Pwovèb 6
1 Pitit mwen, si ou pwomèt pou ou reskonsab dèt yon zanmi ou fè, si ou bay pawòl ou pou lajan yon lòt moun prete,
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 yo pran pawòl ki soti nan bouch ou pou mele ou, si pwomès ou te fè yo tounen yon pèlen pou ou,
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 ay, pitit mwen! men sa pou ou fè pou ou wete tèt ou nan traka sa a. Kouri al jwenn zanmi ou lan, kenbe l' kout.
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 Pa dòmi sou sa. Pa kite sa trennen.
Do not wait until tomorrow; [go immediately]! Do not rest until you [go and talk with him].
5 Degaje ou chape kò ou anba men l', tankou kabrit k'ap chape kò l' anba men kaptè, tankou zwazo k'ap bat pou l' sove nan men chasè.
Save yourself, like a deer that escapes from a deer hunter [or] like a bird that flees from a bird hunter.
6 Ou menm parese, al pran leson nan men foumi yo. Ale wè jan y'ap viv pou ou manyè konprann lavi.
You lazy individual, learn something from [watching] the ants. Become wise from observing what they do.
7 Yo pa bezwen moun pou di yo sa pou yo fè. Yo pa bezwen moun pou veye yo, ni pou ba yo lòd.
They do not have a king or a governor or any [other] person who rules them [and forces them to work],
8 Men, yo pase mwa chalè ap fè pwovizyon. Nan tan rekòt, yo ranmase manje mete la.
[but] they work hard [all] during the summer, gathering and storing food to eat during the winter.
9 Parese, kilè w'a sispann pase tout jounen ou kouche sou do? Kilè w'a souke kò ou leve sot nan dòmi?
[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 W'ap di: Kite m' fè yon ti dòmi. Kite m' fè yon ti kabicha non. M'ap lonje kò m' pou m' pran yon ti repo.
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 Antan w'ap dòmi an, san ou pa konnen, se pòv w'ap vin pi pòv. Grangou ap tonbe sou ou tankou yon vòlè nan gran chemen.
and suddenly you will become poor. It will be as though a bandit suddenly comes and takes all that you have.
12 Mechan yo fin deprave. Y'ap mache bay manti toupatou.
[I will describe for you what] worthless and evil people [are like]. They constantly lie;
13 Y'ap twenzi je yo sou moun, y'ap peze gwo zòtèy yo atè. Y'ap fè siy ak dwèt yo.
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 Se move lide ase ki nan kè yo, yo toujou sou plan. Kote yo pase y'ap pouse dife.
They plan to do evil things. They constantly cause strife/trouble.
15 Se poutèt sa, y'ap rete konsa y'ap fini, y'ap glise tonbe san yo p'ap ka leve ankò.
But disasters will hit them suddenly; they will be crushed/ruined and nothing will be able to heal them.
16 Gen sis bagay Seyè a pa vle wè. Sa m'ap di la a: Gen menm sèt bagay li pa ka sipòte:
There are six, [maybe] seven, kinds of people that Yahweh hates. [They are]:
17 Se moun k'ap gonfle lestonmak yo sou moun, se moun k'ap bay manti, se moun k'ap touye moun inonsan,
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 se moun k'ap fè move lide nan tèt yo pou fè mechanste, se moun ki toujou pare pou fè sa ki mal,
people who plan to do evil deeds; people [SYN] who run quickly to do wrong things;
19 se fo temwen k'ap bay manti sou moun, se moun k'ap mete frè ak zanmi dozado.
people who easily tell lies in court; and people who cause strife between family members.
20 Pitit mwen, toujou fè sa papa ou di ou fè. Pa janm bliye sa manman ou te moutre ou.
My son, obey my commands, and do not ignore what your mother has taught you.
21 Kenbe pawòl yo nan kè ou, pa janm bliye yo. Mete yo nan kou ou tankou yon kolye.
Remember the things that we have said. Those things should be [like a beautiful necklace] around your neck.
22 Pawòl sa yo va moutre ou bon chemen nan tou sa w'ap fè. Y'ap pwoteje ou lè w'ap dòmi lannwit. Y'a ba ou konsèy lè je ou klè.
[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 Pawòl sa yo ap tankou yon lanp pou ou. Sa yo moutre ou ap tankou yon limyè nan lavi ou. Lè y'ap korije ou, lè y'ap rale zòrèy ou, se moutre y'ap moutre ou chemen lavi.
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 Y'ap fè ou rete lwen fanm k'ap twonpe mari yo, pou ou pa pran nan pawòl dous madan marye ki nan dezòd.
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 Yo te mèt bèl kou yo bèl, pa kite yo pran tèt ou. Pa kite yo pran tèt ou lè y'ap fè je dou ba ou.
[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 Yon jennès ka koute yon kraze kòb. Men, yon fanm adiltè dèyè pou l' pran tou sa ou genyen.
[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 Ou pa ka sere dife anndan rad sou ou pou rad la pa boule.
Can you carry hot coals in your pocket and not be burned [RHQ]?
28 Ou pa ka mache sou chabon dife pou pye ou pa boule.
Can you walk on burning coals and not scorch/burn your feet?
29 Konsa tou, se yon gwo danje pou ou kouri dèyè fanm yon lòt gason. Depi ou manyen yon fanm konsa, ou gen pou ou peye pou sa.
[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 Menm lè yon vòlò vòlò paske li grangou, se pa sa ki di li pa vòlò pou sa.
We do not despise a thief if he steals some food because he is very hungry.
31 Si yo bare l', y'ap fè l' peye sèt fwa lavalè sa l' pran an. Y'a fè l' bay tou sa li gen lakay li.
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 Men, yon nonm ki fè adiltè, se moun fou li ye, se detwi l'ap detwi tèt li.
[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 L'ap pran baton. Y'ap pase l' anba kont betiz, l'ap toujou wont pou sa l' fè a.
[That woman’s husband] will wound him badly, and [other people] will despise him. His shame will never end.
34 Lè yon mari ap fè jalouzi pou madanm li, nanpwen move tankou l'. Jou li mete men sou nèg la, pa gen anyen li p'ap fè l'.
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 Li p'ap asepte lajan. Nanpwen kado ki pou fè l' bliye sa.
And he will not accept any bribe/money, even if it is a big bribe, to (appease him/cause him to stop being angry).
