Eklezyas 8
1 Se kilès ki tankou nonm saj ki konnen sans a yon bagay? Sajès a yon nonm klere li e fè vizaj sevè li a vin briye.
Who knows the wise? and who knows the interpretation of a saying? A man's wisdom will lighten his countenance; but a man of shameless countenance will be hated.
2 Mwen di: “Swiv lòd wa a akoz sèman ki te fèt devan Bondye a.
Observe the commandment of the king, and [that] because of the word of the oath of God.
3 Pa prese abandone lòd li. Pa jwenn ou menm nan yon move konbinezon, paske l ap fè nenpòt sa ki fè li plezi.”
Be not hasty; you shall go forth out of his presence: stand not in an evil matter; for he will do whatever he shall please,
4 Akoz pawòl a wa a pote otorite, se kilès ki va di l: “Kisa w ap fè la a?”
even as a king having power: and who will say to him, What do you?
5 Sila ki swiv yon kòmand wayal pa jwenn twoub; paske yon kè saj konnen tan ak mwayen ki bon pou aji.
He that keeps the commandment shall not know an evil thing: and the heart of the wise knows the time of judgment.
6 Paske gen yon tan ak mwayen ki bon pou chak plezi, malgre pwoblèm moun an peze lou sou li.
For to every thing there is time and judgment; for the knowledge of a man is great to him.
7 Si pa gen pèsòn ki konnen ki sa k ap vin rive, se kilès ki ka di li kilè li va rive.
For there is no one that knows what is going to be: for who shall tell him how it shall be?
8 Nanpwen moun ki ka sèvi ak van pou anpeche van, ni ki gen otorite sou jou lanmò a; epi pa gen lese tonbe ni kite nan tan lagè, ni mal la kap fèt p ap delivre sila ki fè l yo.
There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; and there is no power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in the day of the battle; neither shall ungodliness save her votary.
9 Tout sa mwen konn wè yo, e kon aplike panse m a tout zèv ki te fèt anba solèy la, kote moun sèvi otorite l sou lòt pou fè mal la.
So I saw all this, and I applied my heart to every work that has been done under the sun; all the things wherein man has power over man to afflict him.
10 Konsa, mwen konn wè mechan yo antere, menm sila ki te konn antre sòti nan lye sen yo, e ase vit yo vin bliye nèt nan menm vil kote yo te aji konsa a. Sa tou, se vanite.
And then I saw the ungodly carried into the tombs, and [that] out of the holy place: and they departed, and were praised in the city, because they had done thus: this also is vanity.
11 Akoz jijman kont yon zak mechan pa rive ase vit; akoz sa, kè fis a lòm nan ki rete pami yo vin dedye nèt pou fè mal.
Because there is no contradiction made on the part of those who do evil quickly, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully determined in them to do evil.
12 Malgre yon pechè fè mal san fwa e mennen yon vi ki long, mwen toujou konnen ke sa prale byen pou sila ki gen lakrent Bondye yo, ki gen lakrent devan L yo.
He that has sinned has done evil from that time, and long from beforehand: nevertheless I know, that it is well with them that fear God, that they may fear before him:
13 Men, sa pa prale byen pou moun mechan an, e li p ap pwolonje jou li yo tankou yon lonbraj, paske li pa gen lakrent Bondye.
but it shall not be well with the ungodly, and he shall not prolong his days, [which are] as a shadow; forasmuch as he fears not before God.
14 Gen yon vanite ki fèt sou latè, sa vle di, gen moun dwat ki vin viktim a mechan yo. Yon lòt kote, gen moun mechan an ki vin tonbe akoz zèv moun dwat yo. Mwen di sa anplis se vanite.
There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are righteous persons to whom it happens according to the doing of the ungodly; and there are ungodly men, to whom it happens according to the doing of the just: I said, This is also vanity.
15 Pou sa, mwen te rekòmande plezi; paske, pa gen anyen pou yon nonm anba solèy la fè sof ke manje, bwè, e fè plezi; epi sa va fè l kanpe nan travay di li diran tout jou lavi, ke Bondye te bay li anba solèy la.
Then I praised mirth, because there is no good for a man under the sun, but to eat, and drink, and be merry: and this shall attend him in his labor all the days of his life, which God has given him under the sun.
16 Lè mwen te bay kè m pou aprann sajès ak pou m wè tach ki te konn fèt sou tè a, (malgre sa ta fè yon moun pa janm dòmi ni lajounen, ni lannwit),
Whereupon I set my heart to know wisdom, and to perceive the trouble that was wrought upon the earth: for there is that neither by day nor night sees sleep with his eyes.
17 konsa, lè mwen te wè tout zèv Bondye te fè, mwen te vin aprann ke lòm p ap kapab dekouvri travay ki te konn fèt anba syèl la. Malgre lòm ta chache ak tout dilijans, li p ap twouve li. Malgre yon nonm saj ta di: “Mwen konnen”, li p ap ka dekouvri li.
And I saw all the works of God, that a man shall not be able to discover the work which is wrought under the sun; whatever things a man shall endeavor to seek, however a man may labor to seek it, yet he shall not find it; yes, how much soever a wise man may speak of knowing it, he shall not be able to find it: for I applied all this to my heart, and my heart has seen all this.
