Proverbs 1
1 The parables of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.
The parablis of Salomon, the sone of Dauid, king of Israel;
2 To know wisdom, and instruction:
to kunne wisdom and kunnyng;
3 To understand the words of prudence: and to receive the instruction of doctrine, justice, and judgment, and equity:
to vndurstonde the wordis of prudence; and to take the lernyng of teching; to take riytfulnesse, and dom, and equyte;
4 To give subtilty to little ones, to the young man knowledge and understanding.
that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.
5 A wise man shall hear and shall be wiser: and he that understandeth, shall possess governments.
A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.
6 He shall understand a parable, and the interpretation, the words of the wise, and their mysterious sayings.
He schal perseyue a parable, and expownyng; the wordis of wise men, and the derk figuratif spechis of hem.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The drede of the Lord is the bigynning of wisdom; foolis dispisen wisdom and teching.
8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
My sone, here thou the teching of thi fadir, and forsake thou not the lawe of thi modir;
9 That grace may be added to thy head, and a chain of gold to thy neck.
that grace be addid, ethir encreessid, to thin heed, and a bie to thi necke.
10 My son, if sinners shall entice thee, consent not to them.
Mi sone, if synneris flateren thee, assente thou not to hem.
11 If they shall say: Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us hide snares for the innocent without cause:
If thei seien, Come thou with vs, sette we aspies to blood, hide we snaris of disseitis ayens an innocent without cause;
12 Let us swallow him up alive like hell, and whole as one that goeth down into the pit. (Sheol h7585)
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)
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoils.
we schulen fille oure housis with spuylis; sende thou lot with vs,
14 Cast in thy lot with us, let us all have one purse.
o purs be of vs alle;
15 My son, walk not thou with them, restrain thy foot from their paths.
my sone, go thou not with hem; forbede thi foot fro the pathis of hem.
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
For the feet of hem rennen to yuel; and thei hasten to schede out blood.
17 But a net is spread in vain before the eyes of them that have wings.
But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.
18 And they themselves lie in wait for their own blood, and practise deceits against their own souls.
Also `thilke wickid disseyueris setten aspies ayens her owne blood; and maken redi fraudis ayens her soulis.
19 So the wage of every covetous man destroy the souls of the possessors.
So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.
20 Wisdom preacheth abroad, she uttereth her voice in the streets:
Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.
21 At the head of multitudes she crieth out, in the entrance of the gates of the city she uttereth her words, saying:
It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,
22 O children, how long will you love childishness, and fools covet those things which are hurtful to themselves, and the unwise hate knowledge?
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?
23 Turn ye at my reproof: behold I will utter my spirit to you, and will shew you my words.
Be ye conuertid at my repreuyng; lo, Y schal profre forth to you my spirit, and Y schal schewe my wordis.
24 Because I called, and you refused: I stretched out my hand, and there was none that regarded.
For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.
25 You have despised all my counsel, and have neglected my reprehensions.
Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.
26 I also will laugh in your destruction, and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared.
And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.
27 When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a tempest, shall be at hand: when tribulation and distress shall come upon you:
Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.
28 Then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear: they shall rise in the morning and shall not find me:
Thanne thei schulen clepe me, and Y schal not here; thei schulen rise eerli, and thei schulen not fynde me.
29 Because they have hated instruction and received not the fear of the Lord,
For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,
30 Nor consented to my counsel, but despised all my reproof.
nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and shall be filled with their own devices.
Therfor thei schulen ete the fruytis of her weie; and thei schulen be fillid with her counseils.
32 The turning away of little ones shall kill them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
The turnyng awei of litle men in wit schal sle hem; and the prosperite of foolis schal leese hem.
33 But he that shall hear me, shall rest without terror, and shall enjoy abundance, without fear of evils.
But he that herith me, schal reste with outen drede; and he schal vse abundaunce, whanne the drede of yuels is takun awei.
