Proverbs 23
1 When you sit down to eat with a leader, pay close attention to what has been set before your face,
Sɛ wo ne ɔhene bi to nsa didi a, hwɛ deɛ ɛsi wʼanim no yie,
2 and put a knife to your throat, if, in such a way, you could hold your soul in your own power.
Sɛ woyɛ adidibrada a, hyɛ wo ho so.
3 Do not desire his foods, in which is the bread of deceit.
Nni nʼaduane akɔnnɔ akɔnnɔ no akyi, ɛfiri sɛ saa aduane no daadaa nnipa.
4 Do not be willing to labor so that you may be enriched. But set limits by your prudence.
Mmiri wo mogya ani mpɛ sika; hunu nyansa na to wo bo ase.
5 Do not raise your eyes toward wealth that you are not able to have. For they will make themselves wings, like those of an eagle, and they will fly in the sky.
Wʼani bɔɔ sika so ara pɛ, na atu ayera, ampa ara ɛbɛfu ntaban na atu akɔ ewiem sɛ ɔkɔdeɛ.
6 Do not eat with an envious man, and do not desire his foods.
Nni obi a ɔyɛ pɛpɛɛ aduane nni nʼakɔnnɔ aduane akyi;
7 For, like a seer and an interpreter of dreams, he presumes what he does not know. “Eat and drink,” he will say to you; and his mind is not with you.
ɛfiri sɛ ɔyɛ obi a ɛberɛ biara ɔdwene sika ho. Ɔka sɛ, “Didi na nom,” nanso ɛnyɛ nʼakoma mu.
8 The foods that you had eaten, you will vomit up. And you will lose the beauty in your words.
Kakra a woadi no wobɛfe na ɛno enti wo nkamfo ho remma mfasoɔ.
9 Do not speak into the ears of the unwise. They will despise the doctrine of your eloquence.
Nkasa nkyerɛ ɔkwasea, ɛfiri sɛ ɔremfa nyansa a ɛwɔ wo kasa mu no.
10 Do not touch the boundaries of little ones, and do not enter into the field of the fatherless.
Ntutu tete aboɔ a wɔde ato hyeɛ ngu, na ntra hyeɛ nkɔ nwisiaa mfuo mu,
11 For their close relative is strong, and he will judge their case against you.
ɛfiri sɛ, wɔn Gyefoɔ yɛ den, na ɔbɛdi wɔn asɛm ama wɔn.
12 Let your heart enter into doctrine, and let your ears enter into words of knowledge.
Ma wʼakoma mmra nkyerɛkyerɛ so na wɛn wʼaso tie nimdeɛ.
13 Do not be willing to take away discipline from a child. For if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
Ntwentwɛne abɔfra ntenesoɔ so; sɛ wode abaa tene no a, ɔrenwu.
Fa abaa twe nʼaso na gye ne kra firi owuo mu. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if your soul will become wise, my heart will be glad with you.
Me ba, sɛ wʼakoma hunu nyansa a, ɛnneɛ mʼakoma ani bɛgye;
16 And my temperament will exult, when your lips will have spoken what is upright.
sɛ wʼano ka deɛ ɛtene a me mu adeɛ nyinaa ani bɛgye.
17 Let not your heart compete with sinners. But be in the fear of the Lord all day long.
Mma wʼani mmerɛ abɔnefoɔ, mmom bɔ Awurade suro ho mmɔden ɛberɛ biara.
18 For you will have hope in the end, and your expectation will not be taken away.
Ampa ara anidasoɔ wɔ hɔ ma wo daakye, na wʼanidasoɔ renyɛ ɔkwa.
19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and direct your soul along the way.
Me ba, tie, na hunu nyansa, ma wʼakoma mfa ɛkwan tenenee so.
20 Do not be willing to be in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in the carousings of those who gather to feed on flesh.
Mfa wo ho mmɔ akɔwensafoɔ anaasɛ wɔn a wɔpɛ ɛnam mmorosoɔ,
21 For those who waste time drinking, and who surrender themselves to symbols, will be consumed. And those who sleep will be clothed in rags.
ɛfiri sɛ, akɔwensafoɔ ne adidibradafoɔ bɛyɛ ahiafoɔ, na anikum fira wɔn ntomago.
22 Listen to your father, who conceived you. And do not despise your mother, when she is old.
Tie wʼagya a ɔwoo woɔ no, na sɛ wo maame bɔ aberewa a, mmu no animtia.
23 Purchase truth, and do not sell wisdom, or doctrine, or understanding.
Tɔ nokorɛ na ntɔn da; nya nyansa, ahohyɛsoɔ ne nhunumu.
24 The father of the just exults in gladness; he who has conceived the wise will rejoice in him.
Ɔteneneeni agya wɔ anigyeɛ bebree; deɛ ɔwɔ ɔba nyansafoɔ no anigye ne ho.
25 Let your father and your mother be joyful, and may she who conceived you exult.
Ma wʼagya ne wo maame ani nnye; ma ɔbaa a ɔwoo woɔ no nnya ahosɛpɛ.
26 My son, offer me your heart, and let your eyes keep to my ways.
Me ba, fa wʼakoma ma me na ma wʼani nkɔ mʼakwan ho,
27 For a loose woman is a deep pit, and a foreign woman is a constricted well.
na odwamanfoɔ yɛ amena donkudonku ɔyere sansani yɛ ɔdaadaafoɔ.
28 She lies in wait along the way like a robber. And the incautious one whom she sees, she will put to death.
Ɔtɛ, twɛn, te sɛ ɔkwanmukafoɔ na ɔma mmarima mu atorofoɔ dɔɔso.
29 Who has woe? Whose father has woe? Who has quarrels? Who falls into pits? Who has wounds without cause? Who has watery eyes?
Hwan na wɔadome no? Hwan na ɔdi awerɛhoɔ? Hwan na ɔdi apereapereɛ? Hwan na ɔnwiinwii? Hwan na wapirapira hunaa? Hwan na mogya ada nʼani so?
30 Is it not those who linger over wine, and who strive to be drinking from their cups?
Wɔn a wɔkyɛre nsã ho, na wɔka nsã a wɔafrafra hwɛ.
31 Do not gaze into the wine when it turns gold, when its color shines in the glass. It enters pleasantly,
Nhwɛ nsã ani kɔkɔɔ no haa, ɛberɛ a ɛretwa yerɛ yerɛ wɔ kuruwa mu, na ɛkɔ yɔɔ no.
32 but in the end, it will bite like a snake, and it will spread poison like a king of snakes.
Awieeɛ no ɛka te sɛ ɔwɔ na ɛwɔ borɔ te sɛ ahurutoa.
33 Your eyes will see women who are outsiders, and your heart will utter perversities.
Wʼani bɛhunu nneɛma a wonhunuu da, na woadwene nneɛma basabasa ho.
34 And you will be like someone sleeping in the middle of the sea, and like a pilot, fast asleep, who has lost his hold on the helm.
Wobɛtɔ ntintan te sɛ hyɛn mu dwumayɛni a, ɔkura ɛhyɛn dua a, ɛrehinhim mu den, na ɛdenkye denkye wɔ ɛpo so.
35 And you will say: “They have beaten me, but I did not feel pain. They have dragged me, and I did not realize it. When will I awaken and find more wine?”
Na wobɛka sɛ, “Wɔbɔ me, nanso mempira. Wɔboro me, nanso mente ɔyea biara. Ɛberɛ bɛn na menyane akɔpɛ nsã anom bio?”
