< Lododowo 5 >
1 Vinye, lé to ɖe nye nunya ŋu eye nàƒu to anyi nyuie ɖe nye sidzedze ƒe nyawo ŋu,
My son, attend to my wisdom. Incline thine ear to my understanding,
2 be nànya nu si nàwɔ eye wò nuyiwo adzra gɔmesese ɖo
that thou may preserve discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 elabena nyɔnu ahasitɔ ƒe nuyiwo le anyitsi tsyɔm, eye eƒe numenyawo zrɔ̃ wu ami
For the lips of an interloping woman drop honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.
4 gake le nuwuwu la evena wu veve eye wòɖana wu yi nuevee.
But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Eƒe afɔ yina ɖe tsĩeƒe ke eye eƒe afɔɖeɖewo yina ɖe yɔdo me tẽe (Sheol )
Her feet go down to death. Her steps take hold on Sheol, (Sheol )
6 Mebua ta me le ale si wòanɔ agbee ŋu kura o, eƒe toƒewo glɔ̃ gake menyae o
so that she does not find the level path of life. Her ways are unstable, and she does not know.
7 eya ta azɔ la, vinyewo, miɖo tom, migaƒo asa na nu si megblɔ na mi o.
Now therefore, ye sons, hearken to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8 Miaƒe toƒewo nete ɖa xaa tso egbɔ, migagogo eƒe aƒe ƒe agbonu o,
Remove thy way far from her, and do not come near the door of her house,
9 ne menye nenema o la, miava gblẽ miaƒe ɖekakpuime ƒe ŋusẽ ɖe ame bubuwo ŋu kple miaƒe ƒewo ɖe ame vɔ̃ɖi ŋu.
lest thou give thine honor to others, and thy years to the cruel,
10 Ne menye nenema o la, amedzrowo anye avuzi le miaƒe kesinɔnuwo dzi eye nu si nète fifia kpɔ la aɖo atsyɔ̃ na ame bubu ƒe aƒe me.
lest strangers be filled with thy strength, and thy labors be in the house of an alien,
11 Le wò agbe ƒe nuwuwu la, ànɔ ŋeŋem, ne wò ŋutilã kple wò ameti blibo la vɔ le eme.
and thou mourn at thy latter end when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
12 Àgblɔ be, “Metsri amehehe kɔkɔkɔ! Eye nye dzi do vlo ɖɔɖɔɖo!
and say, How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof.
13 Nyemaɖo to nye nufialawo alo aƒu to anyi ɖe nye amegãwo ŋu o.
Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!
14 Esusɔ vie donyeme nagblẽ keŋkeŋ le ameha la katã dome.”
I was almost in all evil in the midst of the assembly and congregation.
15 No tsi tso wò ŋutɔ wò tsiʋe me kple tsi dzidzi tso wò ŋutɔ wò vudo me.
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
16 Ɖe wòle be wò tsitsetsewo nagbagba ɖe mɔtatawo dzi kple wò tsi sisi ɖe du ƒe ablɔwo mea?
Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, and streams of water in the streets?
17 Wonenye wò ɖeka ko tɔ, mègamae kple ame tutɔwo gbeɖe o.
Let them be for thyself alone, and not for strangers with thee.
18 Woayra wò vudo eye nàkpɔ dzidzɔ ɖe wò ɖekakpuimesrɔ̃ ŋu.
Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of thy youth:
19 Eyae nye zinɔ lɔlɔ̃a kple sãde dzeani la, eƒe nowo neɖi kɔ na wò ɣe sia ɣi, eye eƒe lɔlɔ̃ nede dzo mewò ɖaa.
a loving hind and a pleasant doe. Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times, and be thou ravished always with her love.
20 Vinye, nu ka ŋuti nàƒo kpakpakpa ɖe nyɔnu ahasitɔ ŋu? Nu ka ŋuti nàlé alime na ame bubu srɔ̃?
For why should thou, my son, be ravished with an interloping woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
21 Elabena ame sia ame ƒe mɔ le ƒuƒlu le Yehowa ŋkume eye wòdoa woƒe mɔwo katã kpɔ.
For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah, and he makes level all his paths.
22 Ame vɔ̃ɖi ƒe nu vɔ̃ɖi siwo wòwɔna la zua mɔ ɖenɛ, eye eƒe nu vɔ̃ zua ka blanɛ sesĩe.
His own iniquities shall take a wicked man, and he shall be held with the cords of his sin.
23 Aku le ɖokuidzimaɖumaɖu ta eye eƒe bometsitsi gã la akplɔe atrae.
He shall die for lack of instruction. And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.