Proverbs 5
1 Mi sone, perseyue thou my wisdom, and bowe doun thin eere to my prudence; that thou kepe thi thouytis,
My son, attend unto my wisdom; to my understanding incline thou thy ear:
2 and thi lippis kepe teching. Yyue thou not tent to the falsnesse of a womman;
That thou mayest observe discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 for the lippis of an hoore ben an hony coomb droppinge, and hir throte is clerere than oile;
For as of fine honey drop the lips of an adulterous woman, and smoother than oil is her palate;
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, it is sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death, her steps take firm hold on the nether world: (Sheol h7585)
6 Tho goon not bi the path of lijf; hir steppis ben vncerteyn, and moun not be souyt out.
So that she cannot balance the path of life; her tracks are unsteady, and she knoweth it not.
7 Now therfor, my sone, here thou me, and go not awei fro the wordis of my mouth.
And now, O ye children, hearken unto me, and depart not from the sayings of my mouth.
8 Make fer thi weie fro hir, and neiye thou not to the doris of hir hous.
Remove far from her thy way, and come not nigh to the door of her house;
9 Yyue thou not thin onour to aliens, and thi yeeris to the cruel;
That thou mayest not give up unto others thy vigor, and thy years unto the cruel;
10 lest perauenture straungeris be fillid with thi strengthis, and lest thi trauels be in an alien hous;
That strangers may not satisfy themselves with thy strength, and with thy exertions, in the house of an alien:
11 and thou biweile in the laste daies, whanne thou hast wastid thi fleschis, and thi bodi; and thou seie,
While thou moanest at thy end, when thy flesh and thy body are coming to their end,
12 Whi wlatide Y teching, and myn herte assentide not to blamyngis;
And thou sayest, How have I hated correction, and how hath my heart rejected reproof;
13 nether Y herde the voys of men techinge me, and Y bowide not doun myn eere to maistris?
While I hearkened not to the voice of my instructors, and to my teachers I inclined not my ear;
14 Almest Y was in al yuel, in the myddis of the chirche, and of the synagoge.
But little more was wanting, and I had been in all [kinds of] unhappiness in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15 Drinke thou watir of thi cisterne, and the floodis of thi pit.
Drink water out of thy own cistern, and running waters out of thy own well.
16 Thi wellis be stremed forth; and departe thi watris in stretis.
So will thy springs overflow abroad; and in the open streets will be thy rivulets of water;
17 Haue thou aloone `tho watris; and aliens be not thi parceneris.
They will be thy own only, and not those of strangers with thee.
18 Thi veyne be blessid; and be thou glad with the womman of thi yong wexynge age.
Thy fountain will be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy 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.
The lovely gazelle and the graceful chamois: let her bosom satisfy thee abundantly at all times; with her love be thou ravished continually.
20 Mi sone, whi art thou disseyued of an alien womman; and art fostrid in the bosum of an othere?
And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with an adulteress, and embrace the bosom of an alien woman?
21 The Lord seeth the weie of a man; and biholdith alle hise steppis.
For before the eyes of the Lord are the ways of man, and all his tracks doth he weigh in the balance.
22 The wickidnessis of a wyckid man taken hym; and he is boundun with the roopis of hise synnes.
His own iniquities will truly catch the wicked, and with the cords of his sin will he be held firmly.
23 He schal die, for he hadde not lernyng; and he schal be disseyued in the mychilnesse of his fooli.
He will indeed die for want of correction; and through the abundance of his folly will he sink into error.
