Proverbs 1
1 The parablis of Salomon, the sone of Dauid, king of Israel;
These are the (proverbs/wise sayings) that come from Solomon, the King of Israel, who was the son of [King] David.
2 to kunne wisdom and kunnyng;
(These proverbs [PRS] can teach people/By studying these proverbs, people can learn) how to be wise and how to obey what these proverbs teach them. They will [also] help people to understand which teachings are wise.
3 to vndurstonde the wordis of prudence; and to take the lernyng of teching; to take riytfulnesse, and dom, and equyte;
These proverbs [PRS] will teach you how to discipline/control yourselves, how to conduct your lives, and how to do what is right and just [DOU].
4 that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.
They will show [people] who do not [yet] know much how to do things that are smart. They will show young people how to become wise and how to make good plans/decisions.
5 A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.
Those who are wise should also pay attention [to these proverbs], in order to become more wise, and those who understand [these teachings] will receive good advice/guidance.
6 He schal perseyue a parable, and expownyng; the wordis of wise men, and the derk figuratif spechis of hem.
Then they will be able to understand the meaning of proverbs and parables/metaphors, these wise sayings and (riddles/sayings that are difficult to understand).
7 The drede of the Lord is the bigynning of wisdom; foolis dispisen wisdom and teching.
If [you want to be] wise, you must begin by revering Yahweh. [Only] foolish people despise wisdom and good advice/discipline.
8 My sone, here thou the teching of thi fadir, and forsake thou not the lawe of thi modir;
My son, pay attention to what [I], your father, am teaching you. And do not reject what your mother teaches you.
9 that grace be addid, ethir encreessid, to thin heed, and a bie to thi necke.
What we teach you [will make you respected like having] a lovely turban around your head and [like] a [beautiful] necklace to put around your neck.
10 Mi sone, if synneris flateren thee, assente thou not to hem.
My son, if sinners tempt/entice you [to do what is wrong], say “No” to them.
11 If thei seien, Come thou with vs, sette we aspies to blood, hide we snaris of disseitis ayens an innocent without cause;
They may say, “Come with us! Join us! We will hide and then kill [MTY] someone [who passes by]. We will ambush some helpless/innocent people.
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)
We will kill them [HYP] and get rid of them completely, [just] like [people who are buried in] graves are gone forever. While they are in good health, we will send them to the place where dead people are. (Sheol h7585)
13 we schulen fille oure housis with spuylis; sende thou lot with vs,
And we will seize all the things that they own. We will fill our houses with these things!
14 o purs be of vs alle;
[So], come with us! Join our group! We will share with you the things that we steal.”
15 my sone, go thou not with hem; forbede thi foot fro the pathis of hem.
My son, do not accompany them! Do not walk on the roads with them!
16 For the feet of hem rennen to yuel; and thei hasten to schede out blood.
They rush to do evil deeds! They hurry to murder [MTY] people.
17 But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.
It is useless to put out a (trap/net to catch a bird) because when a bird sees it, [it stays away from it].
18 Also `thilke wickid disseyueris setten aspies ayens her owne blood; and maken redi fraudis ayens her soulis.
But those wicked people are not like the birds, [because they do not realize] that when they prepare to ambush someone to kill him, they will be killed themselves!
19 So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.
That is what happens to people who eagerly try to get things [by violently attacking others]. They will only destroy themselves!
20 Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.
Wisdom [PRS] shouts to people in the streets, and calls out to people in the (plazas/town squares).
21 It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,
Wisdom calls out in noisy places, and at the entrances to cities.
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?
[Wisdom says], “How long will you stupid people continue to enjoy doing foolish things [RHQ]? How long will you people who ridicule God enjoy doing that [RHQ]? How long will you foolish people refuse to know [what things are right] [RHQ]?
23 Be ye conuertid at my repreuyng; lo, Y schal profre forth to you my spirit, and Y schal schewe my wordis.
If you pay attention to me when I rebuke you, I will tell you what I am thinking in my inner being; I will give you some good advice.
24 For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.
But when I called to you, you refused to listen. I beckoned to you to come to me, but you ignored me.
25 Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.
I tried to advise you, but you refused to listen to me. I tried to correct you, but you rejected what I told you.
26 And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.
So [now], when you are experiencing troubles/disasters, I will laugh at you. When things happen that cause you to be afraid, I will make fun of you.
27 Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.
When calamities strike you like a big storm, when disasters hit you like a violent wind, when [all kinds of things] distress you and give you trouble, [I will ridicule you!]
28 Thanne thei schulen clepe me, and Y schal not here; thei schulen rise eerli, and thei schulen not fynde me.
[Wisdom also says], “When foolish people call to me [to help them], I will not answer them. They will search for me diligently/everywhere, but they will not find me.
29 For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,
They refused to know [what things are right], and they decided not to revere Yahweh.
30 nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.
They would not accept my advice, and they did not pay attention when I tried to correct them.
31 Therfor thei schulen ete the fruytis of her weie; and thei schulen be fillid with her counseils.
So they will endure what will result [MET, DOU] from the evil way they have lived/behaved and the evil things they have planned to do.
32 The turnyng awei of litle men in wit schal sle hem; and the prosperite of foolis schal leese hem.
Those who turn away from me are stupid/foolish; they will die because of doing that.
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 those who pay attention to me will live peacefully and safely, and they will not be afraid that something will harm them.”
