The Pardoner's Tale l.423-479: The rioters meet an Old Man

Synopsis of l. 423-479

The three youths encounter an Old Man whose advanced years they jeer at. The Old Man replies that he doesn't choose to be old and advises them that they should respect the elderly. He makes to leave but one rioter – here called a ‘hasardour' or gambler – roughly detains him, accusing him of being Death's spy, seeking out young folk for Death to kill. He threatens the Old Man (with further blasphemy), demanding to know where Death may be found. The Old Man then gives them directions.

Commentary on l.423-479

l.429 carl: bloke, mate. A slang word
With sorry grace ‘bad luck!'

l.430 artow forwrapped save: are you (art thou) completely wrapped up except for…

l.435-50 The Old Man's speech is full of mysteries:

He has tried unsuccessfully to find a young man who will swap his youth for the Old Man's years
Death has refused to take the man's life
Mother nature has barred him from returning to the earth (The idea of humankind being made from the earth and returning to it at death comes from the earliest chapters of the Bible – Genesis3:19).

Chaucer is not directly teaching but inviting the reader to puzzle out individually what truths about life, death, and wise attitudes to them, might be contained here

l.434 Ynde: India. The suggestion is something like ‘nowhere on the face of the earth':

Authors have ways of signalling to readers that something beyond the literal is being presented, inviting us to adjust the level at which we are reading. Here the scene becomes one full of mysterious and presumably symbolic details which are open to interpretation
Chaucer's audience may well have remembered being taught the following verse from the last book of the Bible, Revelation 9:6:

‘And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.'

l.437 moot I han: must I have (i.e. keep)

l.438 Goddes wille: Chaucer reminds his audience that human decisions about when life should end stand in opposition to the Christian belief in God's jurisdiction over life and death

l.440 kaitif: wretch

l.444 vanysshe he is dwindling away, his flesh shrinking with age

l.446 cheste: a chest full of clothes and valuables in his private room (chamber). The Old Man wants to swap his material wealth for a shroud – it is of no value

Once again, the themes of death and money come together.

l.448 heyre clout: a cloth made of horsehair:

This would have been very scratchy and therefore horsehair underwear was sometimes worn by people who wanted to ignore or humble their fleshly desires (as did Thomas Becket). The aim of this was to concentrate on the soul rather than the body's needs and earthly pleasures
Here, the cloth mentioned is clearly also envisaged as a winding sheet for a dead body. But its associations with penitence and mortifying the flesh bring extra resonances into the passage.

l.449 do that grace: grant me that gift

l.450 welked: wrinkled, shriveled:

Chaucer makes the theme of Nature run through his poetry. Here, although the age for natural death has arrived, the man cannot die.

l.454-73 The Old Man chides the men for their rudeness, reminding them of biblical instructions to honour older people

l.451-2 curteisie … vileyneye: Originally ‘the behaviour of the court' and ‘the behaviour of a serf', but by this period they mean ‘civilised, polite behaviour' (a bit stronger then mere ‘courtesy' today) and ‘ill-bred, rude'

l.453 trespasse in word or elles in deede: the Old Man's words echo the language associated with Christian worship, from the Lord's Prayer:

Eng. forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us
Lat. dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris

and (the English translation of) the confession familiar to Chaucer's audience from the service of prime on Sundays:

Eng. I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed
Lat. quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo et opere

l.454-9 The Old Man quotes Leviticus 19:32 and Proverbs 23:22 (‘Despise no man for being old', here interpreted as ‘treat the elderly as you want to be treated once you are old'). Chaucer's audience would also be very familiar with the fifth of the Ten Commandments - ‘Honour thy father and thy mother' (Exodus 20:12).

l.455 hoor upon his heed: white-haired (a word that remains in Modern English in the term ‘hoar frost')

l.460,62 The Old Man ends with the kind of blessing a priest might use at the end of a church service, which makes the blasphemous response of the second rioter all the more shocking

l.464 by Seint John: the rioter swears by John, one of Jesus' closest Apostles

l.469 by the hooly sacrament: the rioter swears by the wafer or bread used to represent the body of Christ in the service of Mass (also known as the Eucharist or Holy Communion)

l.472 if that yow be so leef: ‘if you are so eager'

l.478-9 The Old Man again ends with a priest-like blessing, reminding the youths (as does Chaucer his audience) that because God redeemed (boughte again) humankind, the offer of salvation (God save yow) and moral/spiritual improvement (yow amende) is still available to the rioters

A mysterious passage

In the previous section, the rioters were puzzled by the description of death. Now the reader, too, is puzzled by who or what the Old Man is. Chaucer expects us to read beyond the literal and think about what it means when the rioters set out to find Death but first find an Old Man. What is his relation to Death, we wonder, and why is he also associated with the language of the church?

For further information on the Old Man, see Characterisation > The Old Man

Investigating l.423-479

Compare in detail the greeting given by the Old Man to the rioters and their response:
- What does their use of thou forms to an Old Man show – respect or inappropriate informality? See See Literary context > Chaucer's English
How would you interpret l. 440?
- What can be meant - what is it that cannot die?
Pick out other details about the Old Man which give him an ‘other-worldly' quality
On l. 430 we are told the response is made by the ‘proudeste of thise riotoures'
- What is the effect of that detail?
- Where else does Chaucer present the riotors as proud and how does that shape your attitude to them?
- Is there anything in what is happening here to explain why pride is regarded as the worst of the seven deadly sins?
The phrase ‘gan looke in his visage' (l. 434) gives the impression that the Old Man stared at the youth intently:
- What are the effects of this way of responding to the rioter's question?
It is possible to interpret the Old Man as Death:
- Do you agree or do you think that he should be interpreted in another way?
- Could the figure have several potential meanings simultaneously?
How do you react to Chaucer's inclusion of the word ‘croked' in l. 473?
What themes does Chaucer's wording of the Old Man's farewell introduce?
- What is the effect for the reader?

