Ecclesiastes 5
1 When you enter God’s temple, you should be sure to listen carefully. Doing that is better than offering sacrifices to God [and then not obeying him], which is foolish.
Prends garde à ton pied, lorsque tu entres dans la maison de Dieu; approche-toi pour écouter, plutôt que pour offrir le sacrifice des insensés, car ils ne savent pas qu’ils font mal.
2 Think carefully before you speak [MTY] or before you promise God that you will do something [IDM]. [Do not forget that] God is in heaven [and he is all-powerful] and you are here on the earth, so think carefully before you [make any promises to God].
Ne te presse pas d’ouvrir la bouche, et que ton cœur ne se hâte pas d’exprimer une parole devant Dieu; car Dieu est au ciel, et toi sur la terre: que tes paroles soient donc peu nombreuses.
3 If you are continually thinking [and worrying] about things, you will have bad dreams about them and not rest [well]. And the more you talk, the more likely it will be that you will say things that are foolish.
Car, si les songes naissent de la multitude des occupations, la voix de l’insensé se fait entendre dans la multitude des paroles.
4 When you solemnly promise God that you will do something, do not be foolish by delaying in doing it, because God is not pleased with foolish people. Do [all] the things that you promise God that you will do.
Lorsque tu as fait un vœu à Dieu, ne tarde pas à l’accomplir, car il n’aime pas les insensés: accomplis le vœu que tu as fait.
5 It is better to not promise [anything] than to promise to do something, and [then] not doing it.
Mieux vaut pour toi ne point faire de vœu, que d’en faire un et de ne pas l’accomplir.
6 Do not sin by promising to do something and then not doing it. And [when you promise God to do something and do not do it], do not say to God’s priest that it was a mistake for you to promise to do that. If you do that, God will certainly [RHQ] become very angry with you, and he will take from you everything that you [SYN] have worked to acquire.
Ne permets pas à ta bouche de faire pécher ta chair, et ne dis pas en présence de l’envoyé que c’est une inadvertance. Pourquoi Dieu s’irriterait-il de tes paroles, et détruirait-il l’ouvrage de tes mains?
7 Promising to do something and not doing it is like [SIM] a dream that has no value; instead, revere God [by doing what you promised him that you would do].
Car, s’il y a des vanités dans la multitude des songes, il y en a aussi dans beaucoup de paroles; c’est pourquoi, crains Dieu.
8 Do not be surprised if you see poor [people] being (oppressed/treated cruelly) [by powerful/influential people], or if you see judges making unjust decisions throughout the land. [That happens] because the people who do that are supervised [and cheated by] more important officials [DOU],
Si tu vois dans une province le pauvre opprimé et la violation du droit et de la justice, ne t’en étonne point; car un homme élevé est placé sous la surveillance d’un autre plus élevé, et au-dessus d’eux il en est de plus élevés encore.
9 and even the king forces the people to give him some of the crops that they harvest.
Un avantage pour le pays à tous égards, c’est un roi honoré du pays.
10 Everyone who tries to [get as much] money as they can will never think that they have enough. They will never be satisfied with the money that they have. That also is senseless.
Celui qui aime l’argent n’est pas rassasié par l’argent, et celui qui aime les richesses n’en profite pas. C’est encore là une vanité.
11 The more money that we have, the more people want us to spend our money to buy things for them. So people who have a lot of money do not [RHQ] benefit from it; they see [MTY] it when they get it, but it soon (disappears/is completely spent).
Quand le bien abonde, ceux qui le mangent abondent; et quel avantage en revient-il à son possesseur, sinon qu’il le voit de ses yeux?
12 Those who work hard sleep peacefully [at night], even if they do not have much food to eat. But rich [people] do not sleep well, because [they worry] about their money.
Le sommeil du travailleur est doux, qu’il ait peu ou beaucoup à manger; mais le rassasiement du riche ne le laisse pas dormir.
13 I have seen [another] terrible thing that happens here on the earth [MTY]: People save [up all] their money and become rich, [but] they are not helped by saving a lot of money,
Il est un mal grave que j’ai vu sous le soleil: des richesses conservées, pour son malheur, par celui qui les possède.
14 [because] something happens that causes their money to be gone, and when they die, there is no money for their children to get/inherit.
Ces richesses se perdent par quelque événement fâcheux; il a engendré un fils, et il ne reste rien entre ses mains.
15 When we are born, we do not bring anything with us, and when we die, we take nothing with us from all that we have earned by our working hard.
Comme il est sorti du ventre de sa mère, il s’en retourne nu ainsi qu’il était venu, et pour son travail n’emporte rien qu’il puisse prendre dans sa main.
16 That also seems senseless. People bring nothing [into the world when they are born], and they leave [this world] taking nothing with them. They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit [MET].
C’est encore là un mal grave. Il s’en va comme il était venu; et quel avantage lui revient-il d’avoir travaillé pour du vent?
17 [Furthermore, rich people] are always miserable [MET] and sad, and depressed/discouraged and often sick and (resentful/thinking that what has happened to them is unfair).
De plus, toute sa vie il mange dans les ténèbres, et il a beaucoup de chagrin, de maux et d’irritation.
18 So, the best thing for people to do here on the earth during the few years that God allows them to be alive is to eat and drink and to enjoy their work, because those are the things that God has given to them.
Voici ce que j’ai vu: c’est pour l’homme une chose bonne et belle de manger et de boire, et de jouir du bien-être au milieu de tout le travail qu’il fait sous le soleil, pendant le nombre des jours de vie que Dieu lui a donnés; car c’est là sa part.
19 If people are rich and have a lot of possessions, and are able to (enjoy/be happy with) the things that they have and to enjoy their work, those things are [also] gifts from God.
Mais, si Dieu a donné à un homme des richesses et des biens, s’il l’a rendu maître d’en manger, d’en prendre sa part, et de se réjouir au milieu de son travail, c’est là un don de Dieu.
20 Those people do not worry much about [everything that has happened] during the time that they have been alive, because God enables them to be happy doing everything that they do.
Car il ne se souviendra pas beaucoup des jours de sa vie, parce que Dieu répand la joie dans son cœur.
