Proverbes 14
1 Les femmes sages bâtissent leurs maisons; l'insensée les détruit de ses 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 Celui qui marche droit craint le Seigneur; celui qui s'avance en des voies tortueuses sera déshonoré.
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 Une verge d'orgueil sort de la bouche des insensés; les lèvres des sages les gardent eux-mêmes.
Foolish people will be punished [MTY] for what they say, but wise [people] will be protected by what they say [MTY].
4 Où il n'y a point de bœufs, la crèche est vide; où il y a abondance de grains, la force des bœufs est manifeste.
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 Le témoin fidèle ne ment pas; le faux témoin est un brandon de mensonges.
Witnesses who are reliable [always] say what (is true/really happened), but witnesses who are not reliable constantly tell lies [about what happened].
6 Tu chercheras la sagesse parmi les méchants, et tu ne la trouveras pas; auprès des sages, le discernement est sous ta main.
Those who make fun [of being wise] will never become wise, but those who understand [what is right] learn things easily.
7 Toutes choses sont contraires à l'insensé; des lèvres sages sont l'arme de la doctrine.
Stay away from foolish people, because they will not be able to teach you anything [useful].
8 La sagesse des habiles éclaire leurs voies; l'irréflexion des insensés les conduit à l'erreur.
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 Les demeures des méchants ont besoin d'être purifiées; la maison des justes est agréable.
Foolish people make fun of their committing sins; but God is pleased with those who do what is right.
10 Le cœur de l'homme est inquiet; son âme est triste, et, lorsqu'il se réjouit, c'est qu'il ne se mêle point de honte à sa joie.
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 Les maisons des impies seront effacées; les tentes des cœurs droits resteront debout.
Houses built by wicked [people] will be destroyed, but houses built by good/righteous [people] will last for a long time.
12 Il est une voie qui aux hommes semble droite; mais elle aboutit aux abîmes de l'enfer. (questioned)
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 La tristesse ne se mêle point aux joies sages; toujours le deuil succède aux fausses joies.
[Sometimes] when people laugh, they are [really] sad, and when they stop laughing, they are still sad.
14 Le cœur audacieux s'enorgueillit de ses voies; l'homme bon se complaît en ses pensées.
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 L'ingénuité est crédule; l'expérience mène aux regrets.
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 a peur et se détourne du méchant; l'insensé, confiant en lui- même, se mêle aux pervers.
Wise people are careful and avoid [doing things that will give them] trouble; foolish people are careless and act (too quickly/without thinking).
17 L'homme irascible agit sans réflexion; l'homme sensé supporte beaucoup.
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 insensés ont le mal en partage; l'homme habile est maître de la science.
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 mauvais tomberont devant les bons; les impies seront des serviteurs aux portes des justes.
[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 On n'aime pas les amis des pauvres; mais les amis des riches sont nombreux.
[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 Mépriser les indigents, c'est pécher; avoir compassion des pauvres, c'est se ménager la plus grande joie.
It is sinful to despise your [poor] neighbors; [God] is pleased with those who do kind things for the poor.
22 Les cœurs égarés songent au mal; les bons songent à la miséricorde et à la vérité; ceux qui commettent le mal ne connaissent ni miséricorde ni vérité; les miséricordes et la fidélité sont à ceux qui font 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 homme diligent a le superflu; tout homme ami des douceurs et des plaisirs sera dans l'indigence.
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 La couronne des sages est l'activité; le travail des injustes est mauvais.
One of the rewards [MET] of being wise is to become rich; the reward of acting foolishly is to become more foolish.
25 Le témoin fidèle délivrera son âme du mal; le témoin trompeur est un brandon de mensonges.
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 Dans la crainte du Seigneur est l'espérance de la force; il laissera à ses enfants un appui.
Those who revere Yahweh are confident [that he will protect them], and their family will [also] be protected.
27 Les commandements du Seigneur sont une source de vie; ils nous font détourner 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 La gloire d'un roi est dans la multitude de la nation; son affliction, dans le petit nombre de ses sujets.
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 L'homme patient est un vrai sage; l'impatient, un insensé.
Those who do not quickly become angry are very wise; by quickly becoming angry, people show that they are foolish.
30 L'homme qui a bon cœur est le médecin de l'âme; un cœur trop sensible est un ver qui ronge les 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 Tromper l'indigent, c'est irriter son Créateur; celui qui honore Dieu a compassion du pauvre.
Those who oppress poor people are insulting God, the one who made those poor people, but acting kindly toward them is respecting God.
32 L'impie sera rejeté à cause de sa malice; l'homme ferme en sa propre sainteté est vraiment juste.
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 Dans le bon cœur d'un homme on trouve la sagesse; on ne la trouvera pas dans le cœur de l'insensé.
Those who have good sense always think what is wise; foolish people do not know anything about being wise.
34 La justice élève une nation; les péchés amoindrissent un peuple.
[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 Le serviteur prudent est agréable au prince, et par sa dextérité il évite la disgrâce.
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.
