Proverbs 1
1 The parablis of Salomon, the sone of Dauid, king of Israel;
The parables of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel,
2 to kunne wisdom and kunnyng;
in order to know wisdom and discipline,
3 to vndurstonde the wordis of prudence; and to take the lernyng of teching; to take riytfulnesse, and dom, and equyte;
to understand words of prudence, and to accept the instruction of doctrine, justice and judgment, and equity,
4 that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.
so as to give discernment to little ones, knowledge and understanding to adolescents.
5 A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.
By listening, the wise shall become wiser and the intelligent shall possess governments.
6 He schal perseyue a parable, and expownyng; the wordis of wise men, and the derk figuratif spechis of hem.
He shall turn his soul to a parable and to its interpretation, to the words of the wise and their enigmas.
7 The drede of the Lord is the bigynning of wisdom; foolis dispisen wisdom and teching.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The foolish despise wisdom as well as doctrine.
8 My sone, here thou the teching of thi fadir, and forsake thou not the lawe of thi modir;
Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother,
9 that grace be addid, ethir encreessid, to thin heed, and a bie to thi necke.
so that grace may be added to your head and a collar to your neck.
10 Mi sone, if synneris flateren thee, assente thou not to hem.
My son, if sinners should entice you, do not consent to them.
11 If thei seien, Come thou with vs, sette we aspies to blood, hide we snaris of disseitis ayens an innocent without cause;
If they should say: “Come with us. We will lie in wait for blood. We will lay traps against the innocent, without cause.
12 swolowe we him, as helle swolowith a man lyuynge; and al hool, as goynge doun in to a lake; we schulen fynde al preciouse catel, (Sheol h7585)
Let us swallow him alive, like Hell, and whole, like one descending into the pit. (Sheol h7585)
13 we schulen fille oure housis with spuylis; sende thou lot with vs,
We will discover every precious substance. We will fill our houses with spoils.
14 o purs be of vs alle;
Cast your lot with us. One purse will be for us all.”
15 my sone, go thou not with hem; forbede thi foot fro the pathis of hem.
My son, do not walk with them. Preclude your feet from their paths.
16 For the feet of hem rennen to yuel; and thei hasten to schede out blood.
For their feet rush to evil, and they hurry to shed blood.
17 But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.
But a net is thrown in vain before the eyes of those who have wings.
18 Also `thilke wickid disseyueris setten aspies ayens her owne blood; and maken redi fraudis ayens her soulis.
Likewise, they lie in ambush against their own blood, and they undertake deceits against their own souls.
19 So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.
Thus, the ways of all those who are greedy seize the souls of those who possess.
20 Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.
Wisdom forewarns far and wide; she bestows her voice in the streets.
21 It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,
She cries out at the head of crowds; at the entrance of the gates of the city, she offers her words, saying:
22 and seith, Hou long, ye litle men in wit, louen yong childhod, and foolis schulen coueyte tho thingis, that ben harmful to hem silf, and vnprudent men schulen hate kunnyng?
“Little ones, how long will you choose to be childish, and how long will the foolish desire what is harmful to themselves, and how long will the imprudent hate knowledge?
23 Be ye conuertid at my repreuyng; lo, Y schal profre forth to you my spirit, and Y schal schewe my wordis.
Be converted by my correction. Lo, I will offer my spirit to you, and I will reveal my words to you.
24 For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.
For I called, and you refused. I extended my hand, and there was no one who watched.
25 Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.
You have despised all my counsels, and you have neglected my rebukes.
26 And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.
Similarly, I will ridicule you at your demise, and I will mock you, when that which you feared shall overcome you.
27 Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.
When sudden calamity rushes upon you, and your demise advances like a tempest, when tribulation and anguish overcome you,
28 Thanne thei schulen clepe me, and Y schal not here; thei schulen rise eerli, and thei schulen not fynde me.
then they will call to me, and I will not heed, they will arise in the morning, and not find me.
29 For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,
For they held hatred for discipline, and they would not accept the fear of the Lord;
30 nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.
they would not consent to my counsel, but they detracted from all of my corrections.
31 Therfor thei schulen ete the fruytis of her weie; and thei schulen be fillid with her counseils.
Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their way, and they shall have their fill of their own counsels.
32 The turnyng awei of litle men in wit schal sle hem; and the prosperite of foolis schal leese hem.
The loathing of the little ones shall destroy them, and the prosperity of the foolish shall perish them.
33 But he that herith me, schal reste with outen drede; and he schal vse abundaunce, whanne the drede of yuels is takun awei.
But whoever will listen to me shall rest without terror, and shall have full enjoyment of abundance, without fear of evils.”