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? ²And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. ⁴But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. ⁵For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. ⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. ⁷Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. ⁸And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, Where are you? ¹⁰And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. ¹¹He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? ¹²The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. ¹³Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. ¹⁴The Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. ¹⁵I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. ¹⁶To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. ¹⁷And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, You shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; ¹⁸thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. ¹⁹By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. ²⁰The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. ²¹And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. ²²Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever - ²³therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

¹Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? ²And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: ³But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. ⁴And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: ⁵For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. ⁶And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. ⁷And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. ⁸And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. ⁹And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? ¹⁰And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. ¹¹And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? ¹²And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. ¹³And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. ¹⁴And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: ¹⁵And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. ¹⁶Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. ¹⁷And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; ¹⁸Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; ¹⁹In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. ²⁰And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. ²¹Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. ²²And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: ²³Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. ²⁴So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. ²He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. ³Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. ⁴They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. ⁶And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them. ⁷In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, ⁸their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; ⁹they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. ¹⁰They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. ¹¹They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon. ¹²The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come. ¹³Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, ¹⁴saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. ¹⁵So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. ¹⁷And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. ¹⁸By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. ¹⁹For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound. ²⁰The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, ²¹nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

¹And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. ²And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. ³And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. ⁴And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. ⁵And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. ⁶And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. ⁷And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. ⁸And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. ⁹And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. ¹⁰And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. ¹¹And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. ¹²One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. ¹³And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. ¹⁵And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. ¹⁶And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. ¹⁷And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. ¹⁸By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. ¹⁹For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. ²⁰And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: ²¹Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. ³Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. ⁴Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God. ⁵When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. ⁶It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. ⁷If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is tainted; it will not be accepted, ⁸and everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people. ⁹When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. ¹⁰And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God. ¹¹You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. ¹²You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. ¹³You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. ¹⁴You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. ¹⁵You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. ¹⁶You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. ¹⁷You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. ¹⁸You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. ¹⁹You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material. ²⁰If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; ²¹but he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. ²²And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed. ²³When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. ²⁴And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. ²⁵But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God. ²⁶You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. ²⁷You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. ²⁸You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord. ²⁹Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. ³⁰You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. ³¹Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God. ³²You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. ³³When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. ³⁴You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. ³⁵You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. ³⁶You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.

¹And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ²Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. ³Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. ⁴Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God. ⁵And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will. ⁶It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. ⁷And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. ⁸Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ⁹And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. ¹⁰And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God. ¹¹Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. ¹²And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. ¹³Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. ¹⁴Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD. ¹⁵Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. ¹⁶Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor; I am the LORD. ¹⁷Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. ¹⁸Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD. ¹⁹Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee. ²⁰And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. ²¹And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering. ²²And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him. ²³And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. ²⁴But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. ²⁵And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God. ²⁶Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. ²⁷Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. ²⁸Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. ²⁹Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness. ³⁰Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. ³¹Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. ³²Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD. ³³And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. ³⁴But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. ³⁵Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. ³⁶Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, ²and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. ³Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food. ⁴Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. ⁵When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. ⁶Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, ⁷for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. Eat and drink! he says to you, but his heart is not with you. ⁸You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words. ⁹Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words. ¹⁰Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, ¹¹for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you. ¹²Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. ¹³Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. ¹⁴If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. ¹⁵My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad. ¹⁶My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right. ¹⁷Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. ¹⁸Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. ¹⁹Hear, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. ²⁰Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, ²¹for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags. ²²Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. ²³Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. ²⁴The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. ²⁵Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice. ²⁶My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. ²⁷For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well. ²⁸She lies in wait like a robber and increases the traitors among mankind. ²⁹Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? ³⁰Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. ³¹Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. ³²In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. ³³Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. ³⁴You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. ³⁵They struck me, you will say, but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink.

¹When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: ²And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. ³Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. ⁴Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. ⁵Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. ⁶Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: ⁷For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. ⁸The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. ⁹Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. ¹⁰Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: ¹¹For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee. ¹²Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. ¹³Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. ¹⁴Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. ¹⁵My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. ¹⁶Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. ¹⁷Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. ¹⁸For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off. ¹⁹Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. ²⁰Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: ²¹For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. ²²Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. ²³Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. ²⁴The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. ²⁵Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice. ²⁶My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. ²⁷For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. ²⁸She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men. ²⁹Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? ³⁰They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. ³¹Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. ³²At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. ³³Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. ³⁴Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. ³⁵They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹And God spoke all these words, saying, ²I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ³You shall have no other gods before me. ⁴You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. ⁷You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. ⁸Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. ¹²Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ¹³You shall not murder. ¹⁴You shall not commit adultery. ¹⁵You shall not steal. ¹⁶You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. ¹⁷You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. ¹⁸Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off ¹⁹and said to Moses, You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die. ²⁰Moses said to the people, Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin. ²¹The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. ²²And the Lord said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. ²³You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. ²⁴An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it. ²⁶And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it.

¹And God spake all these words, saying, ²I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁴Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ⁷Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. ¹²Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. ¹³Thou shalt not kill. ¹⁴Thou shalt not commit adultery. ¹⁵Thou shalt not steal. ¹⁶Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. ¹⁷Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. ¹⁸And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. ¹⁹And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. ²⁰And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. ²¹And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. ²²And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. ²³Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. ²⁴An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. ²⁵And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. ²⁶Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

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The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale Contents