Proverbs 2
1 Mi sone, if thou resseyuest my wordis, `and hidist myn heestis anentis thee;
Oh, my son, that thou wouldst receive my words, And treasure up my precepts within thee;
2 that thin eere here wisdom, bowe thin herte to knowe prudence.
That thou wouldst apply thine ear to wisdom, And incline thy heart to understanding!
3 For if thou inwardli clepist wisdom, and bowist thin herte to prudence;
For if thou wilt call aloud to knowledge, And lift up thy voice to understanding, —
4 if thou sekist it as money, and diggist it out as tresours;
If thou wilt 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 shalt thou 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 giveth wisdom; From his mouth proceed knowledge and understanding:
7 He schal kepe the heelthe of riytful men, and he schal defende hem that goen sympli.
He layeth up safety for the righteous; He is a shield to them that walk uprightly:
8 And he schal kepe the pathis of riytfulnesse, and he schal kepe the weies of hooli men.
He guardeth the paths of equity, And defendeth the way of his servants.
9 Thanne thou schalt vndirstonde riytfulnesse, and dom, and equytee, and ech good path.
Then shalt thou understand righteousness and equity And uprightness, yea, every good path.
10 If wysdom entrith in to thin herte, and kunnyng plesith thi soule,
When wisdom entereth into thy heart, And knowledge is pleasant to thy soul,
11 good councel schal kepe thee, and prudence schal kepe thee; that thou be delyuered fro an yuel weie,
Discretion will guard thee, Understanding will preserve thee.
12 and fro a man that spekith weiward thingis.
It will deliver thee from the way of the wicked, 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 in doing evil, And delight in the perverseness of the wicked;
15 whose weies ben weywerd, and her goyingis ben of yuel fame.
Whose paths are crooked, And who are froward in their ways.
16 That thou be delyuered fro an alien womman, and fro a straunge womman, that makith soft hir wordis;
It will deliver thee from the wife of another, From the stranger, who useth smooth words;
17 and forsakith the duyk of hir tyme of mariage,
Who forsaketh the friend of her youth, And forgetteth 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 sinketh down to Death, And her paths to the shades of the dead:
19 Alle that entren to hir, schulen not turne ayen, nether schulen catche the pathis of lijf.
None that go to her return again; They will not attain the paths of life.
20 That thou go in a good weie, and kepe the pathis of iust men.
Therefore walk thou 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 shall dwell in the land, And the righteous shall 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 shall be cut off from the land, And transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
