Proverbes 20
1 C’est une chose luxurieuse que le vin; et l’ivresse est tumultueuse: quiconque y met son plaisir ne sera pas sage.
Drinking a lot of wine or [other] strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.
2 Comme le rugissement du lion, ainsi est la terreur du roi: celui qui le provoque pèche contre son âme.
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 un honneur pour l’homme, de se séparer des contestations; mais tous les insensés s’immiscent dans des affaires ignominieuses.
[People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
4 À cause du froid, le paresseux n’a pas voulu labourer; il mendiera donc pendant l’été, et il ne lui sera rien donné.
[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 Comme une eau profonde, ainsi est le conseil dans le cœur de l’homme; mais l’homme sage l’épuisera.
[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 d’hommes sont appelés miséricordieux; 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 qui marche dans sa simplicité laissera après lui des enfants bienheureux.
If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).
8 Le roi qui est assis sur le trône de la justice dissipe tout le 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 peut dire: Mon cœur est pur, je suis pur de 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 Un poids et un poids, une mesure et une mesure, l’un et l’autre sont abominables auprès de Dieu.
Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
11 Par ses inclinations un enfant est connu: si ses œuvres sont pures et droites.
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, le Seigneur a fait 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 la détresse ne t’accable; 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.
14 C’est mauvais, c’est mauvais, dit tout acheteur; et après qu’il se sera retiré, alors il se glorifiera.
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 une multitude de pierreries; mais c’est un vase précieux que les lèvres savantes.
Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
16 Prends le vêtement de celui qui s’est fait caution pour un étranger; et parce qu’il a répondu pour des étrangers, emporte un gage de lui.
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 Un pain de mensonge est doux à l’homme; mais, ensuite, sa bouche sera 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 pensées s’affermissent par les conseils, et c’est par de sages directions que doivent être conduites les guerres.
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 Quant à celui qui révèle les secrets, qui marche frauduleusement, et qui dilate ses lèvres, ne te lie pas avec lui.
Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].
20 Celui qui 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 L’héritage vers lequel on se précipite dès le premier instant sera à la fin privé de bénédiction.
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 point: Je rendrai le mal; attends le Seigneur, 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 C’est une abomination auprès du Seigneur, qu’un poids et un poids: la balance trompeuse n’est pas bonne.
Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.
24 Par le Seigneur sont dirigés les pas de l’homme; mais qui des hommes peut 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 une ruine pour l’homme de dévorer les saints, et après des vœux, de se rétracter.
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 impies, et courbe sur eux un arc de triomphe.
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 du Seigneur, laquelle découvre les parties intimes du corps.
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 gardent le roi, et par la clémence est affermi 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 La joie des jeunes hommes, c’est leur force; et la dignité des vieillards, les cheveux blancs.
We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.
30 La lividité d’une blessure fera disparaître le mal; et les plaies dans les parties les plus intimes du corps le feront disparaître aussi.
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.
