Proverbs 23
1 Whanne thou sittist, to ete with the prince, perseyue thou diligentli what thingis ben set bifore thi face,
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is set before you,
2 and sette thou a withholding in thi throte. If netheles thou hast power on thi soule,
and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.
3 desire thou not of his metis, in whom is the breed of `a leesing.
Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.
4 Nyle thou trauele to be maad riche, but sette thou mesure to thi prudence.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
5 Reise not thin iyen to richessis, whiche thou maist not haue; for tho schulen make to hem silf pennes, as of an egle, and tho schulen flee in to heuene.
When you glance at wealth, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
6 Ete thou not with an enuyouse man, and desire thou not hise metis;
Do not eat the bread of a stingy man, and do not crave his delicacies;
7 for at the licnesse of a fals dyuynour and of a coniectere, he gessith that, that he knowith not. He schal seie to thee, Ete thou and drinke; and his soule is not with thee.
for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
8 Thou schalt brake out the metis, whiche thou hast ete; and thou schalt leese thi faire wordis.
You will vomit up what little you have eaten and waste your pleasant words.
9 Speke thou not in the eeris of vnwise men; for thei schulen dispise the teching of thi speche.
Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Touche thou not the termes of litle children; and entre thou not in to the feeld of fadirles and modirles children.
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 For the neiybore of hem is strong, and he schal deme her cause ayens thee.
for their Redeemer is strong; He will take up their case against you.
12 Thin herte entre to techyng, and thin eeris `be redi to the wordis of kunnyng.
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Nile thou withdrawe chastisyng fro a child; for thouy thou smyte hym with a yerde, he schal not die.
Do not withhold discipline from a child; although you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
Strike him with a rod, and you will deliver his soul from Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
15 Mi sone, if thi soule is wijs, myn herte schal haue ioye with thee;
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice.
16 and my reynes schulen make ful out ioye, whanne thi lippis speken riytful thing.
My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.
17 Thin herte sue not synneris; but be thou in the drede of the Lord al dai.
Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.
18 For thou schalt haue hope at the laste, and thin abidyng schal not be don awei.
For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
19 Mi sone, here thou, and be thou wijs, and dresse thi soule in the weie.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
20 Nyle thou be in the feestis of drinkeris, nether in the ofte etyngis of hem, that bryngen togidere fleischis to ete.
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.
21 For men yyuynge tent to drinkis, and yyuyng mussels togidere, schulen be waastid, and napping schal be clothid with clothis.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
22 Here thi fadir, that gendride thee; and dispise not thi modir, whanne sche is eld.
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Bie thou treuthe, and nyle thou sille wisdom, and doctryn, and vndurstonding.
Invest in truth and never sell it— in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 The fadir of a iust man ioieth ful out with ioie; he that gendride a wijs man, schal be glad in hym.
The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him.
25 Thi fadir and thi modir haue ioye, and he that gendride thee, make ful out ioye.
May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!
26 My sone, yyue thin herte to me, and thin iyen kepe my weyes.
My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
27 For an hoore is a deep diche, and an alien womman is a streit pit.
For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.
28 Sche settith aspie in the weie, as a theef; and sche schal sle hem, whiche sche schal se vnwar.
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
29 To whom is wo? to whos fadir is wo? to whom ben chidingis? to whom ben dichis? to whom ben woundis with out cause? to whom is puttyng out of iyen?
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Whether not to hem, that dwellen in wyn, and studien to drynke al of cuppis?
Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks.
31 Biholde thou not wyn, whanne it sparclith, whanne the colour therof schyneth in a ver.
Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32 It entrith swetli, but at the laste it schal bite as an eddre doith, and as a cocatrice it schal schede abrood venyms.
In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
33 Thin iyen schulen se straunge wymmen, and thi herte schal speke weiwerd thingis.
Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
34 And thou schalt be as a man slepinge in the myddis of the see, and as a gouernour aslepid, whanne the steere is lost.
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast:
35 And thou schalt seie, Thei beeten me, but Y hadde not sorewe; thei drowen me, and Y feelide not; whanne schal Y wake out, and Y schal fynde wynes eft?
“They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
