1 WYC Mi sone, perseyue thou my wisdom, and bowe doun thin eere to my prudence; that thou kepe thi thouytis, BSB BSB: My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight,
2 WYC and thi lippis kepe teching. Yyue thou not tent to the falsnesse of a womman; BSB BSB: that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.
3 WYC for the lippis of an hoore ben an hony coomb droppinge, and hir throte is clerere than oile; BSB BSB: Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
4 WYC but the last thingis ben bittir as wormod, and hir tunge is scharp as a swerd keruynge on ech side. BSB BSB: in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a double-edged sword.
5 WYC Hir feet gon doun in to deeth; and hir steppis persen to hellis. BSB BSB: Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to Sheol.
6 WYC Tho goon not bi the path of lijf; hir steppis ben vncerteyn, and moun not be souyt out. BSB BSB: She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable.
7 WYC Now therfor, my sone, here thou me, and go not awei fro the wordis of my mouth. BSB BSB: So now, my sons, listen to me, and do not turn aside from the words of my mouth.
8 WYC Make fer thi weie fro hir, and neiye thou not to the doris of hir hous. BSB BSB: Keep your path far from her; do not go near the door of her house,
9 WYC Yyue thou not thin onour to aliens, and thi yeeris to the cruel; BSB BSB: lest you concede your vigor to others, and your years to one who is cruel;
10 WYC lest perauenture straungeris be fillid with thi strengthis, and lest thi trauels be in an alien hous; BSB BSB: lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.
11 WYC and thou biweile in the laste daies, whanne thou hast wastid thi fleschis, and thi bodi; and thou seie, BSB BSB: At the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are spent,
12 WYC Whi wlatide Y teching, and myn herte assentide not to blamyngis; BSB BSB: and you will say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!
13 WYC nether Y herde the voys of men techinge me, and Y bowide not doun myn eere to maistris? BSB BSB: I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my mentors.
14 WYC Almest Y was in al yuel, in the myddis of the chirche, and of the synagoge. BSB BSB: I am on the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.”
15 WYC Drinke thou watir of thi cisterne, and the floodis of thi pit. BSB BSB: Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
16 WYC Thi wellis be stremed forth; and departe thi watris in stretis. BSB BSB: Why should your springs flow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
17 WYC Haue thou aloone `tho watris; and aliens be not thi parceneris. BSB BSB: Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.
18 WYC Thi veyne be blessid; and be thou glad with the womman of thi yong wexynge age. BSB BSB: May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
19 WYC 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. BSB BSB: A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.
20 WYC Mi sone, whi art thou disseyued of an alien womman; and art fostrid in the bosum of an othere? BSB BSB: Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 WYC The Lord seeth the weie of a man; and biholdith alle hise steppis. BSB BSB: For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
22 WYC The wickidnessis of a wyckid man taken hym; and he is boundun with the roopis of hise synnes. BSB BSB: The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
23 WYC He schal die, for he hadde not lernyng; and he schal be disseyued in the mychilnesse of his fooli. BSB BSB: He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.