< Ecclesiastes 7 >
1 [Having] a good reputation [MTY] is better than fine perfume, and the day that we die is better than the day that we are born.
Une bonne renommée vaut mieux qu’un bon parfum, et le jour de la mort que le jour de la naissance.
2 It is better to go to a house where people are mourning [about someone who has died] than to go to a house where people are feasting, because everyone will die some day, and people who are alive should think seriously [IDM] about that.
Mieux vaut aller à la maison de deuil qu’aller à la maison de festin, car dans la première apparaît la fin de tout homme, et le vivant y applique son cœur.
3 It is better to be sad than to be [always] laughing, because being sad can cause us to think more about how we should conduct our lives [IDM].
Mieux vaut la tristesse que le rire, car un visage triste fait du bien au cœur.
4 Wise [people] who go to where others are mourning think about [the fact that some day they also will] die, but foolish people [PRS] [do not think about that]; they are always [MTY] laughing.
Le cœur des sages est dans la maison de deuil, et le cœur des insensés dans la maison de joie.
5 It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
Mieux vaut entendre la réprimande du sage que d’entendre la chanson des insensés.
6 By [listening to] foolish people laughing we will not [learn any more than by listening to] the crackling of thorns [being burned] under a pot. Listening to fools is senseless.
Car semblable au pétillement des épines sous la chaudière est le rire des insensés: c’est là encore une vanité.
7 When wise people say to others, “You must pay me a lot of money for me to protect you,” that causes those wise people to become foolish, and [accepting] bribes causes people to become unable to do what is fair/just.
Car l’oppression rend insensé le sage, et les présents corrompent le cœur.
8 Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
Mieux vaut la fin d’une chose que son commencement; mieux vaut un esprit patient qu’un esprit hautain.
9 Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
Ne te hâte pas dans ton esprit de t’irriter, car l’irritation repose dans le sein des insensés.
10 Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
Ne dis pas: « D’où vient que les jours anciens étaient meilleurs que ceux-ci? » Car ce n’est pas par sagesse que tu interroges à ce sujet.
11 Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
La sagesse est bonne avec un patrimoine, et profitable à ceux qui voient le soleil.
12 We are [sometimes] protected by being wise like we are [sometimes] protected by having a lot of money, but being wise is better [than having a lot of money], [because] being wise prevents us from [doing foolish things that would] cause us to die.
Car telle la protection de l’argent, telle la protection de la sagesse; mais un avantage du savoir, c’est que la sagesse fait vivre ceux qui la possèdent.
13 Think [carefully about] what God has done. Certainly no one can [RHQ] cause to become straight the things that God has caused to be crooked.
Regarde l’œuvre de Dieu: qui pourra redresser ce qu’il a courbé?
14 When things are going well for you, be happy, and when things are not going well for you, remember that God is the one who causes good things to happen and who also causes disasters.
Au jour du bonheur, sois joyeux, et au jour du malheur, réfléchis: Dieu a fait l’un comme l’autre, afin que l’homme ne découvre pas ce qui doit lui arriver.
15 During all the time that I have been alive I have seen a lot of [HYP] things that seem senseless. I have seen righteous people die [while they are still young], and I have seen wicked people remain alive for a very long time in [spite of] their continuing to be wicked.
Tout ceci, je l’ai vu au jour de ma vanité: il y a tel juste qui périt dans sa justice, et il y a tel méchant qui prolonge sa vie dans sa méchanceté.
16 [So] do not think that you are very righteous and do not think that you are very wise, [because if you think those things], you will destroy yourself.
Ne sois pas juste à l’excès, et ne te montre pas sage outre mesure: pourquoi voudrais-tu te détruire?
17 If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
Ne sois pas méchant à l’excès, et ne sois pas insensé: pourquoi voudrais-tu mourir avant ton temps?
18 Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
Il est bon que tu retiennes ceci, et que tu ne relâches pas ta main de cela, car celui qui craint Dieu évite tous ces excès.
19 If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
La sagesse donne au sage plus de force que n’en possèdent dix chefs qui sont dans la ville.
20 There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
Car il n’y a pas sur terre d’homme juste qui fasse le bien sans jamais pécher.
21 Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
Ne fais pas non plus attention à toutes les paroles qui se disent, de peur que tu n’entendes ton serviteur te maudire;
22 You know that you have also cursed other people.
car ton cœur sait que bien des fois aussi tu as maudit les autres.
23 I said [to myself] that I would use my wisdom to study all the things [that I have written about], but I was not able to do it successfully.
J’ai reconnu vrai tout cela par la sagesse; j’ai dit: je veux être sage! mais la sagesse est restée loin de moi.
24 Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
Ce qui arrive est lointain, profond, profond: qui peut l’atteindre?
25 But I decided to investigate things and by my wisdom try to understand the reason for everything. I also wanted to understand why people act wickedly and why they act very foolishly.
Je me suis appliqué et mon cœur a cherché à connaître, à sonder et à poursuivre la sagesse et la raison des choses, et j’ai reconnu que la méchanceté est une démence, et qu’une conduite folle est un délire.
26 [One thing I learned was that] (allowing a woman to seduce you/having sex with a woman to whom you are not married) is worse than dying. A woman who tries to seduce men is [as dangerous as] a trap [MET]. [If you allow her to put] her arms [around you, it will be as though she will be fastening you with] chains. Women like that will capture sinful men, but men who please God will escape from such women.
Et j’ai trouvé plus amère que la mort la femme dont le cœur est un piège et un filet, et dont les mains sont des liens; celui qui est agréable à Dieu lui échappe, mais le pécheur sera enlacé par elle.
27 This is what I have learned: I tried to learn more and more about things to try to find out the reason for everything,
Vois, j’ai trouvé ceci, dit l’Ecclésiaste, en considérant les choses une à une pour en découvrir la raison,
28 and I continued to try to learn more, but I could not find [all that I was searching for]. [But] one thing that I found out was that among 1,000 [people] I found one righteous man, but I did not find even one righteous woman.
que mon âme a constamment cherchée, sans que je l’aie trouvée: J’ai trouvé un homme entre mille, mais je n’ai pas trouvé une femme dans le même nombre.
29 [But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
Seulement, vois, j’ai trouvé ceci: C’est que Dieu a fait l’homme droit, mais eux cherchent beaucoup de subtilités.