Masese 23
1 Soki ovandi mpo na kolia mesa moko elongo na mokonzi, tala malamu moto oyo azali liboso na yo.
When you sit down to eat with a leader, pay close attention to what has been set before your face,
2 Tia mbeli na mongongo na yo soki ozalaka lokoso.
and put a knife to your throat, if, in such a way, you could hold your soul in your own power.
3 Kolula te bilei na ye ya kitoko, pamba te, tango mosusu, ezali na yango bololo.
Do not desire his foods, in which is the bread of deceit.
4 Koboma nzoto te mpo na koluka kozwa bomengo, kotia mayele na yo te kati na yango.
Do not be willing to labor so that you may be enriched. But set limits by your prudence.
5 Tango okobwaka miso na ngambo ya bomengo, ekobunga, pamba te ezalaka na mapapu mpe epumbwaka na likolo makasi lokola mpongo.
Do not raise your eyes toward wealth that you are not able to have. For they will make themselves wings, like those of an eagle, and they will fly in the sky.
6 Kolia te bilei ya moto oyo azali kotala yo na miso mabe mpe kolula te bilei na ye ya kitoko,
Do not eat with an envious man, and do not desire his foods.
7 pamba te azalaka ndenge makanisi ya motema na ye ezali. Alobaka: « Lia mpe mela, » kasi motema na ye ezali elongo na yo te.
For, like a seer and an interpreter of dreams, he presumes what he does not know. “Eat and drink,” he will say to you; and his mind is not with you.
8 Okosanza eteni oyo oliaki, mpe maloba na yo ya kitoko ekokende pamba.
The foods that you had eaten, you will vomit up. And you will lose the beauty in your words.
9 Kolobaka na zoba te, pamba te akotiola bwanya ya maloba na yo.
Do not speak into the ears of the unwise. They will despise the doctrine of your eloquence.
10 Kozongisa te na sima mondelo ya kala mpe kokota te na bilanga ya bana bitike,
Do not touch the boundaries of little ones, and do not enter into the field of the fatherless.
11 pamba te Molobeli na bango azalaka makasi, akozwa makambo na bango na maboko mpo na kotelemela yo.
For their close relative is strong, and he will judge their case against you.
12 Tika ete motema na yo endimaka kotosa mibeko, mpe matoyi na yo eyokaka maloba ya boyebi!
Let your heart enter into doctrine, and let your ears enter into words of knowledge.
13 Kozangisa te kopesa mwana etumbu; soki obeti ye fimbu, akokufa te.
Do not be willing to take away discipline from a child. For if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
You will strike him with the rod, and so shall you deliver his soul from Hell. (Sheol h7585)
15 Mwana na ngai, soki motema na yo ezali na bwanya, motema na ngai ekozala na esengo.
My son, if your soul will become wise, my heart will be glad with you.
16 Solo, bomoto na ngai nyonso ekotonda na esengo, soki bibebu na yo elobi makambo ya sembo.
And my temperament will exult, when your lips will have spoken what is upright.
17 Tika ete motema na yo elulaka te bato ya masumu, kasi zalaka tango nyonso na posa makasi ya kotosa Yawe;
Let not your heart compete with sinners. But be in the fear of the Lord all day long.
18 pamba te suka na yo ekozala solo malamu mpe elikya na yo ekozala ya pamba te.
For you will have hope in the end, and your expectation will not be taken away.
19 Mwana na ngai, yoka mpe zala na bwanya, batela motema na yo kati na nzela ya sembo.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and direct your soul along the way.
20 Kozala esika moko te na balangwi masanga to na bato ya lokoso,
Do not be willing to be in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in the carousings of those who gather to feed on flesh.
21 pamba te balangwi masanga mpe bato na lokoso bakomaka babola, mpe bogoyigoyi ekolatisa bango bilamba epasuka.
For those who waste time drinking, and who surrender themselves to symbols, will be consumed. And those who sleep will be clothed in rags.
22 Yokela tata oyo aboti yo, mpe kotiola mama na yo te ata soki anuni.
Listen to your father, who conceived you. And do not despise your mother, when she is old.
23 Luka bosolo, kasi koteka yango te; sala se bongo na bwanya, na mateya mpe na mayele.
Purchase truth, and do not sell wisdom, or doctrine, or understanding.
24 Tata ya moto ya sembo akozala na esengo mingi, mpe moto oyo abota mwana ya bwanya akosepela kati na ye.
The father of the just exults in gladness; he who has conceived the wise will rejoice in him.
25 Tika ete tata na yo mpe mama na yo basepela! Tika ete mama oyo abota yo azala na esengo!
Let your father and your mother be joyful, and may she who conceived you exult.
26 Mwana na ngai ya mobali, pesa ngai motema na yo, mpe tika ete miso na yo esepela na nzela na ngai!
My son, offer me your heart, and let your eyes keep to my ways.
27 Pamba te mwasi ya ndumba azali lokola libulu ya monene, mpe mwasi ya mopaya azali lokola libulu ya mozindo.
For a loose woman is a deep pit, and a foreign woman is a constricted well.
28 Mwasi ya ndumba atelemaka na ekenge lokola moyibi mpe akomisaka mibali bazoba koleka.
She lies in wait along the way like a robber. And the incautious one whom she sees, she will put to death.
29 Mpo na nani: « Ah ngai, mawa! » Mpo na nani: « Eh! » Mpo na nani koswanaswana? Mpo na nani kolelalela? Mpo na nani kowelana ezanga tina? Mpo na nani kotelisa miso?
Who has woe? Whose father has woe? Who has quarrels? Who falls into pits? Who has wounds without cause? Who has watery eyes?
30 Mpo na bato oyo bawumelaka liboso ya masanga ya vino, mpo na bato oyo bamelaka masanga ya makasi.
Is it not those who linger over wine, and who strive to be drinking from their cups?
31 Kotalaka te masanga ya vino tango ezali motane, tango ezali kongala kati na kopo mpe kokita na pete na mongongo.
Do not gaze into the wine when it turns gold, when its color shines in the glass. It enters pleasantly,
32 Na suka na yango, ekoswa yo lokola nyoka mpe ekotia yo minu lokola etupa.
but in the end, it will bite like a snake, and it will spread poison like a king of snakes.
33 Miso na yo ekomona biloko na ndenge ya kokamwa, mpe motema na yo ekobimisa makambo ya bozoba.
Your eyes will see women who are outsiders, and your heart will utter perversities.
34 Boye, okokoma lokola moto oyo alali kati na ebale monene, mpe lokola moto oyo alali na songe ya nzete ya molayi.
And you will be like someone sleeping in the middle of the sea, and like a pilot, fast asleep, who has lost his hold on the helm.
35 Okoloba: « Babeti ngai, kasi nazali koyoka pasi te; babeti ngai fimbu, kasi nazali koyoka eloko te! Tango nini nakolamuka? Nakozongela lisusu komela vino. »
And you will say: “They have beaten me, but I did not feel pain. They have dragged me, and I did not realize it. When will I awaken and find more wine?”
