Eklezyas 5
1 Veye pa ou yo pandan w ap desann lakay Bondye a, e vin toupre pou koute olye ofri sakrifis a moun ensanse yo. Paske yo pa konnen ke se mal y ap fè.
Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and draw near to hear, rather than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they know not that they do evil.
2 Pa fè vit avèk pawòl ou, ni kouri twò vit pou soulve yon refleksyon devan prezans Bondye. Paske Bondye nan syèl la, e ou sou tè a; pou sa pa kite pawòl ou yo vin anpil.
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in the heavens, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.
3 Paske rèv la vin akonpli ak anpil travay; e vwa a yon moun ensanse, ak anpil pawòl.
For a dream cometh through the multitude of business, and a fool's voice through a multitude of words.
4 Lè ou fè yon ve a Bondye, pa fè reta pou peye l; paske li pa pran plezi nan moun ki plen foli. Peye sa ou te pwomèt la!
When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5 Li pi bon pou pa fè ve pase fè yon ve pou pa peye l.
Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
6 Pa kite pawòl ou yo fè ou fè peche, e pa di nan prezans a mesaje Bondye a ke ou te mal pale. Poukisa Bondye ta dwe vin fache akoz vwa ou, e detwi tout zèv men ou yo?
Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an inadvertence. Wherefore should God be wroth at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?
7 Paske nan fè anpil rèv ak nan anpil pawòl, gen yon gwo vid. Pito gen lakrent Bondye.
For in the multitude of dreams are vanities; so with many words: but fear God.
8 Si ou wè malere a vin oprime e pa gen lajistis nan pwovens yo, pa sezi lè ou wè l. Paske gen chèf sou chèf, e gen chèf pi wo sou yo.
If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter; for a higher than the high is watching, and there are higher than they.
9 Apre tout bagay, yon wa ki kiltive latè se yon avantaj pou peyi a.
Moreover the earth is every way profitable: the king [himself] is dependent upon the field.
10 Sila ki renmen lajan an p ap satisfè ak lajan; ni sila ki renmen richès la ak sa li reyisi. Sa anplis se vanite.
He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase. This also is vanity.
11 Lè bon bagay ogmante, sila ki manje yo ogmante. Konsa, pa gen lòt avantaj pou mèt yo, sof ke kanpe veye?
When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what profit is there to the owner thereof, except the beholding [of them] with his eyes?
12 Dòmi a ouvriye a dous, kit li manje piti oswa anpil; men vant plen a moun rich la p ap kite l dòmi.
The sleep of the labourer is sweet, whether he have eaten little or much; but the fulness of the rich doth not suffer him to sleep.
13 Gen yon gwo mechanste ke m konn wè anba solèy la: richès sere pa mèt li jiskaske li rive donmaje pwòp tèt li.
There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt;
14 Lè richès sa yo te pèdi akoz yon move envestiman, e li vin papa a yon fis; alò, nanpwen anyen pou ba li.
or those riches perish by some evil circumstance, and if he have begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.
15 Kon li soti nan vant manman li toutouni an; se konsa li va retounen jan li te sòti a. Li p ap pote anyen nan men l kon fwi travay li.
As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he go away again as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
16 Sa anplis se yon gwo malè—menm jan yon nonm fèt la, se konsa l ap mouri. Alò, kote avantaj pou sila k ap travay di nan van an?
And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came so doth he go away, and what profit hath he, in having laboured for the wind?
17 Pandan tout lavi li, li manje nan tenèb ak gwo chagren, maladi ak kòlè.
All his days also he eateth in darkness, and hath much vexation, and sickness, and irritation.
18 Men sa mwen konn wè ki bon e ki pwòp pou moun fè a: manje, bwè e fè kè kontan nan tout travay ke li fè anba solèy la, pandan ti tan kout ke Bondye ba li a. Paske se sa ki rekonpans li.
Behold what I have seen good and comely: [it is] to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labour wherewith [man] laboureth under the sun, all the days of his life which God hath given him: for that is his portion.
19 Anplis, menm jan pou tout moun ke Bondye te bay richès ak byen yo, anplis Li te bay li kapasite pou manje ladann yo e rejwi nan travay li. Sa se don Bondye a.
Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and power to eat thereof, and to take his portion and to rejoice in his labour: that is a gift of God.
20 Konsa, se pa souvan ke moun nan va konsidere ane lavi li yo, paske Bondye kenbe l okipe tout tan ak rejwisans kè li.
For he will not much remember the days of his life, because God answereth [him] with the joy of his heart.
