Pwovèb 23
1 Lè chèf envite ou manje sou menm tab ak li, pa janm bliye ki moun li ye.
When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.
2 Si ou se yon moun ki gen bon lapeti, kontwole bouch ou.
And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.
3 Pa pote lanvi sou bon ti manje l'ap ofri ou yo. Se ka yon pèlen li tann pou ou.
Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
4 Pa touye tèt ou ap kouri dèyè lajan pou ou vin rich. Wete lide ou sou sa.
Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
5 Paske, anvan ou bat je ou, li gen tan disparèt. Ou ta di lajan gen zèl. Li rete konsa, li vole, li ale.
Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven.
6 Pa chita pou ou manje sou menm tab ak moun ki tikoulout. Pa pote lanvi sou manje l'ap ofri ou.
Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
7 Li chich ata ak tèt pa li, ale wè avè ou. L'ap di ou: Manje non, monchè! Bwè non! Men se pa ak tout kè li l'ap di ou sa.
Because like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.
8 W'a vonmi tou sa ou te manje a. Tout bèl pawòl ou te di l' yo p'ap sèvi ou anyen.
The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.
9 Pa chache fè yon moun san konprann konprann anyen. Li p'ap tande anyen nan sa w'ap di l' la. Lèfini, l'ap meprize ou met sou li.
Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.
10 Pa janm deplase bòn tè kote yo te ye depi lontan an. Pa antre sou jaden ki pou timoun san papa.
Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:
11 Se Bondye k'ap defann yo, li gen anpil pouvwa. L'a plede kòz yo kont ou.
For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.
12 Mete tèt ou an plas lè y'ap moutre ou kichòy. Louvri zòrèy ou lè yon moun ki gen konesans ap pale.
Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.
13 Ou pa bezwen pè bat yon timoun. Yon bèl kal, sa p'ap touye l'.
Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell. (Sheol h7585)
15 Pitit mwen, si ou gen bon konprann, mwen p'ap manke kontan.
My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
16 M'a kontan anpil lè m'a tande bon pawòl k'ap soti nan bouch ou.
And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.
17 Pa pote lanvi sou moun k'ap fè sa ki mal. Nan tou sa w'ap fè, toujou gen krentif pou Bondye.
Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:
18 Paske gen denmen. Se pa pou gremesi w'ap tann sa w'ap tann lan.
Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.
19 Louvri zòrèy ou, gason mwen, pou ou ka gen bon konprann, pou ou ka mache dwat. Kalkile byen kote w'ap mete pye ou, pou ou ka mache dwat.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
20 Pa fè zanmi avèk moun k'ap bwè twòp, ak moun k'ap fè safte.
Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:
21 Paske moun k'ap fè metye bwè ak moun ki afre ap vin pòv. Si ou pase tout tan ou ap dòmi, talè konsa w'ap mache yon men devan yon men dèyè.
Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
22 Pitit mwen, koute papa ou ki fè ou. Pa meprize manman ou lè li fin granmoun.
Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Verite, konesans, lespri ak bon konprann, se bagay ou mèt peye chè pou ou genyen. Men, pa janm vann sa.
Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Papa ki gen yon pitit k'ap mache dwat ap toujou kontan. Manman ki fè yon pitit ki gen bon konprann ap toujou gen kè kontan.
The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.
25 Fè kè papa ou ak manman ou kontan. Fè kè manman ki fè ou la kontan.
Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.
26 Pitit mwen, louvri zòrèy ou pou tande sa m'ap di ou. Louvri je ou byen pou ou wè jan m'ap viv.
My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
27 Fanm jennès se tankou yon twou pèlen, fanm adiltè se tankou yon pi jis jis.
For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 Tankou vòlò, y'ap pare pèlen pou ou. Yo fè anpil gason pèdi tèt yo.
She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.
29 Ki moun ki nan tèt chaje, ki nan lapenn? Ki moun ki toujou nan kont, ki tou tan ap plenyen? Ki moun k'ap pran kou san rezon, ki gen je yo tou wouj?
Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 Se moun k'ap bwè twòp gwòg, moun k'ap kouri dèyè tranpe.
Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.
31 Pa kite bweson pran nanm ou, ou te mèt wè jan li bèl, jan li klè nan vè a. Lè ou bwè l', li desann dous nan gòj ou.
Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,
32 Men, pita ou santi se tankou yon move sèpan ki mòde ou, yon sèpan aspik ki pike ou.
But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.
33 W'ap wè tout bagay ap vire devan je ou, w'ap depale.
Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 W'ap santi tankou si ou te sou lanmè: w'ap tankou si ou te sou tèt yon ma batiman.
And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.
35 Lè sa a w'a di: Gen lè yo bat mwen, mwen pa santi sa. Gen lè yo te ban m' kou, mwen pa konn sa. Kilè m'a leve la a? Mwen ta pran yon ti kou ankò.
And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake, and find wine again?
