Mmebusɛm 23
1 Sɛ wo ne ɔhene bi to nsa didi a, hwɛ nea esi wʼanim no yiye,
When you sit down to eat with a leader, pay close attention to what has been set before your face,
2 Sɛ woyɛ adidibrada a, hyɛ wo ho so.
and put a knife to your throat, if, in such a way, you could hold your soul in your own power.
3 Nni nʼaduan akɔnnɔ akɔnnɔ no akyi, efisɛ saa aduan no daadaa nnipa.
Do not desire his foods, in which is the bread of deceit.
4 Mmiri wo mogya ani mpɛ sika; hu nyansa na tɔ wo bo ase.
Do not be willing to labor so that you may be enriched. But set limits by your prudence.
5 Wʼani bɔɔ sika so ara pɛ, na atu ayera, ampa ara ebefuw ntaban na atu akɔ wim sɛ ɔkɔre.
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 Nni obi a ɔyɛ pɛpɛe aduan, nni nʼakɔnnɔ aduan akyi;
Do not eat with an envious man, and do not desire his foods.
7 efisɛ ɔyɛ obi a bere biara osusuw sika ho. Ɔka se, “Didi na nom,” nanso ɛnyɛ ne koma mu.
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 Kakra a woadi no wobɛfe, na ɛno nti wo nkamfo so remma mfaso.
The foods that you had eaten, you will vomit up. And you will lose the beauty in your words.
9 Nkasa nkyerɛ ɔkwasea, efisɛ ɔremfa nyansa a ɛwɔ wo kasa mu no.
Do not speak into the ears of the unwise. They will despise the doctrine of your eloquence.
10 Ntutu tete abo a wɔde ato hye ngu, na ntra ɔhye nkɔ ayisaa mfuw mu,
Do not touch the boundaries of little ones, and do not enter into the field of the fatherless.
11 efisɛ wɔn Gyefo yɛ den, na obedi wɔn asɛm ama wɔn.
For their close relative is strong, and he will judge their case against you.
12 Ma wo koma mmra nkyerɛkyerɛ so, na wɛn wʼaso tie nimdeɛ.
Let your heart enter into doctrine, and let your ears enter into words of knowledge.
13 Ntwentwɛn abofra nteɛso so; sɛ wode abaa teɛ no a, ɔrenwu.
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 Me ba, sɛ wo koma hu nyansa a, ɛno de, me koma ani begye;
My son, if your soul will become wise, my heart will be glad with you.
16 sɛ wʼano ka nea ɛteɛ a me mu ade nyinaa ani begye.
And my temperament will exult, when your lips will have spoken what is upright.
17 Mma wʼani mmere abɔnefo, mmom bɔ Awurade suro ho mmɔden bere biara.
Let not your heart compete with sinners. But be in the fear of the Lord all day long.
18 Ampa ara anidaso wɔ hɔ ma wo daakye, na wʼanidaso renyɛ ɔkwa.
For you will have hope in the end, and your expectation will not be taken away.
19 Me ba, tie, na hu nyansa, ma wo koma mfa ɔkwantrenee so.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and direct your soul along the way.
20 Mfa wo ho mmɔ akɔwensafo anaasɛ wɔn a wɔpɛ nam mmoroso ho,
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 efisɛ, akɔwensafo ne adidibradafo bɛyɛ ahiafo, na anikum fura wɔn ntamagow.
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 Tie wʼagya a ɔwoo wo no, na sɛ wo na bɔ aberewa a, mmu no animtiaa.
Listen to your father, who conceived you. And do not despise your mother, when she is old.
23 Tɔ nokware na ntɔn da; nya nyansa, ahohyɛso ne nhumu.
Purchase truth, and do not sell wisdom, or doctrine, or understanding.
24 Ɔtreneeni agya wɔ anigye bebree; nea ɔwɔ ɔba nyansafo no ani gye ne ho.
The father of the just exults in gladness; he who has conceived the wise will rejoice in him.
25 Ma wʼagya ne wo na ani nnye; ma ɔbea a ɔwoo wo no nnya ahosɛpɛw.
Let your father and your mother be joyful, and may she who conceived you exult.
26 Me ba, fa wo koma ma me na ma wʼani nkɔ mʼakwan ho,
My son, offer me your heart, and let your eyes keep to my ways.
27 na oguamanfo yɛ amoa donkudonku ɔyere huhuni yɛ ɔdaadaafo.
For a loose woman is a deep pit, and a foreign woman is a constricted well.
28 Ɔtɛw, twɛn, te sɛ ɔkwanmukafo, na ɔma mmarima mu atorofo dɔɔso.
She lies in wait along the way like a robber. And the incautious one whom she sees, she will put to death.
29 Hena na wɔadome no? Hena na odi awerɛhow? Hena na odi aperepere? Hena na onwiinwii? Hena na ɔwɔ atape nko ara? Hena na mogya ada nʼani so?
Who has woe? Whose father has woe? Who has quarrels? Who falls into pits? Who has wounds without cause? Who has watery eyes?
30 Wɔn a wɔkyɛ nsa ho, na wɔka nsa a wɔafrafra hwɛ.
Is it not those who linger over wine, and who strive to be drinking from their cups?
31 Nhwɛ nsa ani kɔkɔɔ no haa, bere a ɛretwa yerɛw yerɛw wɔ kuruwa mu, na ɛkɔ yɔɔ no.
Do not gaze into the wine when it turns gold, when its color shines in the glass. It enters pleasantly,
32 Awiei no, ɛka te sɛ ɔwɔ na ɛwɔ bɔre te sɛ ahurutoa.
but in the end, it will bite like a snake, and it will spread poison like a king of snakes.
33 Wʼani behu nneɛma a wunhuu da, na woadwene nneɛma basabasa ho.
Your eyes will see women who are outsiders, and your heart will utter perversities.
34 Wobɛtɔ ntintan te sɛ hyɛn mu dwumayɛni a, okura hyɛn dua a, ɛrehinhim mu den, na ehinhim wɔ po so.
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 Na wobɛka se, “Wɔbɔ me, nanso mimpira. Wɔboro me, nanso mente ɔyaw biara. Bere bɛn na menyan akɔpɛ nsa anom bio?”
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?”
