Proverbs 1
1 The parablis of Salomon, the sone of Dauid, king of Israel;
Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 to kunne wisdom and kunnyng;
For knowing wisdom and instruction, For understanding sayings of intelligence,
3 to vndurstonde the wordis of prudence; and to take the lernyng of teching; to take riytfulnesse, and dom, and equyte;
For receiving the instruction of wisdom, Righteousness, judgment, and uprightness,
4 that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.
For giving to simple ones—prudence, To a youth—knowledge and discretion.
5 A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.
(The wise hear and increase learning, And the intelligent obtain counsels.)
6 He schal perseyue a parable, and expownyng; the wordis of wise men, and the derk figuratif spechis of hem.
For understanding a proverb and its sweetness, Words of the wise and their acute sayings.
7 The drede of the Lord is the bigynning of wisdom; foolis dispisen wisdom and teching.
Fear of YHWH [is the] beginning of knowledge, Fools have despised 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 do not leave the law of your mother,
9 that grace be addid, ethir encreessid, to thin heed, and a bie to thi necke.
For they [are] a graceful wreath to your head, And chains to your neck.
10 Mi sone, if synneris flateren thee, assente thou not to hem.
My son, if sinners entice you, do not be willing.
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 say, “Come with us, we lay wait for blood, We watch secretly for the innocent without cause,
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)
We swallow them as Sheol—alive, And whole—as those going down [to] the pit, (Sheol h7585)
13 we schulen fille oure housis with spuylis; sende thou lot with vs,
We find every precious substance, We fill our houses [with] spoil,
14 o purs be of vs alle;
You cast your lot among us, One purse is—to all of us.”
15 my sone, go thou not with hem; forbede thi foot fro the pathis of hem.
My son! Do not go in the way with them, Withhold your foot from their path,
16 For the feet of hem rennen to yuel; and thei hasten to schede out blood.
For their feet run to evil, And they hurry to shed blood.
17 But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.
Surely in vain is the net spread out before the eyes of any bird.
18 Also `thilke wickid disseyueris setten aspies ayens her owne blood; and maken redi fraudis ayens her soulis.
And they lay wait for their own blood, They watch secretly for their own lives.
19 So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.
So [are] the paths of every gainer of dishonest gain, It takes the life of its owners.
20 Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.
Wisdom cries aloud in an out-place, She gives forth her voice in broad places,
21 It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,
She calls at the head of the multitudes, In the openings of the gates, In the city she says her sayings:
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?
“Until when, you simple, do you love simplicity? And have scorners desired their scorning? And do fools hate knowledge?
23 Be ye conuertid at my repreuyng; lo, Y schal profre forth to you my spirit, and Y schal schewe my wordis.
Turn back at my reproof, behold, I pour forth my spirit to you, I make known my words with you.
24 For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.
Because I have called, and you refuse, I stretched out my hand, and none is attending,
25 Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.
And you slight all my counsel, And you have not desired my reproof.
26 And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.
I also laugh in your calamity, I deride when your fear comes,
27 Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.
When your fear comes as destruction, And your calamity comes as a windstorm, When adversity and distress come on you.
28 Thanne thei schulen clepe me, and Y schal not here; thei schulen rise eerli, and thei schulen not fynde me.
Then they call me, and I do not answer, They seek me earnestly, and do not find me.
29 For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,
Because that they have hated knowledge, And have not chosen the fear of YHWH.
30 nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.
They have not consented to my counsel, They have despised all my reproof,
31 Therfor thei schulen ete the fruytis of her weie; and thei schulen be fillid with her counseils.
And they eat of the fruit of their way, And they are filled from their own counsels.
32 The turnyng awei of litle men in wit schal sle hem; and the prosperite of foolis schal leese hem.
For the turning of the simple slays them, And the security of the foolish destroys them.
33 But he that herith me, schal reste with outen drede; and he schal vse abundaunce, whanne the drede of yuels is takun awei.
And whoever is listening to me dwells confidently, And [is] quiet from fear of evil!”
