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 to my wisdom. And bow thine ear to my understanding;
2 and thi lippis kepe teching. Yyue thou not tent to the falsnesse of a womman;
That thou mayest keep discretion, And that thy lips may preserve knowledge!
3 for the lippis of an hoore ben an hony coomb droppinge, and hir throte is clerere than oile;
Truly, the lips of a strange woman drop honey, 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, Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death; Her steps lay hold of the under-world. (Sheol h7585)
6 Tho goon not bi the path of lijf; hir steppis ben vncerteyn, and moun not be souyt out.
That she may not ponder the way of life, Her paths waver when she heedeth it not.
7 Now therfor, my sone, here thou me, and go not awei fro the wordis of my mouth.
Hear me now, therefore, O children! And turn not away from the words of my mouth!
8 Make fer thi weie fro hir, and neiye thou not to the doris of hir hous.
Remove thy way far from her. And come not nigh the door of her house:
9 Yyue thou not thin onour to aliens, and thi yeeris to the cruel;
Lest thou give thy bloom to others, And thy years to a cruel one;
10 lest perauenture straungeris be fillid with thi strengthis, and lest thi trauels be in an alien hous;
Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, And thine earnings be 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,
And lest thou mourn in thy latter end. When thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12 Whi wlatide Y teching, and myn herte assentide not to blamyngis;
And say, “How have I hated instruction! And how hath my heart despised reproof!
13 nether Y herde the voys of men techinge me, and Y bowide not doun myn eere to maistris?
I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to my instructors;
14 Almest Y was in al yuel, in the myddis of the chirche, and of the synagoge.
I have well-nigh fallen into utter misery; In the midst of the congregation and the assembly.”
15 Drinke thou watir of thi cisterne, and the floodis of thi pit.
Drink water out of thine own cistern. And running water out of thine own well:
16 Thi wellis be stremed forth; and departe thi watris in stretis.
So shall thy fountains overflow in the streets, In the wide streets, as streams of water;
17 Haue thou aloone `tho watris; and aliens be not thi parceneris.
They shall belong to thee alone, And not to strangers with thee;
18 Thi veyne be blessid; and be thou glad with the womman of thi yong wexynge age.
And thy fountain shall be blessed, Yea, thou shalt have joy in 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.
A lovely hind, a graceful doe, Her breasts shall satisfy thee at all times, And thou shalt be always ravished with her love.
20 Mi sone, whi art thou disseyued of an alien womman; and art fostrid in the bosum of an othere?
Why, then, my son, wilt thou be ravished with a wanton, And embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 The Lord seeth the weie of a man; and biholdith alle hise steppis.
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And he weigheth well all his paths.
22 The wickidnessis of a wyckid man taken hym; and he is boundun with the roopis of hise synnes.
His own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked; Yea, he shall be held fast by the cords of his own sins.
23 He schal die, for he hadde not lernyng; and he schal be disseyued in the mychilnesse of his fooli.
He shall die for want of instruction; Yea, through the greatness of his folly he shall stagger.
