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 what is before thee;
2 and sette thou a withholding in thi throte. If netheles thou hast power on thi soule,
For thou wilt put a knife to thy throat, If thou art a man given to appetite!
3 desire thou not of his metis, in whom is the breed of `a leesing.
Long not for his dainties. For they are deceitful meat.
4 Nyle thou trauele to be maad riche, but sette thou mesure to thi prudence.
Toil not to become rich; Cease from this, thy 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 let thine eyes fly toward them? They are gone! For riches truly make to themselves wings; They fly away like the eagle toward heaven.
6 Ete thou not with an enuyouse man, and desire thou not hise metis;
Eat not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, And long not for 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 he thinketh in his heart, 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, thou shalt vomit up; And thou wilt have thrown away 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 avenger is mighty; He will maintain their cause against thee.
12 Thin herte entre to techyng, and thin eeris `be redi to the wordis of kunnyng.
Apply thy heart to 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 a child; If thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Beat him thyself with the rod, And thou shalt rescue him from the underworld. (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 shall rejoice, even mine;
16 and my reynes schulen make ful out ioye, whanne thi lippis speken riytful thing.
Yea, my reins shall exult, 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 continue thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long;
18 For thou schalt haue hope at the laste, and thin abidyng schal not be don awei.
For surely there shall be a reward, And thine expectation 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 let thy heart go forward 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 thou among winebibbers, And riotous 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 will clothe a man with rags.
22 Here thi fadir, that gendride thee; and dispise not thi modir, whanne sche is eld.
Hearken to thy father, who begat 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; Buy 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 shall greatly rejoice; Yea, he who begetteth a wise child shall have joy in him.
25 Thi fadir and thi modir haue ioye, and he that gendride thee, make ful out ioye.
Let thy father and thy mother have joy; Yea, 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; Yea, a strange 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.
Like a robber she lieth in wait, And increaseth the treacherous 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 hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who contentions? Who anxiety? Who wounds without cause? Who dimness 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 in to seek 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 sparkleth in the cup, When it goeth 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 an adder.
33 Thin iyen schulen se straunge wymmen, and thi herte schal speke weiwerd thingis.
Thine eyes will look upon strange women, And thy heart will utter 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.
Yea, thou shalt be as one that lieth down in the midst of the sea, And as one that lieth down 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 stricken me [[shalt thou say]], —I suffered no pain! They have beaten me, —I felt it not! When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
