Proverbs 1
1 Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
The parablis of Salomon, the sone of Dauid, king of Israel;
2 For knowing wisdom and instruction, For understanding sayings of intelligence,
to kunne wisdom and kunnyng;
3 For receiving the instruction of wisdom, Righteousness, judgment, and uprightness,
to vndurstonde the wordis of prudence; and to take the lernyng of teching; to take riytfulnesse, and dom, and equyte;
4 For giving to simple ones—prudence, To a youth—knowledge and discretion.
that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.
5 (The wise hear and increase learning, And the intelligent obtain counsels.)
A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.
6 For understanding a proverb and its sweetness, Words of the wise and their acute sayings.
He schal perseyue a parable, and expownyng; the wordis of wise men, and the derk figuratif spechis of hem.
7 Fear of YHWH [is the] beginning of knowledge, Fools have despised wisdom and instruction!
The drede of the Lord is the bigynning of wisdom; foolis dispisen wisdom and teching.
8 Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, And do not leave the law of your mother,
My sone, here thou the teching of thi fadir, and forsake thou not the lawe of thi modir;
9 For they [are] a graceful wreath to your head, And chains to your neck.
that grace be addid, ethir encreessid, to thin heed, and a bie to thi necke.
10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not be willing.
Mi sone, if synneris flateren thee, assente thou not to hem.
11 If they say, “Come with us, we lay wait for blood, We watch secretly 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;
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 find every precious substance, We fill our houses [with] spoil,
we schulen fille oure housis with spuylis; sende thou lot with vs,
14 You cast your lot among us, One purse is—to all of us.”
o purs be of vs alle;
15 My son! Do not go in the way with them, Withhold your 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 hurry to shed blood.
For the feet of hem rennen to yuel; and thei hasten to schede out blood.
17 Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird.
But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.
18 And they lay wait for their own blood, They watch secretly 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 paths of every gainer of dishonest gain, It takes the life of its owners.
So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.
20 Wisdom cries aloud in an out-place, She gives forth her voice in broad places,
Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.
21 She calls at the head of the multitudes, In the openings of the gates, In the city she says her sayings:
It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,
22 “Until when, you simple, do you love simplicity? And have scorners desired their scorning? And do 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 back at my reproof, behold, I pour forth my spirit to you, I make known my words with 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 you refuse, I stretched out my hand, and none is attending,
For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.
25 And you slight all my counsel, And you have not desired my reproof.
Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.
26 I also laugh in your calamity, I deride when your fear comes,
And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.
27 When your fear comes as destruction, And your calamity comes as a windstorm, When adversity and distress come on you.
Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.
28 Then they call me, and I do not answer, They seek me earnestly, and do 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 that they have hated knowledge, And have not chosen the fear of YHWH.
For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,
30 They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof,
nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.
31 And they eat of the fruit of their way, And they are filled from their own counsels.
Therfor thei schulen ete the fruytis of her weie; and thei schulen be fillid with her counseils.
32 For the turning of the simple slays them, And the security of the foolish destroys them.
The turnyng awei of litle men in wit schal sle hem; and the prosperite of foolis schal leese hem.
33 And whoever is listening to me dwells confidently, And [is] quiet from 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.
