Proverbs 7
1 My son, heed my advice, and guard my instructions [as you would] [MET] [guard] a treasure.
Mi sone, kepe thou my wordis; and kepe myn heestis to thee. Sone, onoure thou the Lord, and thou schalt be `myyti; but outakun hym drede thou not an alien.
2 Obey my commands, and [as a result you will] live [a good life]. Consider the things that I teach you [to be very precious]; guard them, [just] like you protect your eyes.
Kepe thou myn heestis, and thou schalt lyue; and my lawe as the appil of thin iyen.
3 Tie my commands around your fingers [in order that they will remind you to obey them]. Always keep them in mind [MET].
Bynde thou it in thi fyngris; write thou it in the tablis of thin herte.
4 [Love] wisdom [like you love] your sister. Understand what is wise, [and let that be as dear to you as] members of your family.
Seie thou to wisdom, Thou art my sistir; and clepe thou prudence thi frendesse.
5 If you are wise and if you understand what is wise [PRS], you will not [sleep with] an immoral woman; you will not listen to a woman who tries to entice you [to sleep with her] by what she says.
That it kepe thee fro a straunge womman; and fro an alien womman, that makith hir wordis swete.
6 One day, I was standing at the window inside my house, and I looked outside.
For whi fro the wyndow of myn hous bi the latijs Y bihelde; and Y se litle children.
7 I saw some young men who did not have good sense. Among them was a man who was very foolish.
I biholde a yong man coward,
8 He crossed the street near [the house of] an immoral woman. He was walking along the path toward her house
that passith bi the stretis, bisidis the corner; and he
9 at twilight, when it was getting dark [DOU].
goith niy the weie of hir hous in derk tyme, whanne the dai drawith to niyt, in the derknessis and myst of the nyyt.
10 Suddenly the woman came out to see/meet him. She was dressed (seductively/like a prostitute), wanting to persuade him to sleep with her.
And lo! a womman, maad redi with ournement of an hoore to disseyue soulis, meetith hym, and sche is a ianglere, and goynge about,
11 She was a loud talker, one who was rebellious; she [SYN] never stayed at home.
and vnpacient of reste, and mai not stonde in the hous with hir feet;
12 She often went into the city streets and plazas/markets, waiting to trap some man.
and now without forth, now in stretis, now bisidis corneris sche `aspieth.
13 [When she saw that young man], she put her arms around him and kissed him. Then without being a bit ashamed, she said,
And sche takith, and kissith the yong man; and flaterith with wowynge cheer, and seith, Y ouyte sacrifices for heelthe;
14 “I have [some meat that is left over from] a sacrifice that I made today [to maintain fellowship with Yahweh]; I have fulfilled/done what I promised him that I would do.
to dai Y haue yolde my vowis.
15 And now I have come out to meet/see you. I was searching for you, and [now] I have found you!
Therfor Y yede out in to thi meetyng, and Y desiride to se thee; and Y haue founde thee.
16 I have put on my bed sheets/bedspreads that were made from [very fine] linen [that were imported] {[people brought]} from Egypt.
Y haue maad my bed with coordis, Y haue arayed with tapetis peyntid of Egipt;
17 I have sprinkled [sweet-smelling] perfumes on my bed— myrrh and aloes and cinnamon.
Y haue bispreynt my bed with myrre, and aloes, and canel.
18 Come [with me]; let us enjoy having sex until [tomorrow] morning. Let’s enjoy making love.
Come thou, be we fillid with tetis, and vse we collyngis that ben coueitid; til the dai bigynne to be cleer.
19 My husband is not at home; he has gone away on a long journey.
For myn hosebonde is not in his hows; he is goon a ful long weie.
20 He is carrying a wallet filled with money, and he will not return until the middle of this month.”
He took with hym a bagge of money; he schal turne ayen in to his hous in the dai of ful moone.
21 [So] she persuaded him by [her] enticing/tempting words. She allured him by her smooth/sweet talk.
Sche boonde hym with many wordis; and sche drow forth hym with flateryngis of lippis.
22 [And] he went with her immediately, like an ox that was going to where it would be slaughtered, or like a deer (OR, a fool) that is stepping into a noose/trap,
Anoon he as an oxe led to slayn sacrifice sueth hir, and as a ioli lomb and vnkunnynge; and the fool woot not, that he is drawun to bondys,
23 where it will remain/stay until someone shoots an arrow into its liver [and kills it]. [He was] like a bird that flew into a trap. He did not know that (it would cost him his life/he would die as a result).
til an arowe perse his mawe. As if a brid hastith to the snare; and woot not, that it is don of the perel of his lijf.
24 My son, listen to what I say; pay [careful] attention to my words.
Now therfor, my sone, here thou me; and perseyue the wordis of my mouth.
25 Do not allow anything to arouse/persuade you to go with an immoral woman like that. Do not go where she goes.
Lest thi soule be drawun awei in the weies of hir; nether be thou disseyued in the pathis of hir.
26 She has caused many men to be ruined; truly, no one can count the men she has killed.
For sche castide doun many woundid men; and alle strongeste men weren slayn of hir.
