Proverbs 23
1 When you sit down for a meal with a ruler, look carefully at what is placed before you,
Whanne thou sittist, to ete with the prince, perseyue thou diligentli what thingis ben set bifore thi face,
2 and cut down if you have a big appetite.
and sette thou a withholding in thi throte. If netheles thou hast power on thi soule,
3 Don't be greedy for his fancy food, for it's offered with deceptive motives.
desire thou not of his metis, in whom is the breed of `a leesing.
4 Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich—be wise enough not to bother!
Nyle thou trauele to be maad riche, but sette thou mesure to thi prudence.
5 It disappears in the blink of an eye, suddenly growing wings and flying off into the sky like an eagle.
Reise not thin iyen to richessis, whiche thou maist not haue; for tho schulen make to hem silf pennes, as of an egle, and tho schulen flee in to heuene.
6 Don't accept meal invitations from miserly people; don't be greedy for their fancy food,
Ete thou not with an enuyouse man, and desire thou not hise metis;
7 for what they're thinking inside is what they really are. They say, “Come on, eat and drink!”—but in their minds they don't really care about you.
for at the licnesse of a fals dyuynour and of a coniectere, he gessith that, that he knowith not. He schal seie to thee, Ete thou and drinke; and his soule is not with thee.
8 You'll vomit up the little pieces you've eaten, and your kind words of appreciation will be wasted.
Thou schalt brake out the metis, whiche thou hast ete; and thou schalt leese thi faire wordis.
9 Don't talk to stupid people because they'll ridicule your wise words.
Speke thou not in the eeris of vnwise men; for thei schulen dispise the teching of thi speche.
10 Don't move ancient boundary markers, and don't encroach on fields belonging to orphans,
Touche thou not the termes of litle children; and entre thou not in to the feeld of fadirles and modirles children.
11 for their Protector is powerful and he will plead their case against you.
For the neiybore of hem is strong, and he schal deme her cause ayens thee.
12 Focus your mind on instruction; listen intently to words of knowledge.
Thin herte entre to techyng, and thin eeris `be redi to the wordis of kunnyng.
13 Don't keep from disciplining your children—a beating won't kill them.
Nile thou withdrawe chastisyng fro a child; for thouy thou smyte hym with a yerde, he schal not die.
Thou schalt smyte hym with a yerde, and thou schalt delyuere his soule fro helle. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if you think wisely then I'll be happy;
Mi sone, if thi soule is wijs, myn herte schal haue ioye with thee;
16 I'll be delighted when you say what's right.
and my reynes schulen make ful out ioye, whanne thi lippis speken riytful thing.
17 Don't think enviously of sinners, but always remember to honor the Lord,
Thin herte sue not synneris; but be thou in the drede of the Lord al dai.
18 for there's definitely a future for you, and your hope will not be crushed.
For thou schalt haue hope at the laste, and thin abidyng schal not be don awei.
19 Pay attention, my son, and be wise; make sure your mind concentrates on following the right way.
Mi sone, here thou, and be thou wijs, and dresse thi soule in the weie.
20 Don't join in with people who drink too much wine or who stuff themselves with meat.
Nyle thou be in the feestis of drinkeris, nether in the ofte etyngis of hem, that bryngen togidere fleischis to ete.
21 For people who get drunk and overeat lose all they've got, and they spend so much time dozing that all they have left to wear is rags.
For men yyuynge tent to drinkis, and yyuyng mussels togidere, schulen be waastid, and napping schal be clothid with clothis.
22 Pay attention to your father, and don't disregard your mother when she's old.
Here thi fadir, that gendride thee; and dispise not thi modir, whanne sche is eld.
23 Invest in truth—and don't sell it! Invest in wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
Bie thou treuthe, and nyle thou sille wisdom, and doctryn, and vndurstonding.
24 Children who do right make their fathers very happy; a wise son brings joy to his father.
The fadir of a iust man ioieth ful out with ioie; he that gendride a wijs man, schal be glad in hym.
25 Make your father and mother happy; bring joy to her who gave birth to you.
Thi fadir and thi modir haue ioye, and he that gendride thee, make ful out ioye.
26 My son, give me your undivided attention, and cheerfully follow my example.
My sone, yyue thin herte to me, and thin iyen kepe my weyes.
27 A prostitute is like being trapped in a pit; an immoral woman is like getting stuck a narrow well,
For an hoore is a deep diche, and an alien womman is a streit pit.
28 Like a robber, she lies in wait ready to ambush men and make more of them unfaithful to their wives.
Sche settith aspie in the weie, as a theef; and sche schal sle hem, whiche sche schal se vnwar.
29 Who's in trouble? Who's in pain? Who's arguing? Who's complaining? Who's injured for no reason? Who's got bloodshot eyes?
To whom is wo? to whos fadir is wo? to whom ben chidingis? to whom ben dichis? to whom ben woundis with out cause? to whom is puttyng out of iyen?
30 —those who spend a long time drinking wine, those who are always trying some new cocktail.
Whether not to hem, that dwellen in wyn, and studien to drynke al of cuppis?
31 Don't let the look of wine tempt you—how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smooth it feels as it goes down.
Biholde thou not wyn, whanne it sparclith, whanne the colour therof schyneth in a ver.
32 In the end it bites like a serpent, it stings like a snake.
It entrith swetli, but at the laste it schal bite as an eddre doith, and as a cocatrice it schal schede abrood venyms.
33 You'll hallucinate, seeing strange things, and your confused mind will make you say all kinds of craziness.
Thin iyen schulen se straunge wymmen, and thi herte schal speke weiwerd thingis.
34 You'll stumble around like you're on the rolling ocean, you'll be tossed about like someone lying down at the top of a ship's mast, saying,
And thou schalt be as a man slepinge in the myddis of the see, and as a gouernour aslepid, whanne the steere is lost.
35 “People punched me, but it didn't hurt me; they beat me, but I didn't feel a thing. I've got to get up because I need another drink.”
And thou schalt seie, Thei beeten me, but Y hadde not sorewe; thei drowen me, and Y feelide not; whanne schal Y wake out, and Y schal fynde wynes eft?
