Proverbs 22
1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
Betere is a good name, than many richessis; for good grace is aboue siluer and gold.
2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
A riche man and a pore man metten hem silf; the Lord is worchere of euer eithir.
3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
A felle man seeth yuel, and hidith him silf; and an innocent man passid, and he was turmentid bi harm.
4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
The ende of temperaunce is the drede of the Lord; richessis, and glorye, and lijf.
5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
Armuris and swerdis ben in the weie of a weiward man; but the kepere of his soule goith awey fer fro tho.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
It is a prouerbe, A yong wexynge man bisidis his weie, and whanne he hath wexe elde, he schal not go awei fro it.
7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
A riche man comaundith to pore men; and he that takith borewyng, is the seruaunt of the leenere.
8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
He that sowith wickidnes, schal repe yuels; and the yerde of his yre schal be endid.
9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
He that is redi to merci, schal be blessid; for of his looues he yaf to a pore man. He that yyueth yiftis, schal gete victorie and onour; forsothe he takith awei the soule of the takeris.
10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall end; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
Caste thou out a scornere, and strijf schal go out with hym; and causis and dispisyngis schulen ceesse.
11 He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
He that loueth the clennesse of herte, schal haue the kyng a freend, for the grace of hise lippis.
12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
The iyen of the Lord kepen kunnyng; and the wordis of a wickid man ben disseyued.
13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion outside, I shall be slain in the streets.
A slow man schal seie, A lioun is withoutforth; Y schal be slayn in the myddis of the stretis.
14 The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit: he that is abhorred by the LORD shall fall in it.
The mouth of an alien womman is a deep diche; he to whom the Lord is wrooth, schal falle in to it.
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Foli is boundun togidere in the herte of a child; and a yerde of chastisyng schal dryue it awey.
16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
He that falsli chalengith a pore man, to encreesse hise owne richessis, schal yyue to a richere man, and schal be nedi.
17 Bow down thy ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thy heart to my knowledge.
My sone, bowe doun thin eere, and here thou the wordis of wise men; but sette thou the herte to my techyng.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keepest them within thee; they shall all be ready on thy lips.
That schal be fair to thee, whanne thou hast kept it in thin herte, and it schal flowe ayen in thi lippis.
19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
That thi trist be in the Lord; wherfor and Y haue schewid it to thee to dai.
20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
Lo! Y haue discryued it in thre maneres, in thouytis and kunnyng,
21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send to thee?
that Y schulde schewe to thee the sadnesse and spechis of trewthe; to answere of these thingis to hem, that senten thee.
22 Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
Do thou not violence to a pore man, for he is pore; nethir defoule thou a nedi man in the yate.
23 For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
For the Lord schal deme his cause, and he schal turmente hem, that turmentiden his soule.
24 Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
Nyle thou be freend to a wrathful man, nether go thou with a wood man;
25 Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
lest perauenture thou lerne hise weies, and take sclaundir to thi soule.
26 Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
Nyle thou be with hem that oblischen her hondis, and that proferen hem silf borewis for dettis; for if he hath not wherof he schal restore,
27 If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
what of cause is, that thou take awei hilyng fro thi bed?
28 Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
Go thou not ouer the elde markis, whiche thi faders han set.
29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before obscure men.
Thou hast seyn a man smert in his werk; he schal stonde bifore kyngis, and he schal not be bifor vnnoble men.
