Ecclesiastes 7
1 [Having] a good reputation [MTY] is better than fine perfume, and the day that we die is better than the day that we are born.
El buen nombre es mejor que el perfume fino, y el día de la muerte mejor que el día del nacimiento.
2 It is better to go to a house where people are mourning [about someone who has died] than to go to a house where people are feasting, because everyone will die some day, and people who are alive should think seriously [IDM] about that.
Es mejor ir a la casa del luto que a la casa del banquete; porque ése es el fin de todos los hombres, y los vivos deben tenerlo en cuenta.
3 It is better to be sad than to be [always] laughing, because being sad can cause us to think more about how we should conduct our lives [IDM].
Mejor es la tristeza que la risa, porque con la tristeza del rostro el corazón se hace bueno.
4 Wise [people] who go to where others are mourning think about [the fact that some day they also will] die, but foolish people [PRS] [do not think about that]; they are always [MTY] laughing.
El corazón de los sabios está en la casa del luto; pero el corazón de los necios está en la casa de la alegría.
5 It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
Mejor es oír la reprensión de los sabios que oír la canción de los necios.
6 By [listening to] foolish people laughing we will not [learn any more than by listening to] the crackling of thorns [being burned] under a pot. Listening to fools is senseless.
Porque como el crepitar de las espinas debajo de la olla, así es la risa del necio. Esto también es vanidad.
7 When wise people say to others, “You must pay me a lot of money for me to protect you,” that causes those wise people to become foolish, and [accepting] bribes causes people to become unable to do what is fair/just.
Ciertamente la extorsión hace necio al sabio; y el soborno destruye el entendimiento.
8 Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
Mejor es el fin de una cosa que su principio. El paciente de espíritu es mejor que el orgulloso de espíritu.
9 Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
No te apresures en tu espíritu a enojarte, porque la ira reposa en el seno de los necios.
10 Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
No digas: “¿Por qué los días anteriores eran mejores que éstos?” Porque no preguntas con sabiduría sobre esto.
11 Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
La sabiduría es tan buena como una herencia. Sí, es más excelente para los que ven el sol.
12 We are [sometimes] protected by being wise like we are [sometimes] protected by having a lot of money, but being wise is better [than having a lot of money], [because] being wise prevents us from [doing foolish things that would] cause us to die.
Porque la sabiduría es una defensa, así como el dinero es una defensa; pero la excelencia del conocimiento es que la sabiduría preserva la vida de quien la tiene.
13 Think [carefully about] what God has done. Certainly no one can [RHQ] cause to become straight the things that God has caused to be crooked.
Considerad la obra de Dios, pues ¿quién podrá enderezar lo que él ha hecho torcido?
14 When things are going well for you, be happy, and when things are not going well for you, remember that God is the one who causes good things to happen and who also causes disasters.
En el día de la prosperidad alégrate, y en el día de la adversidad considera; sí, Dios ha hecho lo uno junto a lo otro, para que el hombre no descubra nada después de él.
15 During all the time that I have been alive I have seen a lot of [HYP] things that seem senseless. I have seen righteous people die [while they are still young], and I have seen wicked people remain alive for a very long time in [spite of] their continuing to be wicked.
Todo esto lo he visto en mis días de vanidad: hay un justo que perece en su justicia, y hay un malvado que vive mucho tiempo en su maldad.
16 [So] do not think that you are very righteous and do not think that you are very wise, [because if you think those things], you will destroy yourself.
No seas demasiado justo, ni te hagas demasiado sabio. ¿Por qué has de destruirte a ti mismo?
17 If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
No seas demasiado malvado, ni seas necio. ¿Por qué has de morir antes de tiempo?
18 Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
Es bueno que te apoderes de esto. Sí, tampoco retires tu mano de eso; porque el que teme a Dios saldrá de todas ellas.
19 If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
La sabiduría es una fuerza para el sabio más que diez gobernantes que hay en una ciudad.
20 There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
Ciertamente no hay un justo en la tierra que haga el bien y no peque.
21 Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
Tampoco prestes atención a todas las palabras que se pronuncian, no sea que oigas a tu siervo maldecirte;
22 You know that you have also cursed other people.
porque a menudo tu propio corazón sabe que tú mismo has maldecido a otros.
23 I said [to myself] that I would use my wisdom to study all the things [that I have written about], but I was not able to do it successfully.
Todo esto lo he probado con sabiduría. Dije: “Seré sabio”; pero estuvo lejos de mí.
24 Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
Lo que es, está lejos y es muy profundo. ¿Quién puede descubrirlo?
25 But I decided to investigate things and by my wisdom try to understand the reason for everything. I also wanted to understand why people act wickedly and why they act very foolishly.
Me volví, y mi corazón buscó conocer y escudriñar, y buscar la sabiduría y el esquema de las cosas, y saber que la maldad es estupidez, y que la necedad es locura.
26 [One thing I learned was that] (allowing a woman to seduce you/having sex with a woman to whom you are not married) is worse than dying. A woman who tries to seduce men is [as dangerous as] a trap [MET]. [If you allow her to put] her arms [around you, it will be as though she will be fastening you with] chains. Women like that will capture sinful men, but men who please God will escape from such women.
Más amarga que la muerte me parece la mujer cuyo corazón es lazos y trampas, cuyas manos son cadenas. El que agrada a Dios escapará de ella; pero el pecador quedará atrapado por ella.
27 This is what I have learned: I tried to learn more and more about things to try to find out the reason for everything,
“He encontrado esto”, dice el Predicador, “para encontrar una explicación
28 and I continued to try to learn more, but I could not find [all that I was searching for]. [But] one thing that I found out was that among 1,000 [people] I found one righteous man, but I did not find even one righteous woman.
que mi alma aún busca, pero no he encontrado. He encontrado un hombre entre mil, pero no he encontrado una mujer entre todos ellos.
29 [But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
He aquí que sólo he encontrado esto: que Dios hizo al género humano recto; pero ellos buscan muchas invenciones.”
