Proverbs 5
1 Mi sone, perseyue thou my wisdom, and bowe doun thin eere to my prudence; that thou kepe thi thouytis,
My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight,
2 and thi lippis kepe teching. Yyue thou not tent to the falsnesse of a womman;
that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 for the lippis of an hoore ben an hony coomb droppinge, and hir throte is clerere than oile;
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
4 but the last thingis ben bittir as wormod, and hir tunge is scharp as a swerd keruynge on ech side.
in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
6 Tho goon not bi the path of lijf; hir steppis ben vncerteyn, and moun not be souyt out.
She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.
7 Now therfor, my sone, here thou me, and go not awei fro the wordis of my mouth.
So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth.
8 Make fer thi weie fro hir, and neiye thou not to the doris of hir hous.
Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house,
9 Yyue thou not thin onour to aliens, and thi yeeris to the cruel;
lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel;
10 lest perauenture straungeris be fillid with thi strengthis, and lest thi trauels be in an alien hous;
lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.
11 and thou biweile in the laste daies, whanne thou hast wastid thi fleschis, and thi bodi; and thou seie,
At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,
12 Whi wlatide Y teching, and myn herte assentide not to blamyngis;
and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
13 nether Y herde the voys of men techinge me, and Y bowide not doun myn eere to maistris?
I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors.
14 Almest Y was in al yuel, in the myddis of the chirche, and of the synagoge.
I am on the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.”
15 Drinke thou watir of thi cisterne, and the floodis of thi pit.
Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
16 Thi wellis be stremed forth; and departe thi watris in stretis.
Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Haue thou aloone `tho watris; and aliens be not thi parceneris.
Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
18 Thi veyne be blessid; and be thou glad with the womman of thi yong wexynge age.
May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
19 An hynde moost dereworthe; and an hert calf moost acceptable. Hir teetis fille thee in al tyme; and delite thou contynueli in the loue of hir.
A loving doe, a graceful fawn— may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.
20 Mi sone, whi art thou disseyued of an alien womman; and art fostrid in the bosum of an othere?
Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 The Lord seeth the weie of a man; and biholdith alle hise steppis.
For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
22 The wickidnessis of a wyckid man taken hym; and he is boundun with the roopis of hise synnes.
The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
23 He schal die, for he hadde not lernyng; and he schal be disseyued in the mychilnesse of his fooli.
He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
