Proverbes 14
1 La sagesse des femmes édifie la maison; leur folie la renverse de ses propres mains.
Wise women [PRS] hold their families together [by the wise things that they do], but foolish women ruin their families by the foolish things that they do.
2 Qui craint l’Eternel va droit son chemin; qui le méprise suit des voies obliques.
By [continually] behaving/acting righteously, [people show that they] greatly revere Yahweh; those who (walk on crooked paths/always deceive others) [show that they] despise him.
3 Dans la bouche de l’insensé éclôt l’orgueil; mais les lèvres des sages les en préservent.
Foolish people will be punished [MTY] for what they say, but wise [people] will be protected by what they say [MTY].
4 Faute de bétail, le râtelier reste vide; c’est la vigueur du bœuf qui produit les riches moissons.
If [a man has] no oxen [to plow his field], he does not [need to put] grain [in their feedbox], but if [he has] oxen, they will enable [him to produce] an abundant crop.
5 Un témoin loyal ne ment pas; un témoin mensonger n’exhale que faussetés.
Witnesses who are reliable [always] say what (is true/really happened), but witnesses who are not reliable constantly tell lies [about what happened].
6 Le persifleur recherche la sagesse: elle lui échappe; mais le savoir est facilement abordable à l’homme intelligent.
Those who make fun [of being wise] will never become wise, but those who understand [what is right] learn things easily.
7 Quand tu te sépareras d’un homme sot, tu n’auras pas appris ce que c’est que des lèvres raisonnables.
Stay away from foolish people, because they will not be able to teach you anything [useful].
8 C’Est une sagesse chez l’homme prudent de bien discerner sa voie; la sottise des fous est une cause de tromperie.
Those who have good sense are wise, so they know what they should do [and what they should not do]; foolish people do not know what is right to do, but because they think that they do, they are deceiving themselves.
9 Le péché se joue des insensés; parmi les hommes droits règne le contentement.
Foolish people make fun of their committing sins; but God is pleased with those who do what is right.
10 Le cœur seul sent l’amertume qui l’envahit; de même ses joies, l’étranger n’y est pour rien.
If you are very sad or if you are joyful, only you know what you are experiencing; no one else [can] know what you are feeling.
11 La maison des méchants sera ruinée; la tente des hommes droits est florissante.
Houses built by wicked [people] will be destroyed, but houses built by good/righteous [people] will last for a long time.
12 Tel chemin se présente tout uni devant l’homme et, finalement, il conduit à la mort.
There are some kinds of behavior [MET] that [some] people [falsely] think are right, but (walking on those roads/continually doing those things) causes [those people] to die.
13 Même dans le rire le cœur peut souffrir, et la joie elle-même finit en tristesse.
[Sometimes] when people laugh, they are [really] sad, and when they stop laughing, they are still sad.
14 Un cœur dévoyé recueille le fruit de sa conduite; et l’homme de bien trouve sa satisfaction en lui-même.
Those who stubbornly continue to do what is wrong will get what they deserve, and those who continually do what is good will [also] get what they deserve.
15 Le niais croit tout; l’homme réfléchi considère chacun de ses pas.
Foolish people believe everything [that people tell them]; those who have good sense think carefully about what will be the result of their actions.
16 Le sage est craintif et évite le mal; le sot se laisse entraîner et se croit en sûreté.
Wise people are careful and avoid [doing things that will give them] trouble; foolish people are careless and act (too quickly/without thinking).
17 Un homme prompt à la colère fait des sottises; l’homme fertile en roueries s’attire la haine.
Those who quickly become angry [IDM] do foolish things; [people] hate those who plan to do wicked things (OR, those who have good sense remain calm/patient).
18 Les niais ont en partage la sottise; la raison est la couronne des gens avisés.
Foolish people get what they deserve for doing foolish things; those with good sense are rewarded [MET] by being able to learn a lot.
19 Les méchants baissent la tête devant les bons; et les impies se tiennent à la porte du juste.
[Some day] evil [people] will bow down in front of righteous [people to show that they respect them]; they [will humbly stand] at the gates of [the houses of] righteous [people and request their help].
20 Même pour son intime le pauvre est un objet d’antipathie; mais nombreux sont les amis du riche.
[No one likes] poor [people]; even their friends/neighbors do not like them; rich [people] have many friends, but [only while the rich people still have money].
21 Qui méprise son prochain est fautif; mais heureux qui prend pitié des humbles!
It is sinful to despise your [poor] neighbors; [God] is pleased with those who do kind things for the poor.
22 Certes, ils font fausse route, ceux qui machinent le mal; amour et bienveillance récompensent ceux qui méditent le bien.
Those who plan to do things that are evil/wrong are walking on the wrong road; people faithfully love, respect and are loyal to those who plan to do what is good.
23 Tout effort sérieux donne du profit; les vaines paroles ne causent que des pertes.
If you work hard, you will (accomplish something good/get a good income), but if all you do is to talk [and not work], you will remain poor.
24 Pour les sages la richesse est une couronne; la folie des sots reste toujours folie.
One of the rewards [MET] of being wise is to become rich; the reward of acting foolishly is to become more foolish.
25 Un témoin véridique sauve des existences; un témoin déloyal débite des faussetés.
By saying [in court] what is true, you [can] save the life [of the one who is being falsely accused]; if you tell lies, you are abandoning someone who needs your help [to defend him].
26 La crainte de l’Eternel vaut une place forte; on en fait un abri pour ses enfants.
Those who revere Yahweh are confident [that he will protect them], and their family will [also] be protected.
27 La crainte de l’Eternel est une source de vie; elle éloigne des pièges de la mort.
Having an awesome respect for Yahweh is [like] [MET] [having] a fountain that gives life; it will help you to escape when something dangerous is threatening to kill you [MET].
28 Quand la nation s’accroit, c’est une gloire pour le roi; quand la population vient à manquer, c’est une ruine pour le prince.
If a king rules over many people, many people will [be able to] honor him; if he has only a few people in his kingdom, he will have very little [HYP] power.
29 Etre longanime, c’est faire preuve de grande intelligence; se montrer irascible, c’est mettre en relief sa sottise.
Those who do not quickly become angry are very wise; by quickly becoming angry, people show that they are foolish.
30 Un cœur paisible est un gage de vie pour le corps mais la jalousie est la carie des os.
Having a mind that is peaceful results in having a healthy body; having a mind that is [often] in turmoil is [like] [MET] cancer in [a person’s] bones.
31 Qui opprime le pauvre outrage son Créateur; qui a pitié de l’indigent l’honore.
Those who oppress poor people are insulting God, the one who made those poor people, but acting kindly toward them is respecting God.
32 Le méchant est accablé par son malheur; le juste a confiance jusque dans la mort.
Wicked [people] ruin themselves by the evil things that they do, but righteous/good [people] are kept safe/protected even when they die (OR, because of their continually doing what is right).
33 La sagesse réside dans un cœur intelligent; elle se fait remarquer parmi les sots.
Those who have good sense always think what is wise; foolish people do not know anything about being wise.
34 La justice grandit une nation; le crime est l’opprobre des peuples.
[When] the people of a nation [continually act] righteously, it causes that nation to be great; [continually doing what is] evil causes a nation to be disgraced.
35 La faveur du roi va au serviteur intelligent; celui qui agit sans vergogne est l’objet de sa colère.
Kings are pleased with officials who do their work competently/skillfully, but they punish [MTY] those who [do their work in a manner that] causes the kings to be disgraced.
