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. Lay up 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 teaching as the apple of your eye.
3 Bynde thou it in thi fyngris; write thou it in the tablis of thin herte.
Bind 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.
Tell wisdom, “You are my sister.” Call understanding your relative,
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 strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her 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 out through my lattice.
7 I biholde a yong man coward,
I saw amongst the simple ones. I discerned amongst the youths a young man void of understanding,
8 that passith bi the stretis, bisidis the corner; and he
passing through the street near her corner, he went the way 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.
in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the middle of the night and in the 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,
Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent.
11 and vnpacient of reste, and mai not stonde in the hous with hir feet;
She is loud and defiant. Her feet don’t stay in her house.
12 and now without forth, now in stretis, now bisidis corneris sche `aspieth.
Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner.
13 And sche takith, and kissith the yong man; and flaterith with wowynge cheer, and seith, Y ouyte sacrifices for heelthe;
So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him:
14 to dai Y haue yolde my vowis.
“Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. 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.
Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently 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 my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.
17 Y haue bispreynt my bed with myrre, and aloes, and canel.
I have perfumed 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’s take our fill of loving until the morning. Let’s solace ourselves with loving.
19 For myn hosebonde is not in his hows; he is goon a ful long weie.
For my husband isn’t 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 has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon.”
21 Sche boonde hym with many wordis; and sche drow forth hym with flateryngis of lippis.
With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced 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 followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.
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 strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn’t know that it will cost his life.
24 Now therfor, my sone, here thou me; and perseyue the wordis of my mouth.
Now therefore, 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.
Don’t let your heart turn to her ways. Don’t go astray in her paths,
26 For sche castide doun many woundid men; and alle strongeste men weren slayn of hir.
for she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.
