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.
Bon renom vaut mieux que bon parfum; le jour de la mort vaut mieux 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.
Il vaut mieux aller à la maison du deuil qu'à la maison du festin, puisque le deuil est la fin de tout homme, et que le vivant donnera ainsi de bons avertissements à 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].
La tristesse vaut mieux que le rire; parce que, par la tristesse du visage, le cœur deviendra bon.
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 à la maison des pleurs; le cœur des insensés est à la maison d'allégresse.
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 écouter la réprimande d'un sage, que d'entendre le chant 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.
Le rire des insensés est comme le pétillement des épines sous une chaudière; et cela encore 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.
La calomnie trouble le sage, et lui fait perdre sa force d'âme.
8 Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
La fin du discours vaut mieux que le commencement; un homme patient vaut mieux qu'un esprit présomptueux.
9 Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
Ne t'abandonne pas trop vite au souffle de la colère; car la colère réside 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.
Garde-toi de dire: Comment se fait-il que les jours d'autrefois ont été meilleurs que ceux d'à présent? Car il n'est point sage de s'enquérir de ces choses.
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, unie aux richesses; elle est alors profitable à ceux qui vivent sous 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 on s'abrite à l'ombre de la sagesse, comme à l'ombre de l'argent; mais l'avantage de la science et de la sagesse, c'est qu'elles font vivre celui qui les possède.
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.
Considère les œuvres de Dieu; car qui pourrait redresser celui que Dieu 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 de la prospérité vis dans le bien-être, et prévois le jour du malheur; prévois-le: car Dieu a fait telle chose concordant avec telle autre, à cause des propos des hommes, afin qu'ils ne trouvent rien à blâmer en 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 vu toutes choses au jour de ma vanité. Le juste meurt avec sa justice; l'impie subsiste avec 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 soit point sage plus qu'il ne faut, de peur que tu ne sois confondu.
17 If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
Mais ne sois pas non plus impie ni obstiné à l'excès, de peur que tu ne périsses 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.
Il est bon que tu t'attaches à telle chose, et que tu t'éloignes de telle autre, pour ne point souiller tes mains; car tout vient à ceux qui craignent Dieu.
19 If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
La sagesse sera utile au sage plus que dix des plus puissants de la cité.
20 There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
Car il n'est point sur la terre de juste qui fasse le bien, et ne pèche.
21 Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
Mais ne dépose pas en ton cœur toutes les paroles que dirent les impies, de peur que tu n'entendes ton serviteur te maudire.
22 You know that you have also cursed other people.
Car maintes fois il t'irritera, et il t'affligera de bien des manières; car toi-même 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 éprouve toutes choses en ma sagesse, et j'ai dit: Je serai sage; et la sagesse s'est éloignée de moi.
24 Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
Elle était plus loin encore qu'auparavant; l'abîme entre nous était profond: qui le sondera?
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.
Pour moi, j'ai tourné autour de toutes choses, et j'ai appliqué mon esprit à les apprendre, à les examiner avec soin, à chercher la sagesse et la raison des choses, à connaître la démence de l'impie, et ses agitations et son inquiétude.
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 trouve cette démence, et je la dis plus amère que la mort; de même est la femme que le veneur poursuit comme une proie, tandis que son cœur est un filet, et qu'elle tient des chaînes en sa main. L'homme bon en face du Seigneur fuira loin d'elle, et le pécheur y sera pris.
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,
Voilà ce que j'ai trouvé, dit l'Ecclésiaste, en prenant 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.
Mon âme l'a cherchée cette raison, et je ne l'ai point trouvée, et j'ai trouvé un homme sur mille; mais parmi toutes les femmes, je n'en ai pas trouvé une seule.
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: Dieu a créé l'homme droit, et les hommes ont cherché une multitude de raisons.
