| Berean Study Bible | King James Bible |
| 1Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and 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 directive. | 2For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. |
| 3When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother, | 3For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. |
| 4he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live. | 4He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. |
| 5Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them. | 5Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. |
| 6Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you. | 6Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. |
| 7Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding. | 7Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. |
| 8Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you. | 8Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. |
| 9She will set a garland of grace on your head; 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. |
| 10Listen, my son, and receive my words, 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 will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight 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; when you run, you will not stumble. | 12When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. |
| 13Hold on to instruction; do not let go. Guard it, for it is your life. | 13Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. |
| 14Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. | 14Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. |
| 15Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by. | 15Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. |
| 16For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall. | 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. |
| 18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. | 18But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. |
| 19But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble. | 19The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. |
| 20My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. | 20My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. |
| 21Do not lose sight of them; keep them within 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 the whole body. | 22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. |
| 23Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life. | 23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. |
| 24Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech. | 24Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. |
| 25Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. | 25Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. |
| 26Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure. | 26Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. |
| 27Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil. | 27Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. |
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