Ecclesiastes 12
1 While you are still young, keep thinking about [God], who created you. Do that before [you are old] and you experience many troubles, during the years when you say “I no [longer] enjoy being alive.”
Pandan ou jenn gason an, pa janm bliye Bondye ki te kreye ou la, anvan jou malè yo rive sou ou, anvan lè a rive pou ou di: Mwen pa jwenn ankenn plezi nan lavi.
2 [When you become old], the light from the sun and moon and stars will [seem] dim [to you], and [it will seem that the rain] clouds [always] return [quickly] after it rains.
Lè sa a, limyè solèy la, lalin lan ak zetwal yo ap parèt twoub twoub devan je ou. Syèl la pa janm klè. Lapli poko fin tonbe, tan an gen tan mare ankò.
3 Then your [arms that you use to protect] [MET] your bodies will shake/tremble, and your [legs that support] [MET] your bodies will become weak. Many of your [teeth that you use to] grind/chew [your food] will fall out, and your [eyes that you use to] look out of windows will not see clearly.
Lè sa a, bra ou yo ki te konn pwoteje ou ap tranble. Janm ou yo ki enganm koulye a ap febli. Ou p'ap gen dan pou kraze manje. Je ou yo ap twò fèb pou wè klè.
4 Your [ears] [MET] will not hear the noise in the streets, and you will not be able to hear clearly the sound of people grinding grain with millstones. You will be awakened in the morning by hearing the birds singing/chirping, [but] you will not be able to hear well the songs that (the birds/people) sing.
De twou zòrèy ou yo ap bouche, ou p'ap tande sa k'ap pase nan lari. Ata gwo bri moulen ki toupre ou la, w'a tande l' tou piti piti. Moun te mèt ap chante bò kote ou, w'ap tande vwa yo lwen lwen. Lè sa a, depi pipirit konmanse chante, nou gen tan leve.
5 You will be afraid to be in high places and afraid of dangers on the roads that you walk on. [Your hair] will become [white like] [MET] the flowers of almond trees. [When you try to walk], you will drag yourself along like [MET] grasshoppers, and you will no longer desire [to have sex]. Then you will [die and] go to your eternal home, and people who will mourn for you will be in the streets.
W'ap pè moute sou bagay ki twò wo pou ou pa gen tèt vire. Menm mache nan granchemen ap yon danje pou ou. Tout cheve nan tèt ou ap vin blan, w'ap pèdi fòs kouray ou. Pa gen anyen ki ka fè l' tounen ankò. W'ap desann nan dènye kay kote ou pral rete pou tou tan an. Lè sa a, moun ap mache rele nan tout lari.
6 [Think much about God now, because] soon our lives will end, [like] [MET] silver chains or golden bowls that break easily, or like pitchers/jugs that are broken at the water fountain, or like broken pulleys at a well.
Wi, pa janm bliye Bondye ki fè ou la anvan ti chenn an ajan an detache sot tonbe, anvan bòl an lò a tonbe kraze, anvan kalbas dlo a kraze miyèt moso, anvan so a kase.
7 Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.
Lè sa a, kò nou pral tounen pousyè latè jan l' te ye anvan an. Souf nou menm ap tounen jwenn Bondye ki te ban nou l' lan.
8 [So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.
Lavi pa vo anyen. Lavi pa sèvi anyen. Filozòf la di: Anyen pa vo anyen.
9 I was considered to be a very wise man, and I taught the people many things. I assembled/collected and wrote down many proverbs, and I carefully thought about and studied them.
Men, paske filozòf la te gen bon konprann, li pa janm sispann moutre pèp la tou sa li te konnen. Li egzaminen anpil pwovèb, li etidye yo, li pran san li pou li sanble yo.
10 I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.
Li pran san li pou li jwenn pawòl ki pou fè moun plezi. Men nan tou sa li ekri, li bay verite a jan li wè l' la.
11 The things that [I and other] wise people say [teach people what they should do]; they are like [SIM] (goads/sharp sticks that people use to strike animals to direct where they should go). They are like [SIM] nails that stick out of pieces of wood. They are given to us by [God, who is like] [MET] our shepherd.
Pawòl moun ki gen konprann tankou baton yo sèvi pou djige bèf kabwa. Liv pwovèb yo tankou yon seri klou yo kloure yonn kot lòt. Men se yon sèl mèt ki bay yo, se Bondye.
12 [So], my son, pay careful attention to what I have written, and choose carefully what you read that others have written, [because] writing proverbs/books is endless, and [trying to] study them all will cause you to become exhausted.
Pitit mwen, men sa pou ou fè: Pran leson sou bagay sa yo. Si pou yo ta ekri anpil liv, yo pa ta janm fini. Lè ou etidye twòp, sa fè kè ou fè ou mal.
13 [Now] you have heard all [that I have told you], and here is the conclusion: Revere God, and obey his commandments, because those commandments summarize everything that people should do.
Apre tout pawòl sa yo, se yon sèl bagay pou m' di nan sa: Gen krentif pou Bondye. Fè tou sa li mande ou fè yo. Se pou sa ase Bondye te kreye moun.
14 And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.
Paske Bondye ap jije tou sa n'ap fè, kit yo bon, kit yo pa bon, ata bagay nou fè an kachèt.
