Proverbs 4
1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
Sones, here ye the teching of the fadir; and perseiue ye, that ye kunne prudence.
2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
Y schal yyue to you a good yifte; forsake ye not my lawe.
3 For I was my father’s son, tender and only [beloved] in the sight of my mother.
For whi and Y was the sone of my fadir, a tendir sone, and oon `gendride bifore my modir.
4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
And my fadir tauyte me, and seide, Thin herte resseyue my wordis; kepe thou myn heestis, and thou schalt lyue.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget [it] not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
Welde thou wisdom, welde thou prudence; foryete thou not, nethir bowe thou awey fro the wordis of my mouth.
6 Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
Forsake thou not it, and it schal kepe thee; loue thou it, and it schal kepe thee.
7 Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
The bigynnyng of wisdom, welde thou wisdom; and in al thi possessioun gete thou prudence.
8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
Take thou it, and it schal enhaunse thee; thou schalt be glorified of it, whanne thou hast biclippid it.
9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
It schal yyue encresyngis of graces to thin heed; and a noble coroun schal defende thee.
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
Mi sone, here thou, and take my wordis; that the yeris of lijf be multiplied to thee.
11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
Y schal schewe to thee the weie of wisdom; and Y schal lede thee bi the pathis of equyte.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
In to whiche whanne thou hast entrid, thi goyngis schulen not be maad streit; and thou schalt rennen, and schalt not haue hirtyng.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; let [her] not go: keep her; for she [is] thy life.
Holde thou teching, and forsake it not; kepe thou it, for it is thi lijf.
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil [men].
Delite thou not in the pathis of wyckid men; and the weie of yuele men plese not thee.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
Fle thou fro it, and passe thou not therbi; bowe thou awei, and forsake it.
16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause [some] to fall.
For thei slepen not, `no but thei han do yuele; and sleep is rauyschid fro hem, no but thei han disseyued.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
Thei eten the breed of vnpite, and drinken the wyn of wickidnesse.
18 But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
But the path of iust men goith forth as liyt schynynge, and encreessith til to perfit dai.
19 The way of the wicked [is] as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
The weie of wickid men is derk; thei witen not where thei schulen falle.
20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Mi sone, herkene thou my wordis; and bowe doun thin eeris to my spechis.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
Go not tho awei fro thyn iyen; kepe thou hem in the myddil of thin herte.
22 For they [are] life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
For tho ben lijf to men fyndynge thoo, and heelthe `of al fleisch.
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.
With al keping kepe thin herte, for lijf cometh forth of it.
24 Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
Remoue thou a schrewid mouth fro thee; and backbitynge lippis be fer fro thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Thin iyen se riytful thingis; and thin iyeliddis go bifore thi steppis.
26 Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Dresse thou pathis to thi feet, and alle thi weies schulen be stablischid.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.
Bowe thou not to the riytside, nether to the leftside; turne awei thi foot fro yuel. For the Lord knowith the weies that ben at the riytside; but the weies ben weiward, that ben at the leftside. Forsothe he schal make thi goyngis riytful; and thi weies schulen be brouyt forth in pees.
