The XXIIII. Chapter.
[ A] BE not thou gelous ouer wicked mē, & desyre not thou to be amonge them.
For their herte ymagineth to do hurte, & their lippes talke of myschefe. Thorow wyszdome an house shalbe buylded, & wt vn∣derstondinge it shalbe set vp. Thorow dis∣crecion shal ye chābers be fylled wt all cost¦ly & pleasaunt riches▪ A wyse mā is strōge, yee a mā of vnderstōdinge is better, thē he yt is mightie of strēgth. For with discrecion must warres be takē in honde, and where as are many yt can geue councell, there is ye vic¦tory. Wyszdome is an hie thinge, yee euē to ye foole, for he darre not opē his mouth in ye gate. He yt ymagineth myschefe, maye wel be called an vngracious personne. The thoughte of ye foolish is synne, & ye scorne∣full [ B] is an abhominacion vnto mē. Yf thou be ouersene & necligēt in tyme of nede, thē is thy strēgth but small. Delyuer thē yt go vn¦to death, & are led awaie to be slaine, & be not necligēt therin. Yf thou wilt saye: I knewe not of it. Thynkest thou yt he which made ye hertes, doth not cōsidre it? & yt he which regardeth ye soule, seith it not? Shal not he recōpence euery man acordinge to his wor∣kes? My sonne, thou eatest hony & ye swete hony cōbe, because it is good & swete in thy mouth. Euen so shall ye knowlege of wys∣dome be vnto ye soule, as soone as thou hast gottē it. And there is good hope, yee ye ho∣pe [ C] shal not be in vayne. Laye no preuy wai¦te wickedly vpon ye house of ye rightuous, & disquiete not his restinge place. For a iust mā falleth seuen tymes, & ryseth vp agayne, but ye vngodly fall in to wickednes. Reioy¦ce not thou at ye fall of thine enemie, and let not thine herte be glad whan he stombleth.
Lest ye LORDE (when he seyth it) be angrie, & turne his wrath from him vnto the. Let not ye wrath & gelousy moue ye, to foolow ye wicked and vngodly. And why? ye wicked hath nothinge to hope for, & ye cādle of the vngodly shall be put out. My sonne, feare thou ye LRODE & ye kinge, & kepe no cōpany wt ye slaunderous: for their destruccion shal come sodenly, & who knoweth ye fall of thē both?
These are also ye saiēges of ye wyse.
It is not good, to haue respecte of any per¦sonne in iudgmēt. He yt saieth to ye vngod¦ly: thou art rightuous, him shall the people curse, yee ye comōtie shal abhorre him. But they yt rebuke ye vngodly shalbe cōmended, & a riche blessinge shal come vpō thē. He ma¦keth him self to be well loued, that geueth a good answere. First make vp ye worke yt is wt out, & loke well vnto yt which thou hast in ye felde, & thē buylde thine house. Be no false wytnesse agaynst ye neghbor, & hurte him not wt ye lyppes Saye not: I wil hādle him, euē as he hath dealte wt me, & wil rewar¦de euery mā acordinge to his dedes. I wen¦te by ye felde of ye slouthfull, & by ye vynyar¦de of the foolish mā. And lo, it was all co∣uered wt nettels, & stode full of thistles, & ye stone wall was brokē downe. This I sawe, & cōsidered it wel: I loked vpō it, & toke it for a warnynge. Yee slepe on still a litle, slōbre a litle, folde thine hōdes together yet a litle: so shall pouerte come vnto the as one yt tra¦uayleth by ye waye, & necessite like a wape∣ned man.