Proverbes 6
1 Mon fils, si tu as cautionné ton prochain, Si tu t’es engagé pour autrui,
My son, if someone has borrowed money from a friend or a stranger, and if you have promised that you will pay the money back if that person is unable to pay back the money he borrowed,
2 Si tu es enlacé par les paroles de ta bouche, Si tu es pris par les paroles de ta bouche,
you may be trapped by what you have agreed to do, [because if the one who borrowed the money is not able to pay it back, you will have to pay it]. What you have said that you will do will be like a snare to you.
3 Fais donc ceci, mon fils, dégage-toi, Puisque tu es tombé au pouvoir de ton prochain; Va, prosterne-toi, et fais des instances auprès de lui;
So, my son, I will tell you what you should do to escape from your difficulty, so that the moneylender does not get control over your [wealth: ] Humbly go to your friend and plead with him [to cancel the agreement]!
4 Ne donne ni sommeil à tes yeux, Ni assoupissement à tes paupières;
Do not wait until tomorrow; [go immediately]! Do not rest until you [go and talk with him].
5 Dégage-toi comme la gazelle de la main du chasseur, Comme l’oiseau de la main de l’oiseleur.
Save yourself, like a deer that escapes from a deer hunter [or] like a bird that flees from a bird hunter.
6 Va vers la fourmi, paresseux; Considère ses voies, et deviens sage.
You lazy individual, learn something from [watching] the ants. Become wise from observing what they do.
7 Elle n’a ni chef, Ni inspecteur, ni maître;
They do not have a king or a governor or any [other] person who rules them [and forces them to work],
8 Elle prépare en été sa nourriture, Elle amasse pendant la moisson de quoi manger.
[but] they work hard [all] during the summer, gathering and storing food to eat during the winter.
9 Paresseux, jusqu’à quand seras-tu couché? Quand te lèveras-tu de ton sommeil?
[But], you lazy loafer, how long will you [continue to] sleep [RHQ]? Are you never going to get up from sleeping [and go to work]?
10 Un peu de sommeil, un peu d’assoupissement, Un peu croiser les mains pour dormir!…
You sleep a for a little time; [you say, “I will take] just a short nap.” You lie down and fold/lay your hands [across your chest] and rest;
11 Et la pauvreté te surprendra, comme un rôdeur, Et la disette, comme un homme en armes.
and suddenly you will become poor. It will be as though a bandit suddenly comes and takes all that you have.
12 L’homme pervers, l’homme inique, Marche la fausseté dans la bouche;
[I will describe for you what] worthless and evil people [are like]. They constantly lie;
13 Il cligne des yeux, parle du pied, Fait des signes avec les doigts;
by winking their eyes and moving their feet and making signs with their fingers, they signal [to their friends what they are intending/planning to do].
14 La perversité est dans son cœur, Il médite le mal en tout temps, Il excite des querelles.
They plan to do evil things. They constantly cause strife/trouble.
15 Aussi sa ruine arrivera-t-elle subitement; Il sera brisé tout d’un coup, et sans remède.
But disasters will hit them suddenly; they will be crushed/ruined and nothing will be able to heal them.
16 Il y a six choses que hait l’Éternel, Et même sept qu’il a en horreur;
There are six, [maybe] seven, kinds of people that Yahweh hates. [They are]:
17 Les yeux hautains, la langue menteuse, Les mains qui répandent le sang innocent,
People who show by their eyes that they are very proud; people who lie [MTY]; people [SYN] who kill others [SYN] who have done nothing wrong;
18 Le cœur qui médite des projets iniques, Les pieds qui se hâtent de courir au mal,
people who plan to do evil deeds; people [SYN] who run quickly to do wrong things;
19 Le faux témoin qui dit des mensonges, Et celui qui excite des querelles entre frères.
people who easily tell lies in court; and people who cause strife between family members.
20 Mon fils, garde les préceptes de ton père, Et ne rejette pas l’enseignement de ta mère.
My son, obey my commands, and do not ignore what your mother has taught you.
21 Lie-les constamment sur ton cœur, Attache-les à ton cou.
Remember the things that we have said. Those things should be [like a beautiful necklace] around your neck.
22 Ils te dirigeront dans ta marche, Ils te garderont sur ta couche, Ils te parleront à ton réveil.
[If you follow our advice, it will be as though] what we have taught you [PRS] will lead you, wherever you go. When you sleep, they will protect you. And when you wake up in the morning, they will teach/instruct you.
23 Car le précepte est une lampe, et l’enseignement une lumière, Et les avertissements de la correction sont le chemin de la vie:
These commands and what we teach you [will be like] a lamp to light your path [MET]. When we rebuke you and correct/punish you, we will be showing you the road to having [a good] life.
24 Ils te préserveront de la femme corrompue, De la langue doucereuse de l’étrangère.
Heeding [PRS] these commands and things that we have taught you will enable you to keep away from immoral women and from [listening to] the enticing words of an adulterous woman.
25 Ne la convoite pas dans ton cœur pour sa beauté, Et ne te laisse pas séduire par ses paupières.
[Even] if such a woman is beautiful and has lovely eyes, do not desire to go with her. Do not let her persuade you to go with her (with her eyes/by the way she looks at you).
26 Car pour la femme prostituée on se réduit à un morceau de pain, Et la femme mariée tend un piège à la vie précieuse.
[Do not forget that] you can hire a prostitute for only a loaf of bread, but [if you sleep with] another man’s wife, (it may cost you/you may lose) your life.
27 Quelqu’un mettra-t-il du feu dans son sein, Sans que ses vêtements s’enflamment?
Can you carry hot coals in your pocket and not be burned [RHQ]?
28 Quelqu’un marchera-t-il sur des charbons ardents, Sans que ses pieds soient brûlés?
Can you walk on burning coals and not scorch/burn your feet?
29 Il en est de même pour celui qui va vers la femme de son prochain: Quiconque la touche ne restera pas impuni.
[No]! And in the same way, anyone who (sleeps with/has sex with) another man’s wife will [suffer for doing that]. [He will certainly] [LIT] be punished severely.
30 On ne tient pas pour innocent le voleur qui dérobe Pour satisfaire son appétit, quand il a faim;
We do not despise a thief if he steals some food because he is very hungry.
31 Si on le trouve, il fera une restitution au septuple, Il donnera tout ce qu’il a dans sa maison.
But [if he steals something and then] is caught [by the police], he will have to pay back (seven times as much as/much more than) he stole. He may need to sell everything that is in his house [to get enough money to pay it back].
32 Mais celui qui commet un adultère avec une femme est dépourvu de sens, Celui qui veut se perdre agit de la sorte;
[But] a man who commits adultery with some woman is very foolish, [because] he is destroying his own self/soul [by what he is doing].
33 Il n’aura que plaie et ignominie, Et son opprobre ne s’effacera point.
[That woman’s husband] will wound him badly, and [other people] will despise him. His shame will never end.
34 Car la jalousie met un homme en fureur, Et il est sans pitié au jour de la vengeance;
Because that woman’s husband will (be jealous/not want anyone else to sleep with her), he will become furious, and when he gets revenge, he will not act mercifully [toward the man who slept with his wife].
35 Il n’a égard à aucune rançon, Et il est inflexible, quand même tu multiplierais les dons.
And he will not accept any bribe/money, even if it is a big bribe, to (appease him/cause him to stop being angry).
