Ecclésiaste 11
1 Jette ton pain à la surface des eaux, car longtemps après tu le retrouveras;
Give generously to others [some of] the money [MET] that you have; if you do that, later you will get back an equal amount.
2 fais-en part à sept et même à huit; car tu ne sais pas quelle calamité il y aura sur la terre.
Share some of what you have with (seven or eight/several) [others], because you do not know when you will experience a disaster, [and if you give some of what you have to others], [when you experience that disaster, they will kindly help you].
3 Quand les nuages sont pleins de pluie, ils la versent sur la terre; et, que l'arbre tombe vers le sud ou vers le nord, il reste là, où il est tombé. –
[It is always true that] when clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. [Similarly], wherever a tree falls on the ground, that is where it will remain.
4 Celui qui observe le vent, ne sèmera point; et celui qui regarde les nuages, ne récoltera point. –
If farmers see in what direction the wind is blowing, they will know whether it is wise at that time to plant things or not. [It is also true that] if farmers look at the clouds [and see that they are blowing from the west, which means that it will probably rain, ] they will not [try to] harvest their crops on that day.
5 De même que tu ignores quelle est la route du vent, et comment les os se forment dans le sein de la femme enceinte de même tu ne saurais connaître l'œuvre de Dieu qui fait toutes choses.
We do not know where the wind comes from or where it goes, and we do not know how bodies are formed in women’s wombs. Similarly [SIM], God is the one who made everything, and we cannot [fully] understand what God does.
6 Dès le matin sème tes semences, et au soir ne laisse pas ta main oisive! Car tu ne sais si c'est l'une ou l'autre qui réussira, ou si toutes deux elles sont également bonnes.
[Start] planting your seeds in the morning, and do not stop planting them until the evening, because you do not know which ones will grow better, the ones you plant in the morning or the ones you plant later in the day, or whether both will grow well.
7 La lumière est douce, et c'est un bonheur pour les yeux de voir le soleil.
It is very delightful to be alive and see [MTY] the sun [rise every morning].
8 Car, lors même que l'homme vit un grand nombre d'années, il trouve de la joie dans toutes; il se souvient d'ailleurs qu'il y aura bien des jours sombres, et que tout l'avenir est une vanité.
[Even] if people live for many years, they should enjoy all of them. But they should not forget that [some day they will die] and then they will never be able to see any light again, and we do not know what will happen to us after we die.
9 Réjouis-toi, jeune homme, pendant ton jeune âge, et laisse ton cœur être heureux pendant les jours de ta jeunesse; et suis la voie que te montre ton cœur, et le regard de tes yeux. Sache en même temps que sur toutes ces choses Dieu t'appellera au jugement.
You young people, be happy while you are still young. Enjoy [IDM] doing the things that you want to do. But do not forget that [some day] God will judge you concerning all the things that you do.
10 Et bannis le chagrin de ton cœur, et éloigne les maux de ton corps! Car la jeunesse et l'aurore sont un souffle.
[So when you are young] [MTY], do not worry about anything, and do not pay attention to the pains that you have in your body, because we will not remain young and strong forever.
