Eklezyas 8
1 Se moun ki gen bon konprann ki konnen jan pou l' bay esplikasyon. Lè yon moun gen bon konprann, sa fè kè l' kontan, tout pli nan fwon l' disparèt.
[I will tell you about] those who are truly wise [RHQ] with the result that they can explain why everything happens. Being wise enables people to be happy [MTY] and enables them to smile.
2 Se pou ou fè sa wa a bay lòd fè a, poutèt sèman ou te fè devan Bondye a.
You solemnly promised God that you would obey what the king commands, so do that.
3 Pa prese wete kò ou devan li, pa pèsiste nan move pant lan, paske li ka fè ou sa li vle.
Do not quickly disobey the king. And do not join those who want to rebel against him, because the king will do what he wants to do.
4 Lè wa a pale, se fini. Pa gen moun ki pou mande l' poukisa l'ap fè sa l'ap fè a.
We need to obey what the king says more than we need to obey what anyone else says; no one can say to the king, “(Why are you doing that?/You should not be doing that.) [RHQ]”
5 Moun ki fè sa yo ba li lòd fè a pa nan pwoblèm. Yo p'ap fè l' anyen. Yon nonm ki gen bon konprann konnen ki jan ak kilè pou l' fè sa li gen pou l' fè a.
If you obey what the king commands, he will not harm you. [So] be wise, and know the correct/right time to do things and the right way to do them.
6 Chak bagay gen jan pou yo fè l' ak lè pou yo fè l'. Se la tout tèt chaje a ye.
Although people experience many troubles/difficulties, there is a right/correct time to do things, and there is a right/correct way [to do them].
7 Pesonn pa konnen sa ki pral rive. Epi pa gen pesonn ki ka di nou sa ki pral rive.
No one knows what will happen in the future, so there is no one [RHQ] who can tell us what is going to happen.
8 Pesonn pa mèt lavi l'. Lè jou a rive pou l' mouri, fòk li mouri. Pesonn pa ka ranvwaye jou lanmò li. Nou pa ka kouri pou batay sa a. Ata mechanste mechan yo pa ka sove yo.
We cannot control the wind, and we cannot control when we will die. Soldiers are not permitted to go home during a battle, and evil people will not be saved by [doing what is] evil.
9 Mwen wè tou sa, lè m' t'ap kalkile sou sa k'ap pase sou latè. Moun ap dominen sou moun pou fè yo soufri.
I thought about all those things, and I thought about all [HYP] the other things that happen on this earth. I saw that [sometimes] people cause those whom they control to suffer.
10 Wi. Mwen wè yo antere mechan yo, yo kouche kadav yo anba tè. Mwen wè moun ki mache dwat yo pa menm jwenn kote pou moun antere yo. Tout moun nan lavil la bliye sa yo te fè. Tou sa ankò pa vo anyen, sa p'ap sèvi anyen.
I also saw that [sometimes] after evil [people] die, they are highly honored at their funerals by the people in the cities where they had done [evil] deeds. It seemed to be difficult to understand why that happens.
11 Se paske yo pran twòp tan pou yo pini moun ki fè mal yo ki fè moun toujou anvi fè sa ki mal.
If evil people are not immediately punished, it causes [other] people [SYN] to [also] want to do evil things.
12 Yon moun k'ap fè sa ki mal gen dwa fè san (100) krim, yonn sou lòt, epi l'ap toujou mache sou moun. Men, mwen konnen yo di tou: Si ou gen krentif pou Bondye, w'ap viv ak kè kontan, paske ou respekte Bondye.
But even if sinful people commit 100 crimes, and [even if they] live for a long time, I know that things will go better for those who greatly respect and revere God.
13 Men se pa menm bagay la pou mechan an. L'ap malere, lavi li tankou yon lonbraj. L'ap mouri bonè, paske li pa gen krentif pou Bondye.
[I also know] that things will not go well go for those who are evil, because they do not revere God. Shadows [do not last a long time]. Similarly [SIM], evil people will not live a long time.
14 Men tou sa se pawòl anlè. Gade sa k'ap pase sou latè: Gen moun ki mache dwat ki resevwa pinisyon mechan yo. Gen mechan ki resevwa rekonpans moun ki mache dwat yo. Mwen di tou sa pa vo anyen.
Another thing that [sometimes] happens on this earth is that bad things happen to righteous people, and good things happen to evil people. It is difficult to understand why that happens.
15 Se konsa mwen mache di se pou tout moun jwi lavi yo, paske sèl plezi yon nonm gen nan lavi a se manje, se bwè, se pran plezi. Se sa ase li ka fè pandan l'ap travay di nan lavi Bondye ba l' pou l' viv sou latè a.
[So] I decided that I would recommend that people be happy while they are alive, because the best thing that people can do here on this earth is to eat and drink and be happy. Enjoying doing those things will help people while they do their work, all the time that God has given to them to remain alive here on the earth.
16 Chak fwa mwen pran desizyon pou m' chache konprann, chak fwa mwen pran kalkile sa k'ap pase sou latè, mwen wè ou te mèt pa janm dòmi lajounen kou lannwit,
I thought about being wise and about people who work very hard, working day and night and not taking time to sleep.
17 ou p'ap janm ka konprann travay Bondye sou latè. Ou mèt fè sa ou vle, ou p'ap janm ka rive jwenn sa w'ap chache a. Moun ki gen bon konprann kwè yo konnen. Men yo pa konnen plis pase yon lòt.
Then I thought about everything [HYP] that God has done, and I realized that no one can understand everything that happens here on this earth. Truly, people are not able to fully understand everything [that God understands], even if they try hard to do that. Even if wise people claim that they understand it all, they cannot.
