Proverbs 5
1 Mi sone, perseyue thou my wisdom, and bowe doun thin eere to my prudence; that thou kepe thi thouytis,
My son, give attention to my wisdom; let your ear be turned to my teaching:
2 and thi lippis kepe teching. Yyue thou not tent to the falsnesse of a womman;
So that you may be ruled by a wise purpose, and your lips may keep knowledge.
3 for the lippis of an hoore ben an hony coomb droppinge, and hir throte is clerere than oile;
For honey is dropping from the lips of the strange woman, and her mouth 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.
But her end is bitter as wormwood, and sharp as a two-edged sword;
Her feet go down to death, and her steps to the underworld; (Sheol h7585)
6 Tho goon not bi the path of lijf; hir steppis ben vncerteyn, and moun not be souyt out.
She never keeps her mind on the road of life; her ways are uncertain, she has no knowledge.
7 Now therfor, my sone, here thou me, and go not awei fro the wordis of my mouth.
Give ear to me then, my sons, and do not put away my words from you.
8 Make fer thi weie fro hir, and neiye thou not to the doris of hir hous.
Go far away from her, do not come near the door of her house;
9 Yyue thou not thin onour to aliens, and thi yeeris to the cruel;
For fear that you may give your honour to others, and your wealth to strange men:
10 lest perauenture straungeris be fillid with thi strengthis, and lest thi trauels be in an alien hous;
And strange men may be full of your wealth, and the fruit of your work go to the house of others;
11 and thou biweile in the laste daies, whanne thou hast wastid thi fleschis, and thi bodi; and thou seie,
And you will be full of grief at the end of your life, when your flesh and your body are wasted;
12 Whi wlatide Y teching, and myn herte assentide not to blamyngis;
And you will say, How was teaching hated by me, and my heart put no value on training;
13 nether Y herde the voys of men techinge me, and Y bowide not doun myn eere to maistris?
I did not give attention to the voice of my teachers, my ear was not turned to those who were guiding me!
14 Almest Y was in al yuel, in the myddis of the chirche, and of the synagoge.
I was in almost all evil in the company of the people.
15 Drinke thou watir of thi cisterne, and the floodis of thi pit.
Let water from your store and not that of others be your drink, and running water from your fountain.
16 Thi wellis be stremed forth; and departe thi watris in stretis.
Let not your springs be flowing in the streets, or your streams of water in the open places.
17 Haue thou aloone `tho watris; and aliens be not thi parceneris.
Let them be for yourself only, not for other men with you.
18 Thi veyne be blessid; and be thou glad with the womman of thi yong wexynge age.
Let blessing be on your fountain; have joy in the wife of your early years.
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.
As a loving hind and a gentle doe, let her breasts ever give you rapture; let your passion at all times be moved by her love.
20 Mi sone, whi art thou disseyued of an alien womman; and art fostrid in the bosum of an othere?
Why let yourself, my son, go out of the way with a strange woman, and take another woman in your arms?
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 he puts all his goings in the scales.
22 The wickidnessis of a wyckid man taken hym; and he is boundun with the roopis of hise synnes.
The evil-doer will be taken in the net of his crimes, and prisoned in the cords of his sin.
23 He schal die, for he hadde not lernyng; and he schal be disseyued in the mychilnesse of his fooli.
He will come to his end for need of teaching; he is so foolish that he will go wandering from the right way.
