Proverbs 1
1 The parablis of Salomon, the sone of Dauid, king of Israel;
THE PROVERBS of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2 to kunne wisdom and kunnyng;
To know wisdom and instruction; to comprehend the words of understanding;
3 to vndurstonde the wordis of prudence; and to take the lernyng of teching; to take riytfulnesse, and dom, and equyte;
To receive the discipline of wisdom, justice, and right, and equity;
4 that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.
To give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion;
5 A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.
That the wise man may hear, and increase in learning, and the man of understanding may attain unto wise counsels;
6 He schal perseyue a parable, and expownyng; the wordis of wise men, and the derk figuratif spechis of hem.
To understand a proverb, and a figure; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7 The drede of the Lord is the bigynning of wisdom; foolis dispisen wisdom and teching.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and discipline.
8 My sone, here thou the teching of thi fadir, and forsake thou not the lawe of thi modir;
Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother;
9 that grace be addid, ethir encreessid, to thin heed, and a bie to thi necke.
For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
10 Mi sone, if synneris flateren thee, assente thou not to hem.
My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11 If thei seien, Come thou with vs, sette we aspies to blood, hide we snaris of disseitis ayens an innocent without cause;
If they say: 'Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us lurk for the innocent without cause;
12 swolowe we him, as helle swolowith a man lyuynge; and al hool, as goynge doun in to a lake; we schulen fynde al preciouse catel, (Sheol h7585)
Let us swallow them up alive as the grave, and whole, as those that go down into the pit; (Sheol h7585)
13 we schulen fille oure housis with spuylis; sende thou lot with vs,
We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil;
14 o purs be of vs alle;
Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse' —
15 my sone, go thou not with hem; forbede thi foot fro the pathis of hem.
My son, walk not thou in the way with them, restrain thy foot from their path;
16 For the feet of hem rennen to yuel; and thei hasten to schede out blood.
For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.
17 But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.
For in vain the net is spread in the eyes of any bird;
18 Also `thilke wickid disseyueris setten aspies ayens her owne blood; and maken redi fraudis ayens her soulis.
And these lie in wait for their own blood, they lurk for their own lives.
19 So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.
So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; it taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
20 Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.
Wisdom crieth aloud in the streets, she uttereth her voice in the broad places;
21 It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,
She calleth at the head of the noisy streets, at the entrances of the gates, in the city, she uttereth her words:
22 and seith, Hou long, ye litle men in wit, louen yong childhod, and foolis schulen coueyte tho thingis, that ben harmful to hem silf, and vnprudent men schulen hate kunnyng?
'How long, ye thoughtless, will ye love thoughtlessness? And how long will scorners delight them in scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23 Be ye conuertid at my repreuyng; lo, Y schal profre forth to you my spirit, and Y schal schewe my wordis.
Turn you at my reproof; behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24 For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.
Because I have called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man attended,
25 Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof;
26 And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.
I also, in your calamity, will laugh, I will mock when your dread cometh;
27 Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.
When your dread cometh as a storm, and your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; when trouble and distress come upon you.
28 Thanne thei schulen clepe me, and Y schal not here; thei schulen rise eerli, and thei schulen not fynde me.
Then will they call me, but I will not answer, they will seek me earnestly, but they shall not find me.
29 For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD;
30 nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.
They would none of my counsel, they despised all my reproof.
31 Therfor thei schulen ete the fruytis of her weie; and thei schulen be fillid with her counseils.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32 The turnyng awei of litle men in wit schal sle hem; and the prosperite of foolis schal leese hem.
For the waywardness of the thoughtless shall slay them, and the confidence of fools shall destroy them.
33 But he that herith me, schal reste with outen drede; and he schal vse abundaunce, whanne the drede of yuels is takun awei.
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, and shall be quiet without fear of evil.'
