Proverbs 2
1 Mi sone, if thou resseyuest my wordis, `and hidist myn heestis anentis thee;
My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you,
2 that thin eere here wisdom, bowe thin herte to knowe prudence.
so as to turn your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;
3 For if thou inwardli clepist wisdom, and bowist thin herte to prudence;
yes, if you call out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding;
4 if thou sekist it as money, and diggist it out as tresours;
if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 thanne thou schalt vndirstonde the drede of the Lord, and schalt fynde the kunnyng of God.
then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord yyueth wisdom; and prudence and kunnyng is of his mouth.
For the LORD gives wisdom. Out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
7 He schal kepe the heelthe of riytful men, and he schal defende hem that goen sympli.
He lays up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 And he schal kepe the pathis of riytfulnesse, and he schal kepe the weies of hooli men.
that he may guard the paths of justice, and preserve the way of his saints.
9 Thanne thou schalt vndirstonde riytfulnesse, and dom, and equytee, and ech good path.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.
10 If wysdom entrith in to thin herte, and kunnyng plesith thi soule,
For wisdom will enter into your heart. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 good councel schal kepe thee, and prudence schal kepe thee; that thou be delyuered fro an yuel weie,
Discretion will watch over you. Understanding will keep you,
12 and fro a man that spekith weiward thingis.
to deliver you from the way of evil, from the men who speak perverse things,
13 Whiche forsaken a riytful weie, and goen bi derk weies;
who forsake the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 whiche ben glad, whanne thei han do yuel, and maken ful out ioye in worste thingis;
who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose weies ben weywerd, and her goyingis ben of yuel fame.
who are crooked in their ways, and wayward in their paths,
16 That thou be delyuered fro an alien womman, and fro a straunge womman, that makith soft hir wordis;
to deliver you from the strange woman, even from the foreigner who flatters with her words,
17 and forsakith the duyk of hir tyme of mariage,
who forsakes the friend of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God;
18 and hath foryete the couenaunt of hir God. For the hous of hir is bowid to deeth, and hir pathis to helle.
for her house leads down to death, her paths to the departed spirits.
19 Alle that entren to hir, schulen not turne ayen, nether schulen catche the pathis of lijf.
None who go to her return again, neither do they attain to the paths of life.
20 That thou go in a good weie, and kepe the pathis of iust men.
Therefore walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
21 Forsothe thei that ben riytful, schulen dwelle in the lond; and symple men schulen perfitli dwelle ther ynne.
For the upright will dwell in the land. The perfect will remain in it.
22 But vnfeithful men schulen be lost fro the loond; and thei that doen wickidli, schulen be takun awey fro it.
But the wicked will be cut off from the land. The treacherous will be rooted out of it.
