Proverbs 24
1 Be not thou envious against evil men, nor desire to be with them.
Sue thou not yuele men, desire thou not to be with hem.
2 For their heart meditates oppression, and their lips talk of mischief.
For the soule of hem bithenkith raueyns, and her lippis speken fraudis.
3 Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established,
An hous schal be bildid bi wisdom, and schal be maad strong bi prudence.
4 and by knowledge the chambers are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
Celeris schulen be fillid in teching, al riches preciouse and ful fair.
5 A wise man is strong, yea, a man of knowledge increases might.
A wijs man is strong, and a lerned man is stalworth and miyti.
6 For by wise guidance thou shall make thy war, and in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
For whi batel is bigunnun with ordenaunce, and helthe schal be, where many counsels ben.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool. He opens not his mouth in the gate.
Wisdom is hiy to a fool; in the yate he schal not opene his mouth.
8 He who devises to do evil, men shall call him a mischief-maker.
He that thenkith to do yuels, schal be clepid a fool.
9 The thought of folly is sin. And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
The thouyte of a fool is synne; and a bacbitere is abhomynacioun of men.
10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.
If thou that hast slide, dispeirist in the dai of angwisch, thi strengthe schal be maad lesse.
11 Deliver those who are carried away to death, and hold thou back those who are ready to be slain.
Delyuere thou hem, that ben led to deth; and ceesse thou not to delyuere hem, that ben drawun to deth.
12 If thou say, Behold, we did not know this, Does not he who weighs the hearts consider it? And he who keeps thy soul, does he not know it? And shall not he render to every man according to his work?
If thou seist, Strengthis suffisen not; he that is biholdere of the herte, vndirstondith, and no thing disseyueth the kepere of thi soule, and he schal yelde to a man bi hise werkis.
13 My son, eat thou honey, for it is good, and the droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to thy taste,
Mi sone, ete thou hony, for it is good; and an honycomb ful swete to thi throte.
14 so the knowledge of wisdom is to thy soul. If thou have found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy hope shall not be cut off.
`So and the techyng of wisdom is good to thi soule; and whanne thou hast founde it, thou schalt haue hope in the laste thingis, and thin hope schal not perische.
15 Lay not in wait, O wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous. Do not destroy his resting place.
Aspie thou not, and seke not wickidnesse in the hous of a iust man, nether waste thou his reste.
16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
For a iust man schal falle seuene sithis in the dai, and schal rise ayen; but wickid men schulen falle in to yuele.
17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falls, and let not thy heart be glad when he is overthrown,
Whanne thin enemye fallith, haue thou not ioye; and thin herte haue not ful out ioiyng in his fal;
18 lest Jehovah see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
lest perauenture the Lord se, and it displese hym, and he take awei his ire fro hym.
19 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, nor be thou envious at the wicked.
Stryue thou not with `the worste men, nether sue thou wickid men.
20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man. The lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
For whi yuele men han not hope of thingis to comynge, and the lanterne of wickid men schal be quenchid.
21 My son, fear thou Jehovah and the king, and do not associate with those who are given to change.
My sone, drede thou God, and the kyng; and be thou not medlid with bacbiteris.
22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly, and the destruction from them both, who knows it?
For her perdicioun schal rise togidere sudenli, and who knowith the fal of euer either?
23 These also are from the wise: To have respect of persons in judgment is not good.
Also these thingis that suen ben to wise men. It is not good to knowe a persoone in doom.
24 He who says to a wicked man, Thou are righteous, peoples shall curse him, nations shall abhor him.
Puplis schulen curse hem, that seien to a wickid man, Thou art iust; and lynagis schulen holde hem abhomynable.
25 But to those who rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
Thei that repreuen iustli synners, schulen be preisid; and blessing schal come on hem.
26 He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.
He that answerith riytful wordis, schal kisse lippis.
27 Prepare thy work outside, and make it ready for thee in the field, and afterwards build thy house.
Make redi thi werk with outforth, and worche thi feelde dilygentli, that thou bilde thin hous aftirward.
28 Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause, and deceive not with thy lips.
Be thou not a witnesse with out resonable cause ayens thi neiybore; nether flatere thou ony man with thi lippis.
29 Say not, I will do so to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.
Seie thou not, As he dide to me, so Y schal do to him, and Y schal yelde to ech man aftir his werk.
30 I went by the field of the sluggard, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding.
I passide bi the feeld of a slow man, and bi the vyner of a fonned man; and, lo!
31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns. The face of it was covered with nettles, and the stone wall of it was broken down.
nettlis hadden fillid al, thornes hadden hilid the hiyere part therof, and the wal of stoonys with out morter was distried.
32 Then I beheld, and considered well. I saw, and received instruction:
And whanne Y hadde seyn this thing, Y settide in myn herte, and bi ensaumple Y lernyde techyng.
33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep,
Hou longe slepist thou, slow man? whanne schalt thou ryse fro sleep? Sotheli thou schalt slepe a litil, thou schalt nappe a litil, thou schalt ioyne togidere the hondis a litil, to take reste;
34 so thy poverty shall come as a robber, and thy want as an armed man.
and thi nedynesse as a currour schal come to thee, and thi beggerie as an armed man.
