Eklezyas 6
1 Gen yon mal ke m konn wè anba syèl la e ki gaye patou pami lòm—
Here was an evil, I had seen under the sun, —and it is, common, among men:
2 Yon nonm ke Bondye fin bay richès, byen ak lonè, jiskaske nanm li pa manke anyen nan tout sa ke li dezire. Men Bondye pa kite li manje ladann, paske yon etranje ap jwe benefis yo. Sa se vanite ak gwo malè.
A man to whom God giveth riches and gains and honour, so that nothing doth he lack for his soul—of all that he craveth, and yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but, a man unknown, eateth it, —this, was vanity, and, an incurable evil, it was.
3 Si yon nonm fè yon santèn timoun e viv anpil ane, malgre fòs kantite ke yo kapab ye, men nanm li pa janm satisfè ak bon bagay, e li pa menm ka fè yon bon antèman; alò, mwen di: “Pito li te sòti kon foskouch nan vant li.”
Though a man should beget a hundred children, and live, many years, so that many should be the days of his years but, his own soul, should not be satisfied with the good, and he should not even have, a burial, I said, Better than he, is an untimely birth!
4 Paske li parèt an ven e non li vin kouvri nan fènwa.
For, in vain, it came in, and, in darkness, it departeth, —and, with darkness, its name, is covered:
5 Li pa janm wè solèy la, e li p ap janm konnen anyen; li pi bon pase lòt la.
even the sun, it never saw, nor aught did it know, —more quietness, hath this than the other.
6 Menm si lòt la viv pandan mil ane de fwa e pa rejwi de bon bagay—èske se pa tout moun ki ale menm kote a?
Even though one hath lived a thousand years twice told, yet, good, hath he not seen, —is it not, unto one place, that, all, are going?
7 Tout travay a lòm se pou satisfè bouch li; malgre sa, apeti li pa janm satisfè.
All the toil of man, is for his mouth, —though, even the desire, is not satisfied!
8 Paske, se ki lavantaj yon nonm saj genyen sou yon moun san konprann? Ki lavantaj malere a genyen nan konnen jan pou mache devan sila ki vivan yo?
For what profit hath the wise man, over the dullard? What can, the poor man, know—so as to walk before the living?
9 Sa ke zye wè pi bon pase sa ke nanm dezire. Sa tou, se san rezon ak kouri dèyè van.
Better what the eyes behold, than the wandering of desire, —even this, was vanity, and a feeding on wind.
10 Tout sa ki egziste te gen non deja, e yo tout konnen sa ke lòm nan ye; paske li pa ka goumen ak sila ki pi fò pase l.
Whatsoever one may be, long ago, was he called by his name, and it is known that it is—Son of Earth, —he cannot, therefore, contend with one stronger than he.
11 Paske, gen anpil pawòl ki ogmante vanite. Alò, se ki lavantaj pou yon nonm?
Seeing there are things in abundance which make vanity abound, what profit hath man?
12 Paske kilès ki konnen sa ki bon pou yon nonm pandan lavi li, pandan ti kras ane lavi li ki san rezon an? Li va pase yo tankou lonbraj. Paske se kilès ki ka di sa k ap rive apre li anba solèy la?
For who knoweth what is good for a man throughout his life, for the number of the days of his life of vanity, seeing he will make them, like a shadow, —for who can tell a man, what shall be after him, under the sun?
