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 store up my commands within yourself.
2 Kepe thou myn heestis, and thou schalt lyue; and my lawe as the appil of thin iyen.
Keep my commands and live and keep my instruction as the apple of your eye.
3 Bynde thou it in thi fyngris; write thou it in the tablis of thin herte.
Tie them on 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.
in order to keep yourself from the adulterous woman, from the immoral woman with her smooth words.
6 For whi fro the wyndow of myn hous bi the latijs Y bihelde; and Y se litle children.
At the window of my house I was looking out through the lattice.
7 I biholde a yong man coward,
I looked at the naive people, and I noticed among the young men a youth who had no sense.
8 that passith bi the stretis, bisidis the corner; and he
That young man passed down the street near her corner, and he went toward 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.
It was twilight, in the evening of the day, at the time of night and darkness.
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,
There a woman met him, dressed like a prostitute, with a false heart.
11 and vnpacient of reste, and mai not stonde in the hous with hir feet;
She was loud and wayward; her feet did not stay at home.
12 and now without forth, now in stretis, now bisidis corneris sche `aspieth.
Now in the streets, then in the market place, and at every corner she waited in ambush.
13 And sche takith, and kissith the yong man; and flaterith with wowynge cheer, and seith, Y ouyte sacrifices for heelthe;
So she grabbed him and kissed him, with a strong face she said to him,
14 to dai Y haue yolde my vowis.
“I made my peace offering today, I paid my vows,
15 Therfor Y yede out in to thi meetyng, and Y desiride to se thee; and Y haue founde thee.
so came I out to meet you, to eagerly seek your face, and I have found you.
16 Y haue maad my bed with coordis, Y haue arayed with tapetis peyntid of Egipt;
I have spread coverings on my bed, colored linens from Egypt.
17 Y haue bispreynt my bed with myrre, and aloes, and canel.
I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloes, and 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 drink our fill of love until morning; let us take great pleasure in acts of love.
19 For myn hosebonde is not in his hows; he is goon a ful long weie.
For my husband is not at his house; 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 a bag of money with him; he will return on the day of the full moon.”
21 Sche boonde hym with many wordis; and sche drow forth hym with flateryngis of lippis.
With much talk she turned him; with her smooth lips she misled 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 went after her suddenly like an ox going to slaughter, like a deer caught in 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 through its liver. He was like a bird rushing into a snare. He did not know that it would cost his life.
24 Now therfor, my sone, here thou me; and perseyue the wordis of my mouth.
Now, my sons, listen to me; pay attention 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.
May your heart not turn aside onto her paths; do not be led astray onto her paths.
26 For sche castide doun many woundid men; and alle strongeste men weren slayn of hir.
She has caused many people to fall down pierced; her dead victims are very many.
