Proverbs 1
1 THE PROVERBS 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 comprehend the words of understanding;
to kunne wisdom and kunnyng;
3 To receive the discipline of wisdom, justice, and right, 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 prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion;
that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.
5 That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning, and the man of understanding may attain unto wise counsels;
A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.
6 To understand a proverb, and a figure; the words of the wise, and their dark 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 knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and discipline.
The drede of the Lord is the bigynning of wisdom; foolis dispisen wisdom and teching.
8 Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;
My sone, here thou the teching of thi fadir, and forsake thou not the lawe of thi modir;
9 For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
that grace be addid, ethir encreessid, to thin heed, and a bie to thi necke.
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Mi sone, if synneris flateren thee, assente thou not to hem.
11 If they say: 'Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us lurk 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 them up alive as the grave, and whole, as those that go 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 spoil;
we schulen fille oure housis with spuylis; sende thou lot with vs,
14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse' —
o purs be of vs alle;
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them, restrain thy foot from their path;
my sone, go thou not with hem; forbede thi foot fro the pathis of hem.
16 For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
For the feet of hem rennen to yuel; and thei hasten to schede out blood.
17 For in vain the net is spread in the eyes of any bird;
But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.
18 And these lie in wait for their own blood, they lurk for their own lives.
Also `thilke wickid disseyueris setten aspies ayens her owne blood; and maken redi fraudis ayens her soulis.
19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; it taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.
20 Wisdom crieth aloud in the streets, she uttereth her voice in the broad places;
Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.
21 She calleth at the head of the noisy streets, at the entrances of the gates, in the city, she uttereth her words:
It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,
22 'How long, ye thoughtless, will ye love thoughtlessness? And how long will scorners delight them in scorning, and fools 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 you at my reproof; behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Be ye conuertid at my repreuyng; lo, Y schal profre forth to you my spirit, and Y schal schewe my wordis.
24 Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man attended,
For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof;
Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.
26 I also, in your calamity, will laugh, I will mock when your dread cometh;
And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.
27 When your dread cometh as a storm, and your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; when trouble and distress come upon you.
Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.
28 Then will they call me, but I will not answer, they will seek me earnestly, but they 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 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD;
For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,
30 They would none of my counsel, they despised all my reproof.
nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.
31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
Therfor thei schulen ete the fruytis of her weie; and thei schulen be fillid with her counseils.
32 For the waywardness of the thoughtless shall slay them, and the confidence 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 whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, and shall be quiet without fear of evil.'
But he that herith me, schal reste with outen drede; and he schal vse abundaunce, whanne the drede of yuels is takun awei.
