Ecclésiaste 11
1 Jette ton pain sur la face des eaux, car tu le trouveras après bien des jours.
Give generously to others [some of] the money [MET] that you have; if you do that, later you will get back an equal amount.
2 Donne une portion à sept, et même à huit; car tu ne sais pas quel mal arrivera sur la terre.
Share some of what you have with (seven or eight/several) [others], because you do not know when you will experience a disaster, [and if you give some of what you have to others], [when you experience that disaster, they will kindly help you].
3 Si les nuées sont pleines, elles verseront la pluie sur la terre; et si un arbre tombe, vers le midi ou vers le nord, à l’endroit où l’arbre sera tombé, là il sera.
[It is always true that] when clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. [Similarly], wherever a tree falls on the ground, that is where it will remain.
4 Celui qui observe le vent ne sèmera pas; et celui qui regarde les nuées ne moissonnera pas.
If farmers see in what direction the wind is blowing, they will know whether it is wise at that time to plant things or not. [It is also true that] if farmers look at the clouds [and see that they are blowing from the west, which means that it will probably rain, ] they will not [try to] harvest their crops on that day.
5 Comme tu ne sais point quel est le chemin de l’esprit, [ni] comment [se forment] les os dans le ventre de celle qui est enceinte, ainsi tu ne connais pas l’œuvre de Dieu qui fait tout.
We do not know where the wind comes from or where it goes, and we do not know how bodies are formed in women’s wombs. Similarly [SIM], God is the one who made everything, and we cannot [fully] understand what God does.
6 Le matin, sème ta semence, et, le soir, ne laisse pas reposer ta main; car tu ne sais pas ce qui réussira, ceci ou cela, ou si tous les deux seront également bons.
[Start] planting your seeds in the morning, and do not stop planting them until the evening, because you do not know which ones will grow better, the ones you plant in the morning or the ones you plant later in the day, or whether both will grow well.
7 La lumière est douce, et il est agréable pour les yeux de voir le soleil;
It is very delightful to be alive and see [MTY] the sun [rise every morning].
8 mais si un homme vit beaucoup d’années, [et] se réjouit en toutes, qu’il se souvienne aussi des jours de ténèbres, car ils sont en grand nombre: tout ce qui arrive est vanité.
[Even] if people live for many years, they should enjoy all of them. But they should not forget that [some day they will die] and then they will never be able to see any light again, and we do not know what will happen to us after we die.
9 Réjouis-toi, jeune homme, dans ta jeunesse, et que ton cœur te rende heureux aux jours de ton adolescence, et marche dans les voies de ton cœur et selon les regards de tes yeux; mais sache que, pour toutes ces choses, Dieu t’amènera en jugement.
You young people, be happy while you are still young. Enjoy [IDM] doing the things that you want to do. But do not forget that [some day] God will judge you concerning all the things that you do.
10 Ôte de ton cœur le chagrin, et fais passer le mal loin de ta chair; car le jeune âge et l’aurore sont vanité.
[So when you are young] [MTY], do not worry about anything, and do not pay attention to the pains that you have in your body, because we will not remain young and strong forever.
