Eklezyas 11
1 Voye pen ou sou sifas dlo, e apre anpil jou, ou va twouve l.
Send forth your bread on the face of the waters, For in the multitude of the days you find it.
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 even to eight, For you do not know what evil is on the earth.
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 thick clouds are full of rain, On the earth they empty [themselves]; And if a tree falls in the south or to the north, The place where the tree falls, there it is.
4 Sila ke veye van an p ap simen; ni sila ki veye syèl la p ap rekòlte.
Whoever is observing the wind does not sow, And whoever is looking on the thick clouds does not 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.
As you do not know what [is] the way of the spirit, How—bones in the womb of the full one, So you do not know the work of God who makes the whole.
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 at evening do not withdraw your hand, For you do not know which is right, this or that, Or whether both of them alike [are] good.
7 Limyè a byen bèl, e li bon pou zye wè solèy la.
Sweet also [is] the light, And good 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.
But if man lives many years, In all of them let him rejoice, And remember the days of darkness, For they are many! All that is coming [is] 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.
Rejoice, O young man, in your childhood, And let your heart gladden you in days of your youth, And walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes, And know that for all these, God brings you into 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.
And turn aside anger from your heart, And cause evil to pass from your flesh, For the childhood and the age [are] vanity!
