< 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 is a wise man? Who knows what the events in life mean? Wisdom in a man causes his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
2 Mwen di: “Swiv lòd wa a akoz sèman ki te fèt devan Bondye a.
I advise you to obey the king's command because of God's oath to protect him.
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 hurry out of his presence, and do not stand in support of something wrong, for the king does whatever he desires.
4 Akoz pawòl a wa a pote otorite, se kilès ki va di l: “Kisa w ap fè la a?”
The king's word rules, so who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Sila ki swiv yon kòmand wayal pa jwenn twoub; paske yon kè saj konnen tan ak mwayen ki bon pou aji.
Whoever keeps the king's commands avoids harm. A wise man's heart recognizes the proper course and time of action.
6 Paske gen yon tan ak mwayen ki bon pou chak plezi, malgre pwoblèm moun an peze lou sou li.
For every matter there is a correct response and a time to respond, because the troubles of man are great.
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 is coming next. Who can tell him what is coming?
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.
No one is ruler over his breath so as to stop the breath, and no one has power over the day of his death. No one is discharged from the army during a battle, and wickedness will not rescue those who are its slaves.
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 have realized all this; I have applied my heart to every kind of work that is done under the sun. There is a time when a person oppresses another person to that person's hurt.
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.
So I saw the wicked buried publicly. They were taken from the holy area and buried and were praised by people in the city where they had done their wicked deeds. This also is uselessness.
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.
When a sentence against an evil crime is not executed quickly, it entices the hearts of human beings 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.
Even though a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives a long time, yet I know that it will be better for those who respect God, for those who stand before him and show him respect.
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 will not go well for a wicked man; his life will not be prolonged. His days are like a fleeting shadow because he does not honor 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 another useless vapor—something else that is done on the earth. Things happen to righteous people as they happen to wicked people, and things happen to wicked people as they happen to righteous people. I say that this also is useless vapor.
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 recommend happiness, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and drink and to be happy. It is happiness that will accompany him in his labor for all the days of his life that 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),
When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to understand the work that is done on the earth, work often done without sleep for the eyes at night or in the day,
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 considered all of God's deeds, and that man cannot understand the work that is done under the sun. No matter how much a man labors to find the answers, he will not find them. Even though a wise man might believe he knows, he really does not.