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.
Un bon renom est préférable à l’huile parfumée, et le jour de la mort au 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 dans une maison de deuil que dans une maison où l’on festoie; là se voit la fin de tout homme: et les vivants doivent la prendre à 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 la gaieté, car le visage peut être sombre et le cœur satisfait.
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.
La pensée du sage se porte vers la maison de deuil, la pensée des fous vers la maison de plaisir.
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 les reproches d’un sage que d’écouter les chansons des sots.
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 tel le crépitement des broussailles sous la marmite, tels sont les rires des fous. Et cela aussi est 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.
Certes, la concussion affole le sage, et les présents font perdre le sens.
8 Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
La fin d’une entreprise est préférable à son début; un caractère endurant l’emporte sur un caractère hautain.
9 Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
Ne cède pas trop vite à ton humeur irascible, car la colère est à demeure au sein des fous.
10 Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
Ne dis point: "D’Où vient que les temps passés valaient mieux que le présent?" Car c’est manquer de sagesse de poser cette question.
11 Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
Précieuse est la sagesse avec un patrimoine: grande supériorité pour 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 ainsi on est sous la protection de la sagesse et sous la protection de l’argent; toutefois la sagesse l’emporte, car elle prolonge la vie de 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 peut redresser ce qu’il a fait courbe?
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 content; et au jour du malheur, considère que Dieu a fait correspondre l’un à l’autre, de façon à ce que l’homme ne trouve pas à récriminer contre lui.
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.
J’Ai tout vu au cours de mon éphémère existence: tel juste succombe malgré sa vertu, et tel méchant dure malgré sa perversité.
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, ne sois pas sage plus qu’il ne faut; pourquoi t’exposer à la ruine?
17 If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
Ne sois pas trop méchant, évite d’être sot; pourquoi voudrais-tu mourir avant le temps?
18 Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
Tu feras bien de t’attacher à l’une des méthodes sans que ta main lâche l’autre: celui qui craint Dieu se tire d’affaire en toutes choses.
19 If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
La sagesse est une force pour l’homme, plus efficace que dix chefs gouvernant une ville.
20 There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
II n’est pas d’homme juste sur terre qui fasse le bien sans jamais faillir.
21 Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
N’Aie garde de faire attention à toutes les paroles qu’on débite; tu éviteras ainsi d’entendre ton esclave proférer des malédictions contre toi.
22 You know that you have also cursed other people.
Car bien des fois, ton cœur le sait, il t’est arrivé de proférer des malédictions contre 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.
Tout cela, je l’ai expérimenté avec sagacité; je disais: "Je voudrais me rendre maître de la sagesse!" Mais elle s’est tenue loin de moi.
24 Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
Ce qui existe est si loin et si infiniment profond! Qui pourrait y 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 m’étais appliqué de tout cœur à tout examiner et scruter, à rechercher sagesse et raison, à apprécier aussi malignité et sottise, folie et insanités.
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 ce que j’ai trouvé de plus amer que la mort, c’est la femme, dont le cœur n’est que guet-apens et pièges et dont les bras sont des chaînes. Celui qui jouit de la faveur de Dieu échappe à ses griffes, mais le pécheur s’y laisse prendre.
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, c’est là ce que j’ai trouvé, dit l’Ecclésiaste, en ajoutant un fait à un autre pour arriver à une conclusion.
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.
Mais il est une chose encore que j’ai cherchée et que je n’ai pas trouvée: parmi mille individus, j’ai pu trouver un homme, mais de femme, parmi eux tous, je n’en ai pas trouvé.
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 voici ce que j’ai trouvé: c’est que Dieu a fait les hommes pour être droits; ce sont eux qui ont recours à toutes sortes de roueries.
