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.
[I will tell you about] those who are truly wise [RHQ] with the result that they can explain why everything happens. Being wise enables people to be happy [MTY] and enables them to smile.
2 Mwen di: “Swiv lòd wa a akoz sèman ki te fèt devan Bondye a.
You solemnly promised God that you would obey what the king commands, so do that.
3 Pa prese abandone lòd li. Pa jwenn ou menm nan yon move konbinezon, paske l ap fè nenpòt sa ki fè li plezi.”
Do not quickly disobey the king. And do not join those who want to rebel against him, because the king will do what he wants to do.
4 Akoz pawòl a wa a pote otorite, se kilès ki va di l: “Kisa w ap fè la a?”
We need to obey what the king says more than we need to obey what anyone else says; no one can say to the king, “(Why are you doing that?/You should not be doing that.) [RHQ]”
5 Sila ki swiv yon kòmand wayal pa jwenn twoub; paske yon kè saj konnen tan ak mwayen ki bon pou aji.
If you obey what the king commands, he will not harm you. [So] be wise, and know the correct/right time to do things and the right way to do them.
6 Paske gen yon tan ak mwayen ki bon pou chak plezi, malgre pwoblèm moun an peze lou sou li.
Although people experience many troubles/difficulties, there is a right/correct time to do things, and there is a right/correct way [to do them].
7 Si pa gen pèsòn ki konnen ki sa k ap vin rive, se kilès ki ka di li kilè li va rive.
No one knows what will happen in the future, so there is no one [RHQ] who can tell us what is going to happen.
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.
We cannot control the wind, and we cannot control when we will die. Soldiers are not permitted to go home during a battle, and evil people will not be saved by [doing what is] evil.
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.
I thought about all those things, and I thought about all [HYP] the other things that happen on this earth. I saw that [sometimes] people cause those whom they control to suffer.
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.
I also saw that [sometimes] after evil [people] die, they are highly honored at their funerals by the people in the cities where they had done [evil] deeds. It seemed to be difficult to understand why that happens.
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.
If evil people are not immediately punished, it causes [other] people [SYN] to [also] want to do evil things.
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.
But even if sinful people commit 100 crimes, and [even if they] live for a long time, I know that things will go better for those who greatly respect and revere God.
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.
[I also know] that things will not go well go for those who are evil, because they do not revere God. Shadows [do not last a long time]. Similarly [SIM], evil people will not live a long time.
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.
Another thing that [sometimes] happens on this earth is that bad things happen to righteous people, and good things happen to evil people. It is difficult to understand why that happens.
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.
[So] I decided that I would recommend that people be happy while they are alive, because the best thing that people can do here on this earth is to eat and drink and be happy. Enjoying doing those things will help people while they do their work, all the time that God has given to them to remain alive here on the earth.
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),
I thought about being wise and about people who work very hard, working day and night and not taking time to sleep.
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.
Then I thought about everything [HYP] that God has done, and I realized that no one can understand everything that happens here on this earth. Truly, people are not able to fully understand everything [that God understands], even if they try hard to do that. Even if wise people claim that they understand it all, they cannot.
