Proverbs 6

6 ¹My pikin, if you don stand as guarantor for your neighbour, if you don shake hand as pledge for stranger, ²na di words wey comot for your mouth don trap you, na di words for your mouth don catch you. ³Den do dis one, my pikin, and free yourself, because you don enter your neighbour hand now: go, humble yourself, and beg your neighbour well well. ⁴No let sleep enter your eye, no let slumber touch your eyelid. ⁵Free yourself like gazelle wey comot for hand, like bird wey comot for di hand of di person wey dey set trap.

⁶Go meet di ant, you lazy person; look how e dey do im tin and learn sense. ⁷Even as e no get any chief, or officer, or ruler, ⁸e dey prepare im food for dry season and dey gather im chop for harvest time.

⁹How long you go lie down for there, you lazy person? Wetin time you go wake up from your sleep? ¹⁰Small sleep, small slumber, small folding of hand to rest, ¹¹and poverty go come meet you like robber, and lack go come like man wey carry weapon.

¹²Person wey no get use, wicked man, dey waka up and down with crooked mouth, ¹³e dey wink im eye, e dey signal with im leg, e dey point with im finger, ¹⁴with heart wey don spoil e dey plan bad tin, e dey sow quarrel all di time; ¹⁵na why trouble go come meet am sharp sharp; for one moment e go break finish wey no fit heal again.

¹⁶Six tins dey wey our Papa hate, seven tins wey e no fit stand at all: ¹⁷eye wey full of pride, tongue wey dey lie, and hand wey dey pour innocent blood, ¹⁸heart wey dey plan wicked tin, leg wey dey hurry run go do bad tin, ¹⁹false witness wey dey breathe out lie, and person wey dey sow quarrel among brothers.

Your Papa Words, Na Your Shield

²⁰My pikin, keep your papa commandment, and no throway your mama teaching. ²¹Tie dem for your heart all di time; hang dem for your neck. ²²When you dey waka, dem go lead you; when you lie down, dem go watch over you; and when you wake up, dem go talk with you. ²³Because di commandment na lamp and di teaching na light, and di correction wey dey teach sense na di way of life, ²⁴to keep you far from di bad woman, from di sweet mouth of di woman wey dey commit adultery.

²⁵No hunger for her fine face for your heart, and no let her catch you with di way she dey blink her eye; ²⁶because di price of ashawo na just one loaf of bread, but married woman dey hunt down precious life. ²⁷Person fit carry fire put for im chest and im cloth no go burn? ²⁸Abi person fit waka for hot coal and im feet no go burn? ²⁹Na so e be for di man wey dey sleep with im neighbour wife;

³⁰People no dey despise thief if e thief to satisfy imsef when hunger dey catch am, ³¹but if dem catch am, e go pay seven times; e go give all di property for im house. ³²Man wey dey commit adultery no get sense; di person wey dey do am dey destroy imself. ³³E go get wound and shame, and di disgrace wey e get no go clean comot.

³⁴Because jealousy dey make man vex well well, and e no go show mercy for di day of pay-back. ³⁵E no go collect any settlement; e go refuse am no matter how big di bribe be.