Proverbs 1
1 The parablis of Salomon, the sone of Dauid, king of Israel;
The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, who reigned in Israel;
2 to kunne wisdom and kunnyng;
to know wisdom and instruction, and to perceive words of understanding;
3 to vndurstonde the wordis of prudence; and to take the lernyng of teching; to take riytfulnesse, and dom, and equyte;
to receive also hard saying, and to understand true justice, and [how] to direct judgement;
4 that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.
that he might give subtlety to the simple, and to the young man discernment and understanding.
5 A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.
For by the hearing of these a wise man will be wiser, and man of understanding will gain direction;
6 He schal perseyue a parable, and expownyng; the wordis of wise men, and the derk figuratif spechis of hem.
and will understand a parable, and a dark speech; the saying of the wise also, and riddles.
7 The drede of the Lord is the bigynning of wisdom; foolis dispisen wisdom and teching.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and [there is] good understanding to all that practise it: and piety towards God is the beginning of discernment; but the ungodly will set at nothing wisdom and instruction.
8 My sone, here thou the teching of thi fadir, and forsake thou not the lawe of thi modir;
Hear, [my] son, the instruction of your father, and reject not the rules of your mother.
9 that grace be addid, ethir encreessid, to thin heed, and a bie to thi necke.
For you shall receive for your head a crown of graces, and a chain of gold round your neck.
10 Mi sone, if synneris flateren thee, assente thou not to hem.
[My] son, let not ungodly men lead you astray, neither consent you [to them].
11 If thei seien, Come thou with vs, sette we aspies to blood, hide we snaris of disseitis ayens an innocent without cause;
If they should exhort you, saying, Come with us, partake in blood, and let us unjustly hide the just man in the earth:
12 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)
and let us swallow him alive, as Hades [would], and remove the memorial of him from the earth: (Sheol h7585)
13 we schulen fille oure housis with spuylis; sende thou lot with vs,
let us seize on his valuable property, and let us fill our houses with spoils:
14 o purs be of vs alle;
but do you cast in your lot with us, and let us all provide a common purse, and let us have one pouch:
15 my sone, go thou not with hem; forbede thi foot fro the pathis of hem.
go not in the way with them, but turn aside your foot from their paths:
16 For the feet of hem rennen to yuel; and thei hasten to schede out blood.
[For their feet run to do evil, and are swift to shed blood. ]
17 But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.
for nets are not without cause spread for birds.
18 Also `thilke wickid disseyueris setten aspies ayens her owne blood; and maken redi fraudis ayens her soulis.
For they that are concerned in murder store up evils for themselves; and the overthrow of transgressors is evil.
19 So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.
These are the ways of all that perform lawless deeds; for by ungodliness they destroy their own life.
20 Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.
Wisdom sings aloud in passages, and in the broad places speaks boldly.
21 It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,
And she makes proclamation on the top of the walls, and sits by the gates of princes; and at the gates of the city boldly says,
22 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?
So long as the simple cleave to justice, they shall not be ashamed: but the foolish being lovers of haughtiness, having become ungodly have hated knowledge, and are become subject to reproofs.
23 Be ye conuertid at my repreuyng; lo, Y schal profre forth to you my spirit, and Y schal schewe my wordis.
Behold, I will bring forth to you the utterance of my breath, and I will instruct you in my speech.
24 For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.
Since I called, and you did not listen; and I spoke at length, and you gave no heed;
25 Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.
but you set at nothing my counsels, and disregarded my reproofs;
26 And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.
therefore I also will laugh at your destruction; and I will rejoice against [you] when ruin comes upon you:
27 Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.
yes when dismay suddenly comes upon you, and [your] overthrow shall arrive like a tempest; and when tribulation and distress shall come upon you, or when ruin shall come upon you.
28 Thanne thei schulen clepe me, and Y schal not here; thei schulen rise eerli, and thei schulen not fynde me.
For it shall be that when you call upon me, I will not listen to you: wicked men shall seek me, but shall not find [me].
29 For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,
For they hated wisdom, and did not choose the word of the Lord:
30 nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.
neither would they attend to my counsels, but derided my reproofs.
31 Therfor thei schulen ete the fruytis of her weie; and thei schulen be fillid with her counseils.
Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way, and shall be filled with their own ungodliness.
32 The turnyng awei of litle men in wit schal sle hem; and the prosperite of foolis schal leese hem.
For because they wronged the simple, they shall be slain; and an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly.
33 But he that herith me, schal reste with outen drede; and he schal vse abundaunce, whanne the drede of yuels is takun awei.
But he that hearkens to me shall dwell in confidence, and shall rest securely from all evil.
