Proverbs 1

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¹The parablis of Salomon, the sone of Dauid, king of Israel;

²to kunne wisdom and kunnyng;

³to vndurstonde the wordis of prudence; and to take the lernyng of teching; to take riytfulnesse, and dom, and equyte;

⁴that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.

⁵A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.

⁶He schal perseyue a parable, and expownyng; the wordis of wise men, and the derk figuratif spechis of hem.

⁷The drede of the Lord is the bigynning of wisdom; foolis dispisen wisdom and teching.

⁸My sone, here thou the teching of thi fadir, and forsake thou not the lawe of thi modir;

⁹that grace be addid, ethir encreessid, to thin heed, and a bie to thi necke.

¹⁰Mi sone, if synneris flateren thee, assente thou not to hem.

¹¹If thei seien, Come thou with vs, sette we aspies to blood, hide we snaris of disseitis ayens an innocent without cause;

¹²swolowe we him, as helle swolowith a man lyuynge; and al hool, as goynge doun in to a lake; we schulen fynde al preciouse catel,

¹³we schulen fille oure housis with spuylis; sende thou lot with vs,

¹⁴o purs be of vs alle;

¹⁵my sone, go thou not with hem; forbede thi foot fro the pathis of hem.

¹⁶For the feet of hem rennen to yuel; and thei hasten to schede out blood.

¹⁷But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.

¹⁸Also `thilke wickid disseyueris setten aspies ayens her owne blood; and maken redi fraudis ayens her soulis.

¹⁹So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.

²⁰Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.

²¹It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,

²²and 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?

²³Be ye conuertid at my repreuyng; lo, Y schal profre forth to you my spirit, and Y schal schewe my wordis.

²⁴For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.

²⁵Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.

²⁶And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.

²⁷Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.

²⁸Thanne thei schulen clepe me, and Y schal not here; thei schulen rise eerli, and thei schulen not fynde me.

²⁹For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,

³⁰nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.

³¹Therfor thei schulen ete the fruytis of her weie; and thei schulen be fillid with her counseils.

³²The turnyng awei of litle men in wit schal sle hem; and the prosperite of foolis schal leese hem.

³³But he that herith me, schal reste with outen drede; and he schal vse abundaunce, whanne the drede of yuels is takun awei.

Proverbs 1

¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;

²To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

³To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;

⁴To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

⁵A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

⁶To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.

⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

⁹For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

¹¹If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

¹²Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

¹³We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

¹⁴Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:

¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

¹⁷Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

¹⁸And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

²⁰Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:

²¹She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,

²²How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

²³Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

²⁴Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;

²⁵But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;

²⁷When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

²⁸Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

²⁹For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:

³⁰They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

³¹Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

³²For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

³³But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.