Proverbs 7
1 Mi sone, kepe thou my wordis; and kepe myn heestis to thee. Sone, onoure thou the Lord, and thou schalt be `myyti; but outakun hym drede thou not an alien.
My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you.
2 Kepe thou myn heestis, and thou schalt lyue; and my lawe as the appil of thin iyen.
Keep my commandments and live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 Bynde thou it in thi fyngris; write thou it in the tablis of thin herte.
Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Seie thou to wisdom, Thou art my sistir; and clepe thou prudence thi frendesse.
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your kinsman,
5 That it kepe thee fro a straunge womman; and fro an alien womman, that makith hir wordis swete.
that they may keep you from the adulteress, from the stranger with seductive words.
6 For whi fro the wyndow of myn hous bi the latijs Y bihelde; and Y se litle children.
For at the window of my house I looked through the lattice.
7 I biholde a yong man coward,
I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment,
8 that passith bi the stretis, bisidis the corner; and he
crossing the street near her corner, strolling down the road to her house,
9 goith niy the weie of hir hous in derk tyme, whanne the dai drawith to niyt, in the derknessis and myst of the nyyt.
at twilight, as the day was fading into the dark of the night.
10 And lo! a womman, maad redi with ournement of an hoore to disseyue soulis, meetith hym, and sche is a ianglere, and goynge about,
Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart.
11 and vnpacient of reste, and mai not stonde in the hous with hir feet;
She is loud and defiant; her feet do not remain at home.
12 and now without forth, now in stretis, now bisidis corneris sche `aspieth.
Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.
13 And sche takith, and kissith the yong man; and flaterith with wowynge cheer, and seith, Y ouyte sacrifices for heelthe;
She seizes him and kisses him; she brazenly says to him:
14 to dai Y haue yolde my vowis.
“I have made my peace offerings; today I have paid my vows.
15 Therfor Y yede out in to thi meetyng, and Y desiride to se thee; and Y haue founde thee.
So I came out to meet you; I sought you, and I have found you.
16 Y haue maad my bed with coordis, Y haue arayed with tapetis peyntid of Egipt;
I have decked my bed with coverings, with colored linen from Egypt.
17 Y haue bispreynt my bed with myrre, and aloes, and canel.
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon.
18 Come thou, be we fillid with tetis, and vse we collyngis that ben coueitid; til the dai bigynne to be cleer.
Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. Let us delight in loving caresses!
19 For myn hosebonde is not in his hows; he is goon a ful long weie.
For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.
20 He took with hym a bagge of money; he schal turne ayen in to his hous in the dai of ful moone.
He took with him a bag of money and will not return till the moon is full.”
21 Sche boonde hym with many wordis; and sche drow forth hym with flateryngis of lippis.
With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.
22 Anoon he as an oxe led to slayn sacrifice sueth hir, and as a ioli lomb and vnkunnynge; and the fool woot not, that he is drawun to bondys,
He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap,
23 til an arowe perse his mawe. As if a brid hastith to the snare; and woot not, that it is don of the perel of his lijf.
until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare— not knowing it will cost him his life.
24 Now therfor, my sone, here thou me; and perseyue the wordis of my mouth.
Now, my sons, listen to me, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 Lest thi soule be drawun awei in the weies of hir; nether be thou disseyued in the pathis of hir.
Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths.
26 For sche castide doun many woundid men; and alle strongeste men weren slayn of hir.
For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number.
