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, thou shalt consider well, what is before thee;
2 and sette thou a withholding in thi throte. If netheles thou hast power on thi soule,
And shalt put a knife to thy throat, if, of great appetite, thou art:
3 desire thou not of his metis, in whom is the breed of `a leesing.
Do not crave his dainties, for, the same, are deceitful food.
4 Nyle thou trauele to be maad riche, but sette thou mesure to thi prudence.
Do not toil to get wealth, of thine own understanding, forbear:
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 eye fly thereupon, when it is nothing? for it will, surely make, itself wings, Like an eagle, will it wing its way across the heavens.
6 Ete thou not with an enuyouse man, and desire thou not hise metis;
Do not eat the food of him that hath a begrudging eye, neither crave 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, just as he hath thought in his own mind, so, he is: Eat and drink! he may say 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.
As for thy morsel thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit it, so shalt thou waste thy things so sweet.
9 Speke thou not in the eeris of vnwise men; for thei schulen dispise the teching of thi speche.
In the ears of a dullard, do not speak, for he will despise the good sense 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.
Do not move back the ancient boundary, and, into the fields of the fatherless, do not enter;
11 For the neiybore of hem is strong, and he schal deme her cause ayens thee.
For, their near of kin, 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.
Bring, to correction, thy heart, and thine ears, to the sayings 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, from a child, correction, When thou smitest him with the rod, he shall not die:
Thou, with the rod, shalt smite him, and, his soul from hades, shalt thou deliver. (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.
So shall my reins exult, when thy lips speak the things that are right.
17 Thin herte sue not synneris; but be thou in the drede of the Lord al dai.
Let not thy heart be envious of sinners, only of the reverence of Yahweh, all day long;
18 For thou schalt haue hope at the laste, and thin abidyng schal not be don awei.
For surely there is a future, 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 lead forward, in duty, thy heart.
20 Nyle thou be in the feestis of drinkeris, nether in the ofte etyngis of hem, that bryngen togidere fleischis to ete.
Do not be among them who tipple with wine, —among them who are gluttons;
21 For men yyuynge tent to drinkis, and yyuyng mussels togidere, schulen be waastid, and napping schal be clothid with clothis.
For, the tippler and the glutton, shall come to poverty, and, rags, shall Slumber put on!
22 Here thi fadir, that gendride thee; and dispise not thi modir, whanne sche is eld.
Hearken to thy father here, who begat thee, and despise not, when she is old, thy mother.
23 Bie thou treuthe, and nyle thou sille wisdom, and doctryn, and vndurstonding.
Truth, buy thou, but do not sell, wisdom, and correction, 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.
Greatly shall exult, the father of a righteous man, and, he that begetteth a wise son, shall rejoice in him:
25 Thi fadir and thi modir haue ioye, and he that gendride thee, make ful out ioye.
Rejoice shall thy father and thy mother, yea she, shall exult, who bare thee.
26 My sone, yyue thin herte to me, and thin iyen kepe my weyes.
Oh give, my son, thy mind unto me, 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 deep chasm, is the unchaste woman, and, a narrow pit, the female unknown;
28 Sche settith aspie in the weie, as a theef; and sche schal sle hem, whiche sche schal se vnwar.
Yea, she, as for prey, lieth in wait, and, the treacherous among mankind, she causeth to abound.
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 outcry of pain? Who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? Who hath needless wounds? Who hath dullness of eyes?
30 Whether not to hem, that dwellen in wyn, and studien to drynke al of cuppis?
They who tarry over wine, they who go in to search for mixed wine.
31 Biholde thou not wyn, whanne it sparclith, whanne the colour therof schyneth in a ver.
Do not look on wine when it becometh red, when it giveth in the cup its sparkle, 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.
Its after effect, is that, like a serpent, it biteth, and, like a viper, it doth sting.
33 Thin iyen schulen se straunge wymmen, and thi herte schal speke weiwerd thingis.
Thine eyes, will see strange women, and, thy heart, will 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.
So shalt thou become, as one lying down in the heart of the sea, —or as one lying down on the top of the mastgear:
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 smote me—I felt no pain, They struck me down—I noticed it not, —When shall I wake up? I will go on, I will seek it, again!
