Proverbs 23
1 Whanne thou sittist, to ete with the prince, perseyue thou diligentli what thingis ben set bifore thi face,
If you sit to sup at the table of a prince, consider attentively the things set before you:
2 and sette thou a withholding in thi throte. If netheles thou hast power on thi soule,
and apply your hand, knowing that it behoves you to prepare such [meats]: but if you are very insatiable,
3 desire thou not of his metis, in whom is the breed of `a leesing.
desire not his provisions; for these belong to a false life.
4 Nyle thou trauele to be maad riche, but sette thou mesure to thi prudence.
If you are poor, measure not yourself with a rich man; but refrain yourself in your wisdom.
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.
If you should fix your eye upon him, he will disappear; for wings like an eagle's are prepared for him, and he returns to the house of his master.
6 Ete thou not with an enuyouse man, and desire thou not hise metis;
Sup not with an envious man, neither desire you his meats:
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.
so he eats and drinks as if any one should swallow a hair, and do not bring him in to yourself, nor eat your morsel with him:
8 Thou schalt brake out the metis, whiche thou hast ete; and thou schalt leese thi faire wordis.
for he will vomit it up, and spoil your fair words.
9 Speke thou not in the eeris of vnwise men; for thei schulen dispise the teching of thi speche.
Say nothing in the ears of a fool, lest at any time he sneer at your wise words.
10 Touche thou not the termes of litle children; and entre thou not in to the feeld of fadirles and modirles children.
Remove not the ancient landmarks; and enter not upon the possession of the fatherless:
11 For the neiybore of hem is strong, and he schal deme her cause ayens thee.
for the Lord is their redeemer; he is mighty, and will plead their cause with you.
12 Thin herte entre to techyng, and thin eeris `be redi to the wordis of kunnyng.
Apply your heart to instruction, and prepare your ears for words of discretion.
13 Nile thou withdrawe chastisyng fro a child; for thouy thou smyte hym with a yerde, he schal not die.
Refrain not from chastening a child; for if you beat him with the rod, he shall not die.
For you shall beat him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from death. (Sheol h7585)
15 Mi sone, if thi soule is wijs, myn herte schal haue ioye with thee;
Son, if your heart be wise, you shall also gladden my heart;
16 and my reynes schulen make ful out ioye, whanne thi lippis speken riytful thing.
and your lips shall converse with my lips, if they be right.
17 Thin herte sue not synneris; but be thou in the drede of the Lord al dai.
Let not your heart envy sinners: but be you in the fear of the Lord all the day.
18 For thou schalt haue hope at the laste, and thin abidyng schal not be don awei.
For if you should keep these things, you shall have posterity; and your hope shall not be removed.
19 Mi sone, here thou, and be thou wijs, and dresse thi soule in the weie.
Hear, [my] son, and be wise, and rightly direct the thoughts of your heart.
20 Nyle thou be in the feestis of drinkeris, nether in the ofte etyngis of hem, that bryngen togidere fleischis to ete.
Be not a wine-bibber, neither continue long at feasts, and purchases of flesh:
21 For men yyuynge tent to drinkis, and yyuyng mussels togidere, schulen be waastid, and napping schal be clothid with clothis.
for every drunkard and whoremonger shall be poor; and every sluggard shall clothe himself with tatters and ragged garments.
22 Here thi fadir, that gendride thee; and dispise not thi modir, whanne sche is eld.
Listen, [my] son, to your father which begot you, and despise not [your mother] because she is grown old.
23 Bie thou treuthe, and nyle thou sille wisdom, and doctryn, and vndurstonding.
24 The fadir of a iust man ioieth ful out with ioie; he that gendride a wijs man, schal be glad in hym.
A righteous father brings up [his children] well; and his soul rejoices over a wise son.
25 Thi fadir and thi modir haue ioye, and he that gendride thee, make ful out ioye.
Let your father and your mother rejoice over you, and let her that bore you be glad.
26 My sone, yyue thin herte to me, and thin iyen kepe my weyes.
[My] son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.
27 For an hoore is a deep diche, and an alien womman is a streit pit.
For a strange house is a vessel full of holes; and a strange well is narrow.
28 Sche settith aspie in the weie, as a theef; and sche schal sle hem, whiche sche schal se vnwar.
For such a one shall perish suddenly; and every transgressor shall be cut off.
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 trouble? who [has] quarrels? and who vexations and disputes? who [has] bruises without a cause? whose eyes are livid?
30 Whether not to hem, that dwellen in wyn, and studien to drynke al of cuppis?
Are not those of them that stay long at wine? [are] not [those] of them that haunt [the places] where banquets are? Be not drunk with wine; but converse with just men, and converse [with them] openly.
31 Biholde thou not wyn, whanne it sparclith, whanne the colour therof schyneth in a ver.
For if you should set your eyes on bowls and cups, you shall afterwards go more naked than a pestle.
32 It entrith swetli, but at the laste it schal bite as an eddre doith, and as a cocatrice it schal schede abrood venyms.
But at last [such a one] stretches himself out as one struck by a serpent, and venom is diffused through him as by a horned serpent.
33 Thin iyen schulen se straunge wymmen, and thi herte schal speke weiwerd thingis.
Whenever your eyes shall behold a strange woman, then your mouth shall speak perverse things.
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.
And you shall lie as in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot in a great storm.
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?
And you shall say, They struck me, and I was not pained; and they mocked me, and I knew it not: when will it be morning, that I may go and seek those with whom I may go in company?
