Pwovèb 24
1 Pa anvye sò mechan yo. Pa chache fè zanmi ak yo.
Do not envy evil people; do not desire to associate with them,
2 Yon sèl bagay ki nan tèt yo, se fè mechanste. Yon sèl pawòl ki nan bouch yo, se fè moun mal.
because they are [constantly] thinking about acting violently, and whenever they speak [MTY], they talk about (causing trouble/hurting someone).
3 Bon konprann ap fè kay ou kanpe. Bon konesans ap fè l' kanpe fèm.
People make good houses (OR, families) by doing what is wise, and they make their houses (OR, families) strong by [heeding] good advice.
4 Kote ki gen konesans, pyès kay yo plen ak bon bagay ki koute chè.
By using good sense, [they are able to buy] valuable and beautiful things and put them in the rooms of their houses.
5 Pito ou gen bon konprann pase ou gen fòs. Wi, moun ki gen konesans vo plis pase moun ki gwonèg.
Being wise is better than being strong/powerful; those who know [many things can accomplish more] than those who are [very] strong.
6 Paske, se pou ou ranje plan ou anvan ou antre nan batay. Plis ou gen moun k'ap ba ou konsèy, plis ou gen chans pou ou genyen batay la.
Leaders can fight battles if they have wise advisors, and they win those battles if they have many good advisors.
7 Pawòl moun konprann twò wo pou moun san konprann. Yo pa gen anyen pou yo di kote koze serye ap pale.
Foolish people cannot understand wise sayings/talk; at public meetings they are not [able to] say anything [that is useful].
8 Lè yon moun tout tan ap kalkile jan pou l' fè sa ki mal, y'ap rele l' malveyan.
Those who are [always] planning to do evil things will be called troublemakers.
9 Tou sa moun san konprann gen lide fè, se fè sa ki mal. Konsa tou, moun pa vle wè moun k'ap plede pase moun nan betiz.
It is sinful to plan to do foolish things, and people hate those who make fun of [everything that is good].
10 Si jou malè ou pa gen kouraj pou kenbe, ou pa t' janm gen fòs vre.
If you [act as though] you are helpless when you have troubles, you are [truly very] weak.
11 Delivre moun y'ap trennen pou y' al touye. Sove moun y'ap bourade pou y' al egzekite.
[If it is unjustly decided] that someone must be executed, [try hard to] rescue them [DOU].
12 Si ou pran pòz ou pa t' konn sa, chonje Bondye. Li menm k'ap jije sa ki nan kè moun, l'ap wè sa. Li menm k'ap veye tou sa w'ap fè, l'ap konn sa. L'ap fè tout moun peye pou sa yo fè.
If you say, “I did not know anything about it, [so (it is not my concern/I did not try to help him)],” remember that God knows what we have done, and he knows what we were thinking [IDM, RHQ], and he will certainly [RHQ] repay us as we deserve for what we have done or for not doing what we should have done.
13 Pitit mwen, bwè siwo myèl, sa bon pou ou. Menm jan siwo myèl k'ap koule soti nan gato myèl dous nan bouch ou,
My child/son, eat honey, because it is good [for you]; the honey that drips from honeycombs tastes [very] sweet.
14 se konsa konesans ak bon konprann bon pou nanm ou. Si ou genyen yo, w'a fè chemen ou nan lavi. Sa w'ap tann lan, lavalas p'ap pote l' ale.
Similarly, being wise is good for your soul; if you become wise, you will be [happy in] the future, and [God] will certainly [do for you what you are] confidently expecting him to do [LIT].
15 Pa janm fè plan tankou mechan yo pou chache fofile kò ou anndan kay moun k'ap mache dwat. Pa chache devalize kote l' rete a.
Do not be like wicked people who [hide and] wait to break into the houses of righteous/good [people] and rob/steal things.
16 Paske, moun k'ap mache dwat yo te mèt tonbe sèt fwa. Pa pè, y'ap toujou leve ankò. Men, nan mechanste yo, mechan yo ap tonbe, yo p'ap ka leve ankò.
[Even if] good people fall down seven/many times, they [always] stand/get up again, but when a disaster happens to wicked [people], it ruins/destroys them.
