Proverbs 23
1 When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.
Sɛ wo ne ɔhene bi to nsa didi a, hwɛ nea esi wʼanim no yiye,
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.
Sɛ woyɛ adidibrada a, hyɛ wo ho so.
3 Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
Nni nʼaduan akɔnnɔ akɔnnɔ no akyi, efisɛ saa aduan no daadaa nnipa.
4 Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
Mmiri wo mogya ani mpɛ sika; hu nyansa na tɔ wo bo ase.
5 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.
Wʼani bɔɔ sika so ara pɛ, na atu ayera, ampa ara ebefuw ntaban na atu akɔ wim sɛ ɔkɔre.
6 Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
Nni obi a ɔyɛ pɛpɛe aduan, nni nʼakɔnnɔ aduan akyi;
7 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.
efisɛ ɔyɛ obi a bere biara osusuw sika ho. Ɔka se, “Didi na nom,” nanso ɛnyɛ ne koma mu.
8 The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.
Kakra a woadi no wobɛfe, na ɛno nti wo nkamfo so remma mfaso.
9 Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.
Nkasa nkyerɛ ɔkwasea, efisɛ ɔremfa nyansa a ɛwɔ wo kasa mu no.
10 Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:
Ntutu tete abo a wɔde ato hye ngu, na ntra ɔhye nkɔ ayisaa mfuw mu,
11 For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.
efisɛ wɔn Gyefo yɛ den, na obedi wɔn asɛm ama wɔn.
12 Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.
Ma wo koma mmra nkyerɛkyerɛ so, na wɛn wʼaso tie nimdeɛ.
13 Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
Ntwentwɛn abofra nteɛso so; sɛ wode abaa teɛ no a, ɔrenwu.
Fa abaa twe nʼaso na gye ne kra fi owu mu. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
Me ba, sɛ wo koma hu nyansa a, ɛno de, me koma ani begye;
16 And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.
sɛ wʼano ka nea ɛteɛ a me mu ade nyinaa ani begye.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:
Mma wʼani mmere abɔnefo, mmom bɔ Awurade suro ho mmɔden bere biara.
18 Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.
Ampa ara anidaso wɔ hɔ ma wo daakye, na wʼanidaso renyɛ ɔkwa.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
Me ba, tie, na hu nyansa, ma wo koma mfa ɔkwantrenee so.
20 Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:
Mfa wo ho mmɔ akɔwensafo anaasɛ wɔn a wɔpɛ nam mmoroso ho,
21 Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
efisɛ, akɔwensafo ne adidibradafo bɛyɛ ahiafo, na anikum fura wɔn ntamagow.
22 Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Tie wʼagya a ɔwoo wo no, na sɛ wo na bɔ aberewa a, mmu no animtiaa.
23 Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Tɔ nokware na ntɔn da; nya nyansa, ahohyɛso ne nhumu.
24 The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.
Ɔtreneeni agya wɔ anigye bebree; nea ɔwɔ ɔba nyansafo no ani gye ne ho.
25 Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.
Ma wʼagya ne wo na ani nnye; ma ɔbea a ɔwoo wo no nnya ahosɛpɛw.
26 My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
Me ba, fa wo koma ma me na ma wʼani nkɔ mʼakwan ho,
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
na oguamanfo yɛ amoa donkudonku ɔyere huhuni yɛ ɔdaadaafo.
28 She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.
Ɔtɛw, twɛn, te sɛ ɔkwanmukafo, na ɔma mmarima mu atorofo dɔɔso.
29 Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Hena na wɔadome no? Hena na odi awerɛhow? Hena na odi aperepere? Hena na onwiinwii? Hena na ɔwɔ atape nko ara? Hena na mogya ada nʼani so?
30 Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.
Wɔn a wɔkyɛ nsa ho, na wɔka nsa a wɔafrafra hwɛ.
31 Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,
Nhwɛ nsa ani kɔkɔɔ no haa, bere a ɛretwa yerɛw yerɛw wɔ kuruwa mu, na ɛkɔ yɔɔ no.
32 But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.
Awiei no, ɛka te sɛ ɔwɔ na ɛwɔ bɔre te sɛ ahurutoa.
33 Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
Wʼani behu nneɛma a wunhuu da, na woadwene nneɛma basabasa ho.
34 And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.
Wobɛtɔ ntintan te sɛ hyɛn mu dwumayɛni a, okura hyɛn dua a, ɛrehinhim mu den, na ehinhim wɔ po so.
35 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?
Na wobɛka se, “Wɔbɔ me, nanso mimpira. Wɔboro me, nanso mente ɔyaw biara. Bere bɛn na menyan akɔpɛ nsa anom bio?”
