Isaiah 57:20; 2 Peter 2:14; Proverbs 1:16
- 17 Micah 6:12; Proverbs 9:17; Proverbs 20:17; Psalm 14:4; James 5:4–5
- 18 John 8:12; Job 11:17; Daniel 12:3; Philippians 2:15; 2 Corinthians 3:18
- 19 John 12:35; Isaiah 59:9–10; Jeremiah 23:12; Job 18:5–6; 1 Samuel 2:9
- 20 Proverbs 5:1; Isaiah 55:3; Proverbs 6:20–21; Proverbs 7:1; Psalm 78:1
- 21 Proverbs 3:21; Proverbs 3:3; Proverbs 7:1–2; Psalm 40:8; Proverbs 2:1
- 22 Jeremiah 33:6; Proverbs 12:18; Proverbs 4:10; Proverbs 3:8; Proverbs 4:4
- 23 Luke 6:45; Matthew 12:34–35; Mark 7:21–23; Psalm 139:23–24; Proverbs 13:3
- 24 Proverbs 8:8; James 1:26; Proverbs 8:13; Ephesians 4:25–31; 1 Peter 2:1
- 25 Psalm 119:37; Matthew 6:22; Job 31:1; Proverbs 23:33; Proverbs 23:5
- 26 Hebrews 12:13; Psalm 37:23; Psalm 119:5; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; Haggai 1:5
- 27 Deuteronomy 5:32; Joshua 1:7; Deuteronomy 28:14; Proverbs 16:17; Deuteronomy 12:32
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
It is not an enemy, O man, that assails thee from without, but an evil shoot growing up out of thyself. Look right on with thine eyes, and there is no lust.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)