Proverbs 5
1 Mi sone, perseyue thou my wisdom, and bowe doun thin eere to my prudence; that thou kepe thi thouytis,
[My] son, attend to my wisdom, and apply thine ear to my words;
2 and thi lippis kepe teching. Yyue thou not tent to the falsnesse of a womman;
that thou mayest keep good understanding, and the discretion of my lips gives thee a charge. Give no heed to a worthless woman;
3 for the lippis of an hoore ben an hony coomb droppinge, and hir throte is clerere than oile;
for honey drops from the lips of a harlot, who for a season pleases thy palate:
4 but the last thingis ben bittir as wormod, and hir tunge is scharp as a swerd keruynge on ech side.
but afterwards thou wilt find her more bitter than gall, and sharper than a two-edged sword.
For the feet of folly lead those who deal with her down to the grave with death; and her steps are not established. (Sheol h7585)
6 Tho goon not bi the path of lijf; hir steppis ben vncerteyn, and moun not be souyt out.
For she goes not upon the paths of life; but her ways are slippery, and not easily known.
7 Now therfor, my sone, here thou me, and go not awei fro the wordis of my mouth.
Now then, [my] son, hear me, and make not my words of none effect.
8 Make fer thi weie fro hir, and neiye thou not to the doris of hir hous.
Remove thy way far from her; draw not near to the doors of her house:
9 Yyue thou not thin onour to aliens, and thi yeeris to the cruel;
lest thou give away thy life to others, and thy substance to the merciless:
10 lest perauenture straungeris be fillid with thi strengthis, and lest thi trauels be in an alien hous;
lest strangers be filled with thy strength, and thy labours come into the houses of strangers;
11 and thou biweile in the laste daies, whanne thou hast wastid thi fleschis, and thi bodi; and thou seie,
And thou repent at last, when the flesh of thy body is consumed,
12 Whi wlatide Y teching, and myn herte assentide not to blamyngis;
and thou shalt say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart avoided reproofs!
13 nether Y herde the voys of men techinge me, and Y bowide not doun myn eere to maistris?
I heard not the voice of him that instructed me, and taught me, neither did I apply mine ear.
14 Almest Y was in al yuel, in the myddis of the chirche, and of the synagoge.
I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15 Drinke thou watir of thi cisterne, and the floodis of thi pit.
Drink waters out of thine own vessels, and out of thine own springing wells.
16 Thi wellis be stremed forth; and departe thi watris in stretis.
Let not waters out of thy fountain be spilt by thee, but let thy waters go into thy streets.
17 Haue thou aloone `tho watris; and aliens be not thi parceneris.
Let them be only thine own, and let no stranger partake with thee.
18 Thi veyne be blessid; and be thou glad with the womman of thi yong wexynge age.
Let thy fountain of water be [truly] thine own; and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
19 An hynde moost dereworthe; and an hert calf moost acceptable. Hir teetis fille thee in al tyme; and delite thou contynueli in the loue of hir.
Let [thy] loving hart and thy graceful colt company with thee, and let her be considered thine own, and be with thee at all times; for ravished with her love thou shalt be greatly increased.
20 Mi sone, whi art thou disseyued of an alien womman; and art fostrid in the bosum of an othere?
Be not intimate with a strange woman, neither fold thyself in the arms of a woman not thine own.
21 The Lord seeth the weie of a man; and biholdith alle hise steppis.
For the ways of a man are before the eyes of God, and he looks on all his paths.
22 The wickidnessis of a wyckid man taken hym; and he is boundun with the roopis of hise synnes.
Iniquities ensnare a man, and every one is bound in the chains of his own sins.
23 He schal die, for he hadde not lernyng; and he schal be disseyued in the mychilnesse of his fooli.
Such a man dies with the uninstructed; and he is cast forth from the abundance of his own substance, and has perished through folly.
