Proverbs 24
1 Sue thou not yuele men, desire thou not to be with hem.
Be not thou envious of wicked men, neither crave to be with them;
2 For the soule of hem bithenkith raueyns, and her lippis speken fraudis.
For, violence, their heart muttereth, and, mischief, their lips do speak.
3 An hous schal be bildid bi wisdom, and schal be maad strong bi prudence.
In wisdom, is a house builded, and, in understanding, is it established;
4 Celeris schulen be fillid in teching, al riches preciouse and ful fair.
And, in knowledge, chambers are filled, with all acquisitions, costly and fair.
5 A wijs man is strong, and a lerned man is stalworth and miyti.
A wise man, is mighty, and, a man of knowledge, becometh alert in vigour.
6 For whi batel is bigunnun with ordenaunce, and helthe schal be, where many counsels ben.
Surely, with concerted measures, shalt thou make for thyself war, and, success, lieth in the greatness of the counsellor.
7 Wisdom is hiy to a fool; in the yate he schal not opene his mouth.
Unattainable to a foolish man, are the dictates of wisdom, in the gate, he openeth not his mouth.
8 He that thenkith to do yuels, schal be clepid a fool.
He that deviseth to do mischief, him, shall men call, a master of plots.
9 The thouyte of a fool is synne; and a bacbitere is abhomynacioun of men.
The purpose of folly, is sin, and, an abomination to mankind, is a buffoon.
10 If thou that hast slide, dispeirist in the dai of angwisch, thi strengthe schal be maad lesse.
Thou hast been slothful in the day of straitness, Strait, is thy strength.
11 Delyuere thou hem, that ben led to deth; and ceesse thou not to delyuere hem, that ben drawun to deth.
Deliver thou such as are being led forth to death, and, them who are tottering to slaughter, oh that thou wouldst hold back!
12 If thou seist, Strengthis suffisen not; he that is biholdere of the herte, vndirstondith, and no thing disseyueth the kepere of thi soule, and he schal yelde to a man bi hise werkis.
Though thou say, Lo! we knew not this, Shall not, he that proveth hearts, himself, discern? And, he that formeth thy soul, himself, know? and bring back to a son of earth according to his deed?
13 Mi sone, ete thou hony, for it is good; and an honycomb ful swete to thi throte.
My son, eat thou honey, because it is good, —and droppings from the comb [because they are] sweet to thy palate:
14 `So and the techyng of wisdom is good to thi soule; and whanne thou hast founde it, thou schalt haue hope in the laste thingis, and thin hope schal not perische.
Thus, take knowledge of wisdom, for thine own soul; If thou find it, then there is a future, and, thine expectation, shall not be cut off.
15 Aspie thou not, and seke not wickidnesse in the hous of a iust man, nether waste thou his reste.
Do not lie in wait, thou lawless man, against the home of the righteous, —neither destroy thou his place of rest;
16 For a iust man schal falle seuene sithis in the dai, and schal rise ayen; but wickid men schulen falle in to yuele.
For, seven times, may the righteous fall and yet arise, but, lawless men, shall stumble into calamity.
17 Whanne thin enemye fallith, haue thou not ioye; and thin herte haue not ful out ioiyng in his fal;
When thine enemy falleth, do not thou rejoice, and, when he stumbleth, let not thy heart exult:
18 lest perauenture the Lord se, and it displese hym, and he take awei his ire fro hym.
Lest Yahweh see it, and it be wicked in his eyes, and he turn away from him his anger.
19 Stryue thou not with `the worste men, nether sue thou wickid men.
Burn not with vexation against evil doers, be not envious of lawless men;
20 For whi yuele men han not hope of thingis to comynge, and the lanterne of wickid men schal be quenchid.
For there shall be no future for the wicked, The lamp of the lawless, shall go out.
21 My sone, drede thou God, and the kyng; and be thou not medlid with bacbiteris.
Revere thou Yahweh, my son, and the king, and, with the fickle, have thou no fellowship;
22 For her perdicioun schal rise togidere sudenli, and who knowith the fal of euer either?
For, suddenly, shall arise their calamity; and, the misfortune of their years, who knoweth?
23 Also these thingis that suen ben to wise men. It is not good to knowe a persoone in doom.
These things also, concern the wise, To take note of faces in judgment, is not good.
24 Puplis schulen curse hem, that seien to a wickid man, Thou art iust; and lynagis schulen holde hem abhomynable.
He that saith to the lawless man, Righteous, thou art, peoples shall denounce him, populations shall curse him;
25 Thei that repreuen iustli synners, schulen be preisid; and blessing schal come on hem.
But, to reprovers, one should be pleasant, and, upon them, should come an excellent blessing:
26 He that answerith riytful wordis, schal kisse lippis.
Lips, should one kiss with one who answereth in right words.
27 Make redi thi werk with outforth, and worche thi feelde dilygentli, that thou bilde thin hous aftirward.
Prepare, in the open, thy work, and make ready, in the field, for thyself, Afterwards, shalt thou build thy house.
28 Be thou not a witnesse with out resonable cause ayens thi neiybore; nether flatere thou ony man with thi lippis.
Do not become a needless witness against thy neighbour, so mightest thou open too wide thy lips:
29 Seie thou not, As he dide to me, so Y schal do to him, and Y schal yelde to ech man aftir his werk.
Do not say—According to what he hath done to me, so, will I do to him, I will repay every one according to his work.
30 I passide bi the feeld of a slow man, and bi the vyner of a fonned man; and, lo!
By the field of the sluggard, I passed, and by the vineyard of a man lacking sense;
31 nettlis hadden fillid al, thornes hadden hilid the hiyere part therof, and the wal of stoonys with out morter was distried.
And lo! there had come up all over it—thorns, there had covered the face thereof—thistles, and, the stone fence thereof, had been thrown down.
32 And whanne Y hadde seyn this thing, Y settide in myn herte, and bi ensaumple Y lernyde techyng.
So I observed it, for myself, I applied my heart, I looked—I accepted correction:
33 Hou longe slepist thou, slow man? whanne schalt thou ryse fro sleep? Sotheli thou schalt slepe a litil, thou schalt nappe a litil, thou schalt ioyne togidere the hondis a litil, to take reste;
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest:
34 and thi nedynesse as a currour schal come to thee, and thi beggerie as an armed man.
So shall come in, as a highwayman, thy poverty, and, thy want, as one armed with a shield.
