Proverbes 20
1 Le vin est moqueur, les boissons fermentées tumultueuses; quiconque s’y adonne n’est pas sage.
Drinking a lot of wine or [other] strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.
2 Semblable au rugissement du lion est la terreur qu’inspire le roi; celui qui l’irrite pèche contre lui-même.
Being afraid of a king when he is angry is like [SIM] being afraid of a lion when it growls/roars; if you cause the king to become angry, he may execute you.
3 C’est une gloire pour l’homme de s’abstenir des querelles, mais tout insensé s’abandonne à la colère.
[People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
4 A cause du mauvais temps, le paresseux ne laboure pas; à la moisson, il cherchera, et il n’y aura rien.
[If] a lazy man does not plow [his fields at the right/proper time], he will look for [crops] at harvest [time], but there will be nothing there.
5 La pensée dans le cœur de l’homme est une eau profonde, mais l’homme intelligent y puisera.
[Just] as it is difficult to bring up water from a deep well, it is difficult to know what people are thinking, but someone who has good sense/insight will be able to find out what people are thinking.
6 Beaucoup d’hommes vantent leur bonté; mais un homme fidèle, qui le trouvera?
Many people proclaim that they can be trusted [to do what they say that they will do], but it is very difficult to find [RHQ] someone who can really be trusted.
7 Le juste marche dans son intégrité; heureux ses enfants après lui!
If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).
8 Le roi, assis sur le trône de la justice, dissipe tout mal par son regard.
A king who sits on his throne to judge people can [easily] [MTY] find out what things that people have done are good and what things are evil.
9 Qui dira: « J’ai purifié mon cœur, je suis net de mon péché? »
There is no one [RHQ] who can truthfully say, “I do not know of any wrong things that I have done; I have (gotten rid of all my sinful behavior/quit doing what is sinful).”
10 Poids et poids, épha et épha, sont l’un et l’autre en horreur à Yahweh.
Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
11 L’enfant montre déjà par ses actions si ses œuvres seront pures et droites.
Even children show by what they do whether they are good or not; they show whether (what they do/their behavior) is honest and right [or not].
12 L’oreille qui entend et l’œil qui voit, c’est Yahweh qui les a faits l’un et l’autre.
Two of the things that Yahweh has created [for us] are ears to hear things and eyes to see things.
13 N’aime pas le sommeil, pour ne pas devenir pauvre; ouvre les yeux, et rassasie-toi de pain.
If you want to sleep [all the time], you will become poor; if you stay awake [and work], you will have plenty of food.
14 Mauvais! Mauvais! dit l’acheteur, et, en s’en allant, il se félicite.
People [look at things that they are about] to buy, [and in order to get it for a lower price sometimes they] say, “(It is no good/It is poor quality),” but [after they buy it], they go and boast [about having bought it for a cheap price].
15 Il y a de l’or et beaucoup de perles, mais les lèvres sages sont un vase précieux.
Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
16 Prends son vêtement, car il a répondu pour autrui; exige de lui des gages à cause des étrangers.
If you foolishly promise to a stranger that you will pay what he owes if he is unable to pay it [DOU], [you deserve to] have someone take your coat from you.
17 Le pain de fourberie est doux à l’homme, mais à la fin sa bouche est remplie de gravier.
People [may] think that food that they acquire by doing what is dishonest will taste very good, but later [they will not enjoy what they have done any more than they would enjoy] eating gravel/sand.
18 Les projets s’affermissent par le conseil; conduis la guerre avec prudence.
When people give you good advice, [if you do what they suggest], your plans will succeed; so be sure to get good advice from wise people before you start fighting a war.
19 Celui qui s’en va médisant dévoile les secrets; évite avec soin celui qui a les lèvres toujours ouvertes.
Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].
20 Si quelqu’un maudit son père et sa mère, sa lampe s’éteindra au sein des ténèbres.
If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.
21 Un héritage hâté à l’origine ne sera pas béni à la fin.
If you very quickly take the property that your parents promise will be yours after they die, you will not receive any good/blessing from it.
22 Ne dis pas: « Je rendrai le mal; » espère en Yahweh, et il te délivrera.
Do not say, “I will do evil to those who do evil to me;” wait for Yahweh [to do something about it], and he will (help you/[do what is right]).
23 Poids et poids sont en horreur à Yahweh, et la balance fausse n’est pas une chose bonne.
Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.
24 C’est Yahweh qui dirige les pas de l’homme; et l’homme peut-il comprendre sa voie?
Yahweh is the one who has decided what will happen to us, so (how can we (understand/know) what will happen before it happens?/we humans certainly cannot (understand/know) what will happen before it happens.) [RHQ]
25 C’est un piège pour l’homme de dire à la légère: « Cela est sacré! » et de ne réfléchir qu’après le vœu fait.
You should think carefully before you solemnly promise to dedicate something to God, because later you might be sorry you have promised to do it.
26 Un roi sage dissipe les méchants, et fait passer sur eux la roue.
Wise kings find out [MET] which people have done what is wrong, and they punish them very severely [IDM].
27 L’âme de l’homme est une lampe de Yahweh; elle pénètre jusqu’au fond des entrailles.
Our consciences are [like] lamps that Yahweh [has given to us to enable us to know what we are thinking] [MET]; they reveal what is hidden deep in our (minds/inner beings).
28 La bonté et la fidélité gardent le roi, et il affermit son trône par la bonté.
Kings will continue to rule as long as they faithfully love their people and are loyal to them and as long as they rule righteously/fairly.
29 La force est la parure des jeunes gens, et les cheveux blancs sont l’ornement des vieillards.
We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.
30 La meurtrissure qui déchire la chair guérit le mal; de même les coups qui atteignent au fond des entrailles.
When we are beaten or whipped, it [can] cause us to quit doing what is evil in our lives; when someone wounds us [by punishing us], it [can] cause our behavior to become good.
