Eklezyas 11
1 Voye pen ou sou sifas dlo, e apre anpil jou, ou va twouve l.
Cast your bread over running waters. For, after a long time, you shall find it again.
2 Divize byen ou fè sèt, oswa uit menm; paske ou pa janm konnen ki malè k ap rive sou latè.
Give a portion to seven, and indeed even to eight. For you do not know what evil may be upon the earth in the future.
3 Si nwaj yo plen, yo vide lapli sou latè; epi si yon bwa tonbe vè sid, oswa vè nò, kote li tonbe a, se la l ap kouche.
If the clouds have been filled, they will pour forth rain upon the earth. If a tree falls to the south, or to the north, or to whatever direction it may fall, there it shall remain.
4 Sila ke veye van an p ap simen; ni sila ki veye syèl la p ap rekòlte.
Whoever heeds the wind will not sow. And whoever considers the clouds will never reap.
5 Menm jan ke ou pa konnen chemen van an, ni jan zo yo vin fòme nan vant a fanm ansent lan, se konsa ou pa konnen zèv Bondye ki fè tout bagay la.
In the same manner that you do not know the way of the spirit, nor the way that bones are joined together in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the works of God, who is the Maker of all.
6 Simen semans ou nan maten an; ni pa gaspiye tan nan aswè. Paske ou pa janm konnen si se nan maten oswa nan aswè semans lan ap reyisi; ni si se pa tou de k ap bon.
In the morning, sow your seed, and in the evening, do not let your hand cease. For you do not know which of these may rise up, the one or the other. But if both rise up together, so much the better.
7 Limyè a byen bèl, e li bon pou zye wè solèy la.
Light is pleasant, and it is delightful for the eyes to see the sun.
8 Anverite, si yon nonm ta viv anpil ane, kite li rejwi li nan yo tout; men pa kite l bliye jou tenèb yo, paske yo va anpil. Tout sa ki gen pou vini se vanite.
If a man lives for many years, and if he has rejoiced in all of these, he must remember the many days of the dark times, which, when they will have arrived, will accuse the past of vanity.
9 Rejwi jennonm, pandan jenès ou, e kite kè ou rete kontan pandan ane de laj jenès ou yo. Swiv sa ki atire kè ou ak dezi a zye ou, men konnen byen ke Bondye va rele ou nan jijman pou tout bagay sa yo.
So then, rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart remain in what is good during the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart, and with the perception of your eyes. And know that, concerning all these things, God will bring you to judgment.
10 Pou sa, retire gwo doulè ak mechanste pou l pa nan kè ou, e fè mal rete lwen chè ou; paske jenès ak ane jenès yo va disparèt vit.
Remove anger from your heart, and set aside evil from your flesh. For youth and pleasure are empty.
