Proverbes 20
1 Le vin est moqueur, les boissons fortes sont tumultueuses; Quiconque en fait excès 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 La terreur qu’inspire le roi est comme le rugissement d’un lion; 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 se livre à l’emportement.
[People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
4 A cause du froid, le paresseux ne laboure pas; A la moisson, il voudrait récolter, mais il n’y a 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 Les desseins dans le cœur de l’homme sont des eaux profondes, Mais l’homme intelligent sait y 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 Beaucoup de gens proclament 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 Deux sortes de poids, deux sortes d’épha, Sont l’un et l’autre en abomination à l’Éternel.
Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
11 L’enfant laisse déjà voir par ses actions Si sa conduite sera pure et 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 qui entend, et l’œil qui voit, C’est l’Éternel 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, de peur que tu ne deviennes pauvre; Ouvre les yeux, tu seras rassasié 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 savantes sont un objet précieux.
Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
16 Prends son vêtement, car il a cautionné 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 du mensonge est doux à l’homme, Et plus tard 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; Fais 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 répand la calomnie dévoile les secrets; Ne te mêle pas avec celui qui ouvre ses lèvres.
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 milieu des ténèbres.
If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.
21 Un héritage promptement acquis dès l’origine Ne sera pas béni quand viendra 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 l’Éternel, 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 L’Éternel a en horreur deux sortes de poids, 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 l’Éternel qui dirige les pas de l’homme, Mais 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 que de prendre à la légère un engagement sacré, Et de ne réfléchir qu’après avoir fait un vœu.
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 Le souffle de l’homme est une lampe de l’Éternel; Il 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 soutient 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 gloire 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 Les plaies d’une blessure sont un remède pour le méchant; De même les coups qui pénètrent 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.