17 Pa prese fè kè ou kontan lè malè rive lènmi ou. Pa kouri fè fèt lè li bite.
Do not be happy when something bad happens to one of your enemies; do not rejoice when he stumbles and falls,
18 Seyè a ap wè sa. Sa p'ap fè l' plezi. Li ka rive pa pini l' poutèt sa.
because Yahweh will know what you are thinking, and he will not like it, and [as a result] he will not punish that enemy of yours.
19 Pa kite moun k'ap fè sa ki mal fè ou pèdi tèt ou. Pa anvye sò mechan yo.
Do not become angry/upset about those who do what is evil, and do not [SYN] envy them,
20 Paske mechan yo pa pral lwen. Lavi yo tankou yon lanp k'ap mouri.
because [nothing good] will happen to wicked people; they are [like] a lamp that will soon be extinguished [MET].
21 Pitit mwen, gen krentif pou Seyè a. Respekte wa a. Ou pa gen anyen pou ou wè ak moun k'ap kenbe tèt ak yo.
My child/son, revere Yahweh and [also] honor the king, and do not associate with people who want to rebel against either of them,
22 Moun sa yo ap rete konsa, malè ap tonbe sou yo. Ou pa janm konnen ki kalite malè Seyè a osinon wa a ka fè rive sou ou.
because those people will suddenly experience disasters; and no one knows [RHQ] what great disasters that God or the king can cause to happen to them.
23 Men lòt pawòl moun ki gen bon konprann yo te di ankò. Sa pa bon pou yon jij gade sou figi moun lè l'ap rann jijman.
Here are more things that wise [people] have said: It is wrong for judges to decide matters unfairly [IDM].
24 Lè yon jij di yon moun ki fè sa ki mal: Se ou ki gen rezon, jij sa a, tout moun gen pou madichonnen l'. Y'ap rayi l' toupatou sou latè.
If they say to people who are guilty, “You (are innocent/have not done something that is wrong),” [even] people in other nations will curse and despise them,
25 Men, jij ki pini moun ki antò a va gen kè kontan. Bondye va beni l'. Tout zafè l' va mache byen.
but if judges say that guilty people must be punished, things will go well for those judges, and (they will receive blessings/God will bless them).
26 Lè ou bay yon bon repons, ou aji tankou yon bon zanmi.
Those who answer others honestly show that they are truly their friends [IDM].
27 Regle tout zafè ou. Mete jaden ou anfòm. Apre sa, ou mèt tabli.
First, do the work [that needs to be done] outside [your house], and prepare your fields, [and then plant things], and after you finish doing that, build your house.
28 Pa leve pale sou do frè parèy ou san rezon. Pa bay manti sou li.
[In the courtroom] do not testify against someone when you have no reason to do that, and do not [try to] deceive [people] by what you say [MTY].
29 Pa janm di li fè m', m'ap fè l' tou. M'ap fè l' peye sa li fè a.
Do not say, “I will do to him what he did to me; I will pay him back for [the bad things that] he did to me.”
30 Mwen pase bò jaden yon nonm parese, bò jaden rezen yon moun ki san konprann.
One day I walked by the vineyards of a lazy man, a man who did not have good sense.
31 Pikan te fin pran jaden an nèt. Move zèb t'ap pouse toupatou. Lantouraj jaden yo te fin tonbe.
I was surprised to see that the fields were full of all kinds of thorny bushes, and the stone wall [around the garden] had (collapsed/fallen down).
32 Lè mwen wè sa, mwen kalkile. Mwen gade, sa ban m' yon leson.
When I saw that, I thought about it, and I learned this:
33 Dòmi, kabicha, kouche sou do, kwaze men ou dèyè tèt ou... Se bon!
[If you spend a lot of time] sleeping and napping and folding your hands while you rest,
34 W'ap rete konsa, w'ap wè ou pòv. Mizè ap tonbe sou ou tankou yon ansasen san ou pa atann.
[soon] you will become poor; [it will be as though] [PRS, SIM] a bandit who had a weapon in his hand [attacked you and stole all that you had].
