Proverbes 17
1 Mieux vaut un morceau sec avec de la tranquillité, qu'une maison pleine de festins et de querelles.
It is better [to eat] a dry piece [of bread] and not have strife/quarrels than to have a big feast in a house where [everyone] is quarreling.
2 Un serviteur qui agit avec sagesse dominera sur un fils qui fait honte, et aura part à l'héritage parmi les frères.
A slave who acts wisely will [some day] be the boss of his master’s disgraceful son and when his master dies, the slave will receive part of his master’s possessions.
3 Le pot de raffinage est pour l'argent, et le fourneau pour l'or, mais Yahvé éprouve les cœurs.
[Workers put] silver and gold in a very hot furnace [to burn out what is impure], and Yahweh [similarly] examines people’s inner beings [to see if they are pure].
4 Le malfaiteur écoute des lèvres méchantes. Un menteur prête l'oreille à une langue malicieuse.
Those who do what is evil pay attention to people who say [MTY] what is evil, and liars pay attention to [other people’s] lies.
5 Celui qui se moque du pauvre outrage son Créateur. Celui qui se réjouit de la calamité ne restera pas impuni.
Those who make fun of poor [people] insult God, the one who made the poor [people], [and] those who are happy when [someone else has] troubles will certainly be punished [LIT] [by God].
6 Les enfants des enfants sont la couronne des vieillards; la gloire des enfants, ce sont leurs parents.
Old [people] are [usually] proud of [MET] their grandchildren, [just like] children are [usually] proud of their parents.
7 Un discours excellent ne convient pas à un fou, et encore moins que des lèvres menteuses conviennent à un prince.
Fine/Eloquent speech is not suitable for foolish people to say, just like lies are not suitable for rulers [to say].
8 Un pot-de-vin est une pierre précieuse aux yeux de celui qui le donne; où qu'il se tourne, il prospère.
People think that a bribe is like a magic stone [to persuade someone to do what they want him to do]; they think that because of the bribe, that person will do whatever they want him to do.
9 Celui qui couvre une offense favorise l'amour; mais celui qui répète une affaire sépare les meilleurs amis.
If you want people to like/love you, forgive them for the wrong things that they do to you. If you continue to remind them about those wrong things, they will no longer be your friends.
10 La réprimande pénètre plus profondément chez celui qui a de l'intelligence. que cent coups de fouet à un imbécile.
Rebuking people who have good sense will accomplish more for them than hitting them 100 times [with a stick].
11 L'homme mauvais ne cherche que la rébellion; c'est pourquoi un messager cruel sera envoyé contre lui.
[Because] wicked people are always trying to cause trouble, someone will be sent to severely punish them.
12 Qu'une ourse dépouillée de ses petits rencontre un homme, plutôt qu'un fou dans sa folie.
A mother bear whose cubs have been taken away from her is dangerous, but it is more dangerous to confront a foolish person who is doing something foolish.
13 Celui qui récompense le mal par le bien, le mal ne sortira pas de sa maison.
If someone does something evil in return for something good being done to him, evil/trouble will never leave that person’s family.
14 Le début d'une querelle est comme la rupture d'une digue, Il faut donc arrêter les disputes avant qu'elles n'éclatent.
Starting a quarrel is like allowing water to start to leak out of a dam; they both need to be stopped before they get worse.
15 Celui qui justifie les méchants, et celui qui condamne les justes, tous deux sont une abomination pour Yahvé.
There are two things that Yahweh hates: (Condemning innocent [people]/Saying that people who have done nothing wrong must be punished), and declaring that people who have done wicked things should not be punished.
16 Pourquoi y a-t-il de l'argent dans la main d'un fou pour acheter la sagesse? puisqu'il n'a pas de compréhension?
It is useless to allow foolish people [RHQ] to try to become wise by paying for it, because they do not have enough good sense to become wise.
17 Un ami aime à tout moment; et un frère est né pour l'adversité.
Friends love [others] all the time, and relatives are able to help us when we have troubles.
18 Un homme dépourvu de sens frappe les mains, et devient collatéral en présence de son voisin.
[If someone borrows money from another person], it is foolish for you to promise [IDM] that you will pay the money back if that other person is unable to pay back the money that he borrowed.
19 Celui qui aime la désobéissance aime les querelles. Celui qui construit une porte haute cherche la destruction.
Those who like to sin [also] like to cause strife/trouble; [and] those who build fancy doors in their houses [to show that they are very wealthy] (OR, speak proudly) are inviting disaster.
20 Celui qui a un cœur pervers ne trouve pas la prospérité, et celui qui a une langue mensongère s'attire des ennuis.
Those who (have perverse minds/are always thinking about doing evil things) will not prosper, and disasters will happen to those who always tell lies.
21 Celui qui devient le père d'un fou s'afflige. Le père d'un fou n'a pas de joie.
Children who are foolish [soon] cause their parents to be very sad; their parents will not be joyful at all.
22 Un cœur joyeux est un bon remède, mais un esprit écrasé dessèche les os.
Being cheerful is [like swallowing] good medicine; being discouraged/gloomy [all the time will] (drain away your energy/cause you to become weak) [MTY].
23 Un homme méchant reçoit un pot-de-vin en secret, pour pervertir les voies de la justice.
Wicked people/judges accept bribes that are given to them secretly, and as a result they do not decide matters justly/fairly.
24 La sagesse est devant le visage de celui qui a de l'intelligence, mais les yeux d'un fou errent jusqu'au bout du monde.
Those who have good sense determine to do what is wise, but foolish people are always thinking about many different things [and never decide what they should do].
25 Un fils insensé fait de la peine à son père, et de l'amertume pour celle qui l'a porté.
Children who are foolish cause their father to be sad and [also] cause their mother to be very sorrowful.
26 Il n'est pas bon non plus de punir les justes, ni pour flageller les fonctionnaires pour leur intégrité.
It is not right to force someone who has done nothing wrong to pay a fine; it is wrong to punish good/respected people.
27 Celui qui ménage ses paroles a la connaissance. Celui qui est d'humeur égale est un homme compréhensif.
Those who have good sense do not talk a lot, and those who (control their tempers/keep themselves from becoming very angry) are [truly] wise.
28 Même le fou, quand il se tait, est considéré comme sage. Lorsqu'il ferme ses lèvres, on le croit capable de discernement.
People [may] think that foolish people who do not say anything are wise; if foolish people (do not say anything/keep their mouths shut), others will think that they are [very] intelligent.
