1 WYC Mi sone, kepe thou my wordis; and kepe myn heestis to thee. Sone, onoure thou the Lord, and thou schalt be `myyti; but outakun hym drede thou not an alien. BSB BSB: My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you.
2 WYC Kepe thou myn heestis, and thou schalt lyue; and my lawe as the appil of thin iyen. BSB BSB: Keep my commandments and live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
3 WYC Bynde thou it in thi fyngris; write thou it in the tablis of thin herte. BSB BSB: Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 WYC Seie thou to wisdom, Thou art my sistir; and clepe thou prudence thi frendesse. BSB BSB: Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your kinsman,
5 WYC That it kepe thee fro a straunge womman; and fro an alien womman, that makith hir wordis swete. BSB BSB: that they may keep you from the adulteress, from the stranger with seductive words.
6 WYC For whi fro the wyndow of myn hous bi the latijs Y bihelde; and Y se litle children. BSB BSB: For at the window of my house I looked through the lattice.
7 WYC I biholde a yong man coward, BSB BSB: I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment,
8 WYC that passith bi the stretis, bisidis the corner; and he BSB BSB: crossing the street near her corner, strolling down the road to her house,
9 WYC goith niy the weie of hir hous in derk tyme, whanne the dai drawith to niyt, in the derknessis and myst of the nyyt. BSB BSB: at twilight, as the day was fading into the dark of the night.
10 WYC And lo! a womman, maad redi with ournement of an hoore to disseyue soulis, meetith hym, and sche is a ianglere, and goynge about, BSB BSB: Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart.
11 WYC and vnpacient of reste, and mai not stonde in the hous with hir feet; BSB BSB: She is loud and defiant; her feet do not remain at home.
12 WYC and now without forth, now in stretis, now bisidis corneris sche `aspieth. BSB BSB: Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.
13 WYC And sche takith, and kissith the yong man; and flaterith with wowynge cheer, and seith, Y ouyte sacrifices for heelthe; BSB BSB: She seizes him and kisses him; she brazenly says to him:
14 WYC to dai Y haue yolde my vowis. BSB BSB: “I have made my peace offerings; today I have paid my vows.
15 WYC Therfor Y yede out in to thi meetyng, and Y desiride to se thee; and Y haue founde thee. BSB BSB: So I came out to meet you; I sought you, and I have found you.
16 WYC Y haue maad my bed with coordis, Y haue arayed with tapetis peyntid of Egipt; BSB BSB: I have decked my bed with coverings, with colored linen from Egypt.
17 WYC Y haue bispreynt my bed with myrre, and aloes, and canel. BSB BSB: I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon.
18 WYC Come thou, be we fillid with tetis, and vse we collyngis that ben coueitid; til the dai bigynne to be cleer. BSB BSB: Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. Let us delight in loving caresses!
19 WYC For myn hosebonde is not in his hows; he is goon a ful long weie. BSB BSB: For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey.
20 WYC He took with hym a bagge of money; he schal turne ayen in to his hous in the dai of ful moone. BSB BSB: He took with him a bag of money and will not return till the moon is full.”
21 WYC Sche boonde hym with many wordis; and sche drow forth hym with flateryngis of lippis. BSB BSB: With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.
22 WYC Anoon he as an oxe led to slayn sacrifice sueth hir, and as a ioli lomb and vnkunnynge; and the fool woot not, that he is drawun to bondys, BSB BSB: He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap,
23 WYC til an arowe perse his mawe. As if a brid hastith to the snare; and woot not, that it is don of the perel of his lijf. BSB BSB: until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare—not knowing it will cost him his life.
24 WYC Now therfor, my sone, here thou me; and perseyue the wordis of my mouth. BSB BSB: Now, my sons, listen to me, and attend to the words of my mouth.
25 WYC Lest thi soule be drawun awei in the weies of hir; nether be thou disseyued in the pathis of hir. BSB BSB: Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths.
26 WYC For sche castide doun many woundid men; and alle strongeste men weren slayn of hir. BSB BSB: For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number.
27 WYC The weies of helle is hir hous; and persen in to ynnere thingis of deeth. BSB BSB: Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.