Proverbs 23
1 When you sit down to eat a meal with a (government official/king), think carefully about what (OR, who) is in front of you.
Whanne thou sittist, to ete with the prince, perseyue thou diligentli what thingis ben set bifore thi face,
2 [Even] if you (have a big appetite/want to eat a lot of food), restrain yourself.
and sette thou a withholding in thi throte. If netheles thou hast power on thi soule,
3 Do not want to eat [a lot of] his fine food, because he may be trying to trick you.
desire thou not of his metis, in whom is the breed of `a leesing.
4 Do not [cause yourself to become very tired by] working very hard to become rich; be wise and stop doing that,
Nyle thou trauele to be maad riche, but sette thou mesure to thi prudence.
5 because as soon as you look [MTY] at [all the money that you have acquired], it will be gone; it will [disappear as if it] suddenly grew wings [SIM] and flew up into the sky like an eagle.
Reise not thin iyen to richessis, whiche thou maist not haue; for tho schulen make to hem silf pennes, as of an egle, and tho schulen flee in to heuene.
6 [If] someone who is stingy [invites you to a meal], do not eat [a lot of] his fine food,
Ete thou not with an enuyouse man, and desire thou not hise metis;
7 because he will be thinking about how much [the food cost that you are eating]. He [will] say to you, “Eat and drink all that you want!”, but that is not what he [will] really be thinking.
for at the licnesse of a fals dyuynour and of a coniectere, he gessith that, that he knowith not. He schal seie to thee, Ete thou and drinke; and his soule is not with thee.
8 [When you realize what he is really thinking, it will cause you to want to] vomit what you have eaten; and your kind words [telling him that you are enjoying the meal] will be wasted.
Thou schalt brake out the metis, whiche thou hast ete; and thou schalt leese thi faire wordis.
9 (Do not [waste time by]/It is useless) talking to foolish people; they will [only] despise the wise things that you say.
Speke thou not in the eeris of vnwise men; for thei schulen dispise the teching of thi speche.
10 Do not [steal someone’s property by] removing a boundary marker that has been there for a long time, and do not take for yourself the land that belongs to orphans,
Touche thou not the termes of litle children; and entre thou not in to the feeld of fadirles and modirles children.
11 because Yahweh is strong, and he is [like] a relative that has the responsibility to defend them, he will [stand up in court and] argue for them and against you.
For the neiybore of hem is strong, and he schal deme her cause ayens thee.
12 Pay attention to what [your teachers] teach you, and try to learn from the wise things that they say.
Thin herte entre to techyng, and thin eeris `be redi to the wordis of kunnyng.
13 Do not refuse to discipline your children; if you punish/spank them, it will not cause them to die,
Nile thou withdrawe chastisyng fro a child; for thouy thou smyte hym with a yerde, he schal not die.
Thou schalt smyte hym with a yerde, and thou schalt delyuere his soule fro helle. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son/child, if you [SYN] become wise, I [SYN] will be very happy.
Mi sone, if thi soule is wijs, myn herte schal haue ioye with thee;
16 I [SYN] will rejoice when I hear you [SYN] say what is right/wise.
and my reynes schulen make ful out ioye, whanne thi lippis speken riytful thing.
17 Do not envy sinful people; instead, revere Yahweh all of your life.
Thin herte sue not synneris; but be thou in the drede of the Lord al dai.
18 [If you do that], you will be happy in the future, and [God] will certainly [do for you what you are] confidently expecting him to do.
For thou schalt haue hope at the laste, and thin abidyng schal not be don awei.
19 My son/child, listen carefully to me and become wise, and think about (all that you do/your behavior).
Mi sone, here thou, and be thou wijs, and dresse thi soule in the weie.
20 Do not associate with those who drink a lot of (wine/strong drink) or with those who (are gluttons/eat more than they should),
Nyle thou be in the feestis of drinkeris, nether in the ofte etyngis of hem, that bryngen togidere fleischis to ete.
21 because drunkards and gluttons will become poor; and if all that you do is eat and sleep, you will [soon] (be wearing rags/not have any money to buy clothes).
For men yyuynge tent to drinkis, and yyuyng mussels togidere, schulen be waastid, and napping schal be clothid with clothis.
22 Pay attention to what your father tells you, and (do not neglect/take care of) [LIT] your mother when she is old.
Here thi fadir, that gendride thee; and dispise not thi modir, whanne sche is eld.
23 Try to know/learn what is wise, and get good instruction and understanding; and do not throw those things away.
Bie thou treuthe, and nyle thou sille wisdom, and doctryn, and vndurstonding.
24 Righteous [children] will cause their parents to be very happy; those whose children are wise are proud of them.
The fadir of a iust man ioieth ful out with ioie; he that gendride a wijs man, schal be glad in hym.
25 [Do what will] cause your father to be glad and enable your mother [also] to be happy.
Thi fadir and thi modir haue ioye, and he that gendride thee, make ful out ioye.
26 My son, heed what I say to you, and allow what I do to be an example for you.
My sone, yyue thin herte to me, and thin iyen kepe my weyes.
27 Prostitutes and immoral women [DOU] are [like] [MET] a deep pit or a well [that you may fall into].
For an hoore is a deep diche, and an alien womman is a streit pit.
28 They wait [for you] like robbers [SIM], and they cause many men to (be unfaithful to/have sex with women who are not) their wives.
Sche settith aspie in the weie, as a theef; and sche schal sle hem, whiche sche schal se vnwar.
29 I will tell you [RHQ] what kind of people are always miserable and sad. I will tell you [RHQ] which people are always causing arguments/quarrels and who are always complaining. I will tell you [RHQ] who are injured in fights and whose eyes are always red/bloodshot.
To whom is wo? to whos fadir is wo? to whom ben chidingis? to whom ben dichis? to whom ben woundis with out cause? to whom is puttyng out of iyen?
30 [It is] those who drink a lot of wine, who try drinking other kinds of strong drinks.
Whether not to hem, that dwellen in wyn, and studien to drynke al of cuppis?
31 Do not look with pleasure at red wine that looks nice, and which sparkles when it is [poured out] into cups, and which tastes good as you drink it,
Biholde thou not wyn, whanne it sparclith, whanne the colour therof schyneth in a ver.
32 because the next morning [you will feel like] you have been bitten by a poisonous snake [DOU].
It entrith swetli, but at the laste it schal bite as an eddre doith, and as a cocatrice it schal schede abrood venyms.
33 You [SYN] will [think that you are] seeing strange/weird things, and you [SYN] will not be able to think clearly or speak clearly.
Thin iyen schulen se straunge wymmen, and thi herte schal speke weiwerd thingis.
34 You will think you are in a ship that is tossing on the sea; you be like [SIM] someone who is trying to sleep when the ship is rolling from one side to the other.
And thou schalt be as a man slepinge in the myddis of the see, and as a gouernour aslepid, whanne the steere is lost.
35 You will say, “[I think that] someone struck me, but he did not hurt me; he hit me, but I did not feel it. When will I (wake up/feel normal again) in order that I can drink some more wine?”
And thou schalt seie, Thei beeten me, but Y hadde not sorewe; thei drowen me, and Y feelide not; whanne schal Y wake out, and Y schal fynde wynes eft?
