Proverbes 24
1 N’envie pas les hommes qui font le mal, et ne désire pas d’être avec eux,
Do not envy evil people; do not desire to associate with them,
2 car leur cœur médite la destruction, et leurs lèvres parlent de tourment.
because they are [constantly] thinking about acting violently, and whenever they speak [MTY], they talk about (causing trouble/hurting someone).
3 Par la sagesse la maison est bâtie, et elle est établie par l’intelligence;
People make good houses (OR, families) by doing what is wise, and they make their houses (OR, families) strong by [heeding] good advice.
4 et par la connaissance les chambres sont remplies de tous les biens précieux et agréables.
By using good sense, [they are able to buy] valuable and beautiful things and put them in the rooms of their houses.
5 L’homme sage a de la force, et l’homme de connaissance affermit sa puissance;
Being wise is better than being strong/powerful; those who know [many things can accomplish more] than those who are [very] strong.
6 car sous une [sage] direction tu feras ta guerre, et le salut est dans le grand nombre des conseillers.
Leaders can fight battles if they have wise advisors, and they win those battles if they have many good advisors.
7 La sagesse est trop haute pour le fou, il n’ouvrira pas la bouche dans la porte.
Foolish people cannot understand wise sayings/talk; at public meetings they are not [able to] say anything [that is useful].
8 Celui qui pense à mal faire, on l’appellera intrigant.
Those who are [always] planning to do evil things will be called troublemakers.
9 Le plan de la folie est péché, et le moqueur est en abomination aux hommes.
It is sinful to plan to do foolish things, and people hate those who make fun of [everything that is good].
10 Si tu perds courage au jour de la détresse, ta force est mince.
If you [act as though] you are helpless when you have troubles, you are [truly very] weak.
11 Délivre ceux qui sont menés à la mort, et ne te retire pas de ceux qui chancellent vers une mort violente.
[If it is unjustly decided] that someone must be executed, [try hard to] rescue them [DOU].
12 Si tu dis: Voici, nous n’en savions rien; celui qui pèse les cœurs, lui ne le considérera-t-il pas? et celui qui garde ton âme, lui le sait; et il rend à l’homme selon son œuvre.
If you say, “I did not know anything about it, [so (it is not my concern/I did not try to help him)],” remember that God knows what we have done, and he knows what we were thinking [IDM, RHQ], and he will certainly [RHQ] repay us as we deserve for what we have done or for not doing what we should have done.
13 Mon fils, mange du miel, car il est bon; et un rayon de miel est doux à ton palais.
My child/son, eat honey, because it is good [for you]; the honey that drips from honeycombs tastes [very] sweet.
14 Ainsi connais pour ton âme la sagesse: si tu l’as trouvée, il y a un avenir, et ton attente ne sera point réduite à néant.
Similarly, being wise is good for your soul; if you become wise, you will be [happy in] the future, and [God] will certainly [do for you what you are] confidently expecting him to do [LIT].
15 Méchant, ne mets pas des embûches contre l’habitation du juste, ne dévaste pas son gîte.
Do not be like wicked people who [hide and] wait to break into the houses of righteous/good [people] and rob/steal things.
16 Car le juste tombe sept fois, et se relève; mais les méchants trébuchent [pour tomber] dans le malheur.
[Even if] good people fall down seven/many times, they [always] stand/get up again, but when a disaster happens to wicked [people], it ruins/destroys them.
17 Si ton ennemi tombe, ne te réjouis pas; et s’il trébuche, que ton cœur ne s’égaie pas;
Do not be happy when something bad happens to one of your enemies; do not rejoice when he stumbles and falls,
18 de peur que l’Éternel ne le voie, et que cela ne soit mauvais à ses yeux, et qu’il ne détourne de dessus lui sa colère.
because Yahweh will know what you are thinking, and he will not like it, and [as a result] he will not punish that enemy of yours.
19 Ne t’irrite pas à cause de ceux qui font le mal, n’envie pas les méchants;
Do not become angry/upset about those who do what is evil, and do not [SYN] envy them,
20 car il n’y a pas d’avenir pour l’inique: la lampe des méchants s’éteindra.
because [nothing good] will happen to wicked people; they are [like] a lamp that will soon be extinguished [MET].
21 Mon fils, crains l’Éternel et le roi; ne te mêle pas avec les gens remuants,
My child/son, revere Yahweh and [also] honor the king, and do not associate with people who want to rebel against either of them,
22 car leur calamité surgira tout à coup; et qui sait la ruine des uns et des autres?
because those people will suddenly experience disasters; and no one knows [RHQ] what great disasters that God or the king can cause to happen to them.
23 Ces choses aussi viennent des sages: Faire acception des personnes dans le jugement n’est pas bien.
Here are more things that wise [people] have said: It is wrong for judges to decide matters unfairly [IDM].
24 Celui qui dit au méchant: Tu es juste, les peuples le maudiront, les peuplades seront indignées contre lui;
If they say to people who are guilty, “You (are innocent/have not done something that is wrong),” [even] people in other nations will curse and despise them,
25 mais ceux qui le reprennent seront agréables, et une bénédiction de bien viendra sur eux.
but if judges say that guilty people must be punished, things will go well for those judges, and (they will receive blessings/God will bless them).
26 Celui qui répond des paroles justes embrasse les lèvres.
Those who answer others honestly show that they are truly their friends [IDM].
27 Prépare ton ouvrage au-dehors, et mets en état ton champ, et après, bâtis ta maison.
First, do the work [that needs to be done] outside [your house], and prepare your fields, [and then plant things], and after you finish doing that, build your house.
28 Ne sois pas témoin, sans motif, contre ton prochain; voudrais-tu donc tromper de tes lèvres?
[In the courtroom] do not testify against someone when you have no reason to do that, and do not [try to] deceive [people] by what you say [MTY].
29 Ne dis pas: Comme il m’a fait, je lui ferai; je rendrai à l’homme selon son œuvre.
Do not say, “I will do to him what he did to me; I will pay him back for [the bad things that] he did to me.”
30 J’ai passé près du champ de l’homme paresseux et près de la vigne de l’homme dépourvu de sens,
One day I walked by the vineyards of a lazy man, a man who did not have good sense.
31 et voici, tout y était monté en chardons; les orties en avaient couvert la surface, et sa clôture de pierres était démolie.
I was surprised to see that the fields were full of all kinds of thorny bushes, and the stone wall [around the garden] had (collapsed/fallen down).
32 Et je regardai, j’y appliquai mon cœur; je vis, [et] je reçus instruction.
When I saw that, I thought about it, and I learned this:
33 Un peu de sommeil, un peu d’assoupissement, un peu croiser les mains pour dormir…,
[If you spend a lot of time] sleeping and napping and folding your hands while you rest,
34 et ta pauvreté viendra [comme] un voyageur, et ton dénuement comme un homme armé.
[soon] you will become poor; [it will be as though] [PRS, SIM] a bandit who had a weapon in his hand [attacked you and stole all that you had].
