Proverbes 20
1 Le vin est déréglé, et l'ivresse insolente; l'insensé se laisse prendre dans leurs filets;
Drinking a lot of wine or [other] strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.
2 La menace d'un roi ne diffère point de la colère du lion; celui qui le provoque pèche contre sa propre vie.
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 un homme de se détourner des contestations; au contraire, le fou s'y laisse prendre.
[People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
4 Le paresseux, quand on le blâme, n'en a point honte; il en est de même de celui qui emprunte du blé à usure pendant la moisson.
[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 Le conseil dans le cœur de l'homme est une eau profonde; l'homme prudent y saura puiser.
[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 Un homme est une grande chose; un homme miséricordieux est un trésor; mais un homme fidèle est difficile à trouver.
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 L'homme irréprochable qui se tourne vers la justice laissera ses enfants heureux.
If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).
8 Lorsqu'un roi juste s'est assis sur son trône, nul mal ne résiste à ses regards.
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 peut se vanter d'avoir le cœur chaste? Qui osera dire: Je suis pur de tout 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 Avoir deux poids et deux mesures, et en faire usage: deux choses infâmes devant le Seigneur.
Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
11 Le jeune homme en compagnie d'un saint sera réservé dans ses mœurs, et sa voie sera droite.
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 entend, et l'œil voit; l'un et l'autre sont l'œuvre du Seigneur.
Two of the things that Yahweh has created [for us] are ears to hear things and eyes to see things.
13 Ne te plais pas à médire, si tu ne veux être chassé. 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.
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].
Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
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.
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.
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.
Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].
20 La lampe de celui qui décrie son père ou sa mère s'éteindra; les prunelles de ses yeux verront les ténèbres.
If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.
21 Le bien acquis tout d'abord à la hâte, à la fin ne sera pas béni.
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 Garde-toi de dire: Je me vengerai de mon ennemi; mais attends le Seigneur, afin qu'Il te seconde.
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 Le double poids est en abomination au Seigneur, et les fausses balances ne sont point bonnes à Ses yeux.
Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.
24 La marche d'un homme est maintenue droite par le Seigneur; car comment un mortel discernerait-il ses voies?
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 L'homme tombe dans un piège, quand il se hâte trop de consacrer ses biens; car après le vœu vient le repentir.
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 est le vanneur des impies, et il fait passer sur eux une roue.
Wise kings find out [MET] which people have done what is wrong, and they punish them very severely [IDM].
27 L'esprit de l'homme est une lumière du Seigneur, qui éclaire jusqu'au fonds 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 miséricorde et la vérité sont la garde du roi, et avec la justice elles font cercle autour de son trône.
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 L'ornement des jeunes gens c'est la sagesse; la parure des vieillards, ce sont leurs cheveux qui grisonnent.
We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.
30 Les confusions et les blessures sont le partage des méchants; ils ont des plaies jusqu'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.
