Eklezyas 7
1 Pito yo nonmen non ou anbyen pase pou yo pale sou kalite bon odè ou mete sou ou. Jou ou mouri a pi bon pase jou ou fèt la.
[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.
2 Pito ou ale nan yon kay kote ki gen lanmò pase pou ou ale nan yon kay kote y'ap fè fèt, paske tout moun gen pou mouri. Nou menm ki vivan, nou pa dwe janm bliye sa.
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.
3 Pito yon moun nan lapenn pase pou l' gen kè kontan. Lapenn rale figi ou, men l'ap louvri lespri ou.
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].
4 Moun ki gen bon konprann toujou ap kalkile sou lanmò. Moun sòt toujou ap kalkile sou ki jan pou yo jwi lavi a.
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.
5 Pito ou tande yon moun ki gen bon konprann ap rale zòrèy ou pase pou ou tande moun sòt ap fè lwanj pou ou.
It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
6 Lè moun sòt ap ri, se tankou move chabon k'ap pete nan dife. Sa pa vo anyen.
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.
7 Lè yon moun ki gen bon konprann ap sibi move trètman, sa ka fè l' pèdi tèt li. Lajan sou kote fè l' pèdi karaktè l'.
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.
8 Lè yon bagay ap fini li pi bon pase lè l'ap konmanse. Pito ou pran pasyans pase pou ou kite lògèy ap pouse ou.
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 Pa fè kòlè fasil, paske se moun sòt ki renmen fache.
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 Pa janm mande poukisa tan lontan te pi bon pase tan n'ap viv koulye a. Moun ki gen bon konprann p'ap mande bagay konsa.
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 Sa bon pou moun gen bon konprann. Se tankou si ou te gen anpil byen. Se yon gwo avantaj pou tout moun k'ap viv sou latè.
Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
12 Bon konprann pwoteje ou menm jan lajan ka fè l'. Men, avantaj yon moun genyen lè li gen konesans avèk bon konprann, sa l' konnen an ap fè l' viv.
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.
13 Gade travay Bondye! Ki moun ki ka drese sa Bondye kwochi?
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.
14 Lè bagay ap mache byen pou ou, fè kè ou kontan. Lè malè tonbe sou ou, chonje ni yonn ni lòt se nan Bondye sa soti. Konsa, yon moun pa janm konnen sa k'ap vin apre l'.
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.
15 Lavi n' sou latè pa vo anyen, se vre! Men mwen wè tout kalite bagay: Mwen wè moun debyen, atout yo mache dwat la, mouri mouri yo. Mwen wè mechan yo menm ap viv lontan pou fè mechanste.
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.
16 Pa chache twò bon, ni gen twòp lespri. Sa ou bezwen touye tèt ou fè?
[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.
17 Men, pa twò mechan ni pa twò sòt. Poukisa pou ou ta mouri anvan lè ou?
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 Evite fè eksè ni nan yon sans ni nan yon lòt. Si ou gen krentif pou Bondye, ou p'ap tonbe nan fè eksè.
Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
19 Sa konesans fè pou yon moun, dis grannèg pa ka fè l' pou yon lavil.
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 Pa gen moun k'ap mache dwat sou latè ki ka di tou sa l'ap fè byen, li pa janm fè sa ki mal.
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 Pa koute tou sa moun ap di. Konsa ou p'ap tande lè domestik ou ap pale ou mal.
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 Paske ou menm tou, nan kè ou, ou konnen konbe fwa ou pale moun mal.
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 Mwen sèvi avèk bon konprann mwen pou m' fè tout esperyans sa yo nan lavi. Mwen di mwen ta renmen gen bon konprann. Men, mwen pa t' janm rive genyen l'.
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.
24 Lavi se yon mistè. Li tankou yon twou san fon. Ki moun ki ka rive konprann li?
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 Men, mwen pran san m' pou m' chache konnen, pou m' egzaminen tout bagay. Mwen te soti pou m' te konprann, pou m' te jwenn repons pou tout keksyon mwen t'ap poze tèt mwen, pou m' te rive konnen jan moun mechan yo pèdi tèt yo, jan moun sòt yo egare.
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.
26 Mwen jwenn yon bagay ki pi rèd pase lanmò. Se fanm. Lè yo di yo renmen ou, se pèlen yo pare pou ou. Lè yo pase bra yo nan kou ou, se chenn yo pase nan kou ou. Yon moun ki fè Bondye plezi va chape anba men yo. Men, moun k'ap fè sa ki mal ap tonbe anba grif yo.
[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.
27 Wi, men sa mwen menm filozòf la, mwen di: Antan m'ap chache konprann, lè mwen mete tou sa m' konnen yonn sou lòt, bout pou bout men sa mwen rive jwenn.
This is what I have learned: I tried to learn more and more about things to try to find out the reason for everything,
28 M'ap chache yon lòt esplikasyon. Men mwen pa jwenn li. Sou mil gason mwen kontre, se yon sèl mwen jwenn ki gen konprann. Men pou fanm, mwen pa jwenn yonn menm.
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.
29 Men sa ase mwen jwenn: Bondye kreye moun pou yo viv san pwoblèm, li mete yon chemen tou dwat devan yo, men se yo menm ki chache traka bay tèt yo.
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
