Proverbs 4
1 Hear, ye sons, the correction of a father, and attend, that ye may know understanding.
Sones, here ye the teching of the fadir; and perseiue ye, that ye kunne prudence.
2 For, good teaching, have I given you, mine instruction, do not ye forsake.
Y schal yyue to you a good yifte; forsake ye not my lawe.
3 For, a son, became I to my father, tender and most precious in the sight of my mother.
For whi and Y was the sone of my fadir, a tendir sone, and oon `gendride bifore my modir.
4 So he taught me, and said to me—Let thy heart, lay hold of my words, Keep my commandments and live!
And my fadir tauyte me, and seide, Thin herte resseyue my wordis; kepe thou myn heestis, and thou schalt lyue.
5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding, Do not forget, neither decline thou from the sayings of my mouth.
Welde thou wisdom, welde thou prudence; foryete thou not, nethir bowe thou awey fro the wordis of my mouth.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will guard thee, —love her and she will keep thee.
Forsake thou not it, and it schal kepe thee; loue thou it, and it schal kepe thee.
7 The principal thing, is wisdom, acquire thou wisdom, With all thine acquisition, acquire thou understanding.
The bigynnyng of wisdom, welde thou wisdom; and in al thi possessioun gete thou prudence.
8 Exalt her, and she will set thee on high, she will bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her:
Take thou it, and it schal enhaunse thee; thou schalt be glorified of it, whanne thou hast biclippid it.
9 She will give for thy head, a wreath of beauty, A crown of adorning, will she bestow upon thee.
It schal yyue encresyngis of graces to thin heed; and a noble coroun schal defende thee.
10 Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and they will multiply to thee the years of life.
Mi sone, here thou, and take my wordis; that the yeris of lijf be multiplied to thee.
11 In the way of wisdom, have I taught thee, I have guided thee in tracks of uprightness.
Y schal schewe to thee the weie of wisdom; and Y schal lede thee bi the pathis of equyte.
12 When thou walkest, thy step shall not be hemmed in, and, if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
In to whiche whanne thou hast entrid, thi goyngis schulen not be maad streit; and thou schalt rennen, and schalt not haue hirtyng.
13 Take fast hold of correction, let her not go, —keep her, for, she, is thy life.
Holde thou teching, and forsake it not; kepe thou it, for it is thi lijf.
14 Upon the path of the lawless, do not thou enter, and do not advance in the way of the wicked:
Delite thou not in the pathis of wyckid men; and the weie of yuele men plese not thee.
15 Avoid it, do not pass thereon—turn from it, and depart.
Fle thou fro it, and passe thou not therbi; bowe thou awei, and forsake it.
16 For they sleep not, unless they can do mischief, —They rob themselves of their sleep, if they cannot cause someone to stumble,
For thei slepen not, `no but thei han do yuele; and sleep is rauyschid fro hem, no but thei han disseyued.
17 For they consume bread gotten by lawlessness, and, wine obtained by violence, they drink.
Thei eten the breed of vnpite, and drinken the wyn of wickidnesse.
18 But, the path of the righteous, is as the light of dawn, —going on and brightening, unto meridian day.
But the path of iust men goith forth as liyt schynynge, and encreessith til to perfit dai.
19 The way of the lawless, is like darkness, they know not, at what they stumble.
The weie of wickid men is derk; thei witen not where thei schulen falle.
20 My son, to my words, attend, to my sayings, incline thou thine ear;
Mi sone, herkene thou my wordis; and bowe doun thin eeris to my spechis.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes, keep them in the midst of thy heart;
Go not tho awei fro thyn iyen; kepe thou hem in the myddil of thin herte.
22 For, life, they are, to them who find them, —and, to every part of one’s flesh, they bring healing.
For tho ben lijf to men fyndynge thoo, and heelthe `of al fleisch.
23 Above all that must be guarded, keep thou thy heart, for, out of it, are the issues of life.
With al keping kepe thin herte, for lijf cometh forth of it.
24 Remove from thee, perverseness of mouth, and, craftiness of lips, put far from thee.
Remoue thou a schrewid mouth fro thee; and backbitynge lippis be fer fro thee.
25 Let, thine eyes, right onward, look, —and, thine eyelashes, point straight before thee.
Thin iyen se riytful thingis; and thin iyeliddis go bifore thi steppis.
26 Make level the track of thy foot, that, all thy ways, may be directed aright:
Dresse thou pathis to thi feet, and alle thi weies schulen be stablischid.
27 Decline not, to the right hand or to the left, —Turn away thy foot from wickedness.
Bowe thou not to the riytside, nether to the leftside; turne awei thi foot fro yuel. For the Lord knowith the weies that ben at the riytside; but the weies ben weiward, that ben at the leftside. Forsothe he schal make thi goyngis riytful; and thi weies schulen be brouyt forth in pees.
