Masese 23
1 Soki ovandi mpo na kolia mesa moko elongo na mokonzi, tala malamu moto oyo azali liboso na yo.
When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.
2 Tia mbeli na mongongo na yo soki ozalaka lokoso.
And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.
3 Kolula te bilei na ye ya kitoko, pamba te, tango mosusu, ezali na yango bololo.
Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
4 Koboma nzoto te mpo na koluka kozwa bomengo, kotia mayele na yo te kati na yango.
Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
5 Tango okobwaka miso na ngambo ya bomengo, ekobunga, pamba te ezalaka na mapapu mpe epumbwaka na likolo makasi lokola mpongo.
Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven.
6 Kolia te bilei ya moto oyo azali kotala yo na miso mabe mpe kolula te bilei na ye ya kitoko,
Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
7 pamba te azalaka ndenge makanisi ya motema na ye ezali. Alobaka: « Lia mpe mela, » kasi motema na ye ezali elongo na yo te.
Because like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.
8 Okosanza eteni oyo oliaki, mpe maloba na yo ya kitoko ekokende pamba.
The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.
9 Kolobaka na zoba te, pamba te akotiola bwanya ya maloba na yo.
Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.
10 Kozongisa te na sima mondelo ya kala mpe kokota te na bilanga ya bana bitike,
Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not 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 near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.
12 Tika ete motema na yo endimaka kotosa mibeko, mpe matoyi na yo eyokaka maloba ya boyebi!
Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.
13 Kozangisa te kopesa mwana etumbu; soki obeti ye fimbu, akokufa te.
Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and 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 thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
16 Solo, bomoto na ngai nyonso ekotonda na esengo, soki bibebu na yo elobi makambo ya sembo.
And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.
17 Tika ete motema na yo elulaka te bato ya masumu, kasi zalaka tango nyonso na posa makasi ya kotosa Yawe;
Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:
18 pamba te suka na yo ekozala solo malamu mpe elikya na yo ekozala ya pamba te.
Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.
19 Mwana na ngai, yoka mpe zala na bwanya, batela motema na yo kati na nzela ya sembo.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
20 Kozala esika moko te na balangwi masanga to na bato ya lokoso,
Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:
21 pamba te balangwi masanga mpe bato na lokoso bakomaka babola, mpe bogoyigoyi ekolatisa bango bilamba epasuka.
Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
22 Yokela tata oyo aboti yo, mpe kotiola mama na yo te ata soki anuni.
Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Luka bosolo, kasi koteka yango te; sala se bongo na bwanya, na mateya mpe na mayele.
Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and 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 rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.
25 Tika ete tata na yo mpe mama na yo basepela! Tika ete mama oyo abota yo azala na esengo!
Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.
26 Mwana na ngai ya mobali, pesa ngai motema na yo, mpe tika ete miso na yo esepela na nzela na ngai!
My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
27 Pamba te mwasi ya ndumba azali lokola libulu ya monene, mpe mwasi ya mopaya azali lokola libulu ya mozindo.
For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 Mwasi ya ndumba atelemaka na ekenge lokola moyibi mpe akomisaka mibali bazoba koleka.
She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.
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 hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 Mpo na bato oyo bawumelaka liboso ya masanga ya vino, mpo na bato oyo bamelaka masanga ya makasi.
Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.
31 Kotalaka te masanga ya vino tango ezali motane, tango ezali kongala kati na kopo mpe kokita na pete na mongongo.
Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in 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 will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.
33 Miso na yo ekomona biloko na ndenge ya kokamwa, mpe motema na yo ekobimisa makambo ya bozoba.
Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Boye, okokoma lokola moto oyo alali kati na ebale monene, mpe lokola moto oyo alali na songe ya nzete ya molayi.
And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.
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 thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake, and find wine again?
