Proverbs 23
1 Whanne thou sittist, to ete with the prince, perseyue thou diligentli what thingis ben set bifore thi face,
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider well him that is before thee;
2 and sette thou a withholding in thi throte. If netheles thou hast power on thi soule,
And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
3 desire thou not of his metis, in whom is the breed of `a leesing.
Be not desirous of his dainties; seeing they are deceitful food.
4 Nyle thou trauele to be maad riche, but sette thou mesure to thi prudence.
Weary not thyself to be rich; cease from thine own 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.
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon it? it is gone; for riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.
6 Ete thou not with an enuyouse man, and desire thou not hise metis;
Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties;
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 as one that hath reckoned within himself, so is he: 'Eat and drink', saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8 Thou schalt brake out the metis, whiche thou hast ete; and thou schalt leese thi faire wordis.
The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9 Speke thou not in the eeris of vnwise men; for thei schulen dispise the teching of thi speche.
Speak not in the ears of a fool; for he will despise the wisdom of thy 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 landmark; and enter not into 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 plead their cause with thee.
12 Thin herte entre to techyng, and thin eeris `be redi to the wordis of kunnyng.
Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Nile thou withdrawe chastisyng fro a child; for thouy thou smyte hym with a yerde, he schal not die.
Withhold not correction from the child; for though thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Thou beatest him with the rod, and wilt deliver his soul from the nether-world. (Sheol h7585)
15 Mi sone, if thi soule is wijs, myn herte schal haue ioye with thee;
My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart will be glad, even mine;
16 and my reynes schulen make ful out ioye, whanne thi lippis speken riytful thing.
Yea, my reins will rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
17 Thin herte sue not synneris; but be thou in the drede of the Lord al dai.
Let not thy heart envy sinners, but be 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 surely there is a future; and thy hope shall not be cut off.
19 Mi sone, here thou, and be thou wijs, and dresse thi soule in the weie.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thy heart in the way.
20 Nyle thou be in the feestis of drinkeris, nether in the ofte etyngis of hem, that bryngen togidere fleischis to ete.
Be not among winebibbers; among gluttonous eaters of flesh;
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 shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
22 Here thi fadir, that gendride thee; and dispise not thi modir, whanne sche is eld.
Hearken unto thy father that begot thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Bie thou treuthe, and nyle thou sille wisdom, and doctryn, and vndurstonding.
Buy the truth, and sell it not; also 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 the righteous will greatly rejoice; and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy of him.
25 Thi fadir and thi modir haue ioye, and he that gendride thee, make ful out ioye.
Let thy father and thy mother be glad, and let her that bore thee rejoice.
26 My sone, yyue thin herte to me, and thin iyen kepe my weyes.
My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
27 For an hoore is a deep diche, and an alien womman is a streit pit.
For a harlot is a deep ditch; and an alien woman is a narrow pit.
28 Sche settith aspie in the weie, as a theef; and sche schal sle hem, whiche sche schal se vnwar.
She also lieth in wait as a robber, and increaseth 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 crieth: 'Woe'? who: 'Alas'? who hath contentions? who hath raving? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 Whether not to hem, that dwellen in wyn, and studien to drynke al of cuppis?
They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to try mixed wine.
31 Biholde thou not wyn, whanne it sparclith, whanne the colour therof schyneth in a ver.
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it glideth 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.
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like a basilisk.
33 Thin iyen schulen se straunge wymmen, and thi herte schal speke weiwerd thingis.
Thine eyes shall behold strange things, and thy heart shall utter confused 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.
Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon 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 have struck me, and I felt it not, they have beaten me, and I knew it not; when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.'
