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;
That one may learn wisdom and instruction, And receive words of understanding;
3 to vndurstonde the wordis of prudence; and to take the lernyng of teching; to take riytfulnesse, and dom, and equyte;
That one may gain the instruction of prudence, Justice, equity, and uprightness;
4 that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.
Which will give caution to the simple, To the young man wisdom and discretion;
5 A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.
Let the wise man hear, and he will increase his knowledge, And the man of understanding will gain wise counsels;
6 He schal perseyue a parable, and expownyng; the wordis of wise men, and the derk figuratif spechis of hem.
So as to understand a proverb and a deep maxim, 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; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8 My sone, here thou the teching of thi fadir, and forsake thou not the lawe of thi modir;
Hear, O my son! the instruction of thy father, And neglect 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 graceful wreath for thy head, And a chain around 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 secretly for him who is innocent in vain;
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, like the underworld, Yea, in full health, 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 kinds of precious substance, We shall fill our houses with spoil;
14 o purs be of vs alle;
Thou shalt cast thy lot among us; We will all have one purse;”—
15 my sone, go thou not with hem; forbede thi foot fro the pathis of hem.
My son, walk thou not in their way, Refrain 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 make haste to shed blood.
17 But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.
For as the net is spread in vain Before the eyes of any bird,
18 Also `thilke wickid disseyueris setten aspies ayens her owne blood; and maken redi fraudis ayens her soulis.
So they lie in wait for their own blood; They lurk secretly for their own lives.
19 So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.
Such are the ways of every one greedy of unjust gain; It taketh away the life of the possessor thereof.
20 Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.
Wisdom crieth out in the highway; In the market-place she uttereth her voice;
21 It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,
At the head of the noisy streets she crieth aloud; At the entrances of the gates, throughout the city, she proclaimeth her words [[saying]]:
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 simple ones, will ye love simplicity? How long will scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, 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 ye at my reproof! Behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make known my words to you!
24 For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.
“Because I have called, and ye have refused, —Because I have stretched out my hand, and no one hath regarded.
25 Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.
Because ye have rejected all my counsel, And have slighted my rebuke, —
26 And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.
I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.
When your fear cometh upon you like a storm. And destruction overtaketh you like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish 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 upon me, but I will not answer! They will seek me early, But they shall not find me!
29 For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,
Because they have hated knowledge, And have not chosen the fear of the LORD, —
30 nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.
Because they would not attend to my counsel, And have 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 to the full with their own devices;
32 The turnyng awei of litle men in wit schal sle hem; and the prosperite of foolis schal leese hem.
Yea, the turning away of the simple shall slay them, And the carelessness 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 to me shall dwell securely, And shall not be disquieted with the fear of evil.”
