Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
Melius est nomen bonum, quam unguenta pretiosa: et dies mortis die nativitatis.
2 It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.
Melius est ire ad domum luctus, quam ad domum convivii: in illa enim finis cunctorum admonetur hominum, et vivens cogitat quid futurum sit.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
Melior est ira risu: quia per tristitiam vultus, corrigitur animus delinquentis.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
Cor sapientium ubi tristitia est, et cor stultorum ubi lætitia.
5 It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
Melius est a sapiente corripi, quam stultorum adulatione decipi.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
quia sicut sonitus spinarum ardentium sub olla, sic risus stulti: sed et hoc vanitas.
7 Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Calumnia conturbat sapientem, et perdet robur cordis illius.
8 The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
Melior est finis orationis, quam principium. Melior est patiens arrogante.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
Ne sis velox ad irascendum: quia ira in sinu stulti requiescit.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
Ne dicas: Quid putas causæ est quod priora tempora meliora fuere quam nunc sunt? stulta enim est huiuscemodi interrogatio.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
Utilior est sapientia cum divitiis, et magis prodest videntibus solem.
12 For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
Sicut enim protegit sapientia, sic protegit pecunia. hoc autem plus habet eruditio et sapientia, quod vitam tribuunt possessori suo.
13 Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
Considera opera Dei, quod nemo possit corrigere quem ille despexerit.
14 In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.
In die bona fruere bonis, et malam diem præcave. sicut enim hanc, sic et illam fecit Deus, ut non inveniat homo contra eum iustas querimonias.
15 In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
Hæc quoque vidi in diebus vanitatis meæ: Iustus perit in iustitia sua, et impius multo vivit tempore in malitia sua.
16 Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
Noli esse iustus multum: neque plus sapias quam necesse est, ne obstupescas.
17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
Ne impie agas multum: et noli esse stultus, ne moriaris in tempore non tuo.
18 It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.
Bonum est te sustentare iustum, sed et ab illo ne subtrahas manum tuam: quia qui timet Deum, nihil negligit.
19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
Sapientia confortavit sapientem super decem principes civitatis.
20 Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Non est enim homo iustus in terra, qui faciat bonum, et non peccet.
21 Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
Sed et cunctis sermonibus, qui dicuntur, ne accomodes cor tuum: ne forte audias servum tuum maledicentem tibi.
22 For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
scit enim conscientia tua, quia et tu crebro maledixisti aliis.
23 All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
Cuncta tentavi in sapientia. Dixi: Sapiens efficiar: et ipsa longius recessit a me
24 What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
multo magis quam erat: et alta profunditas, quis inveniet eam?
25 I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.
Lustravi universa animo meo, ut scirem, et considerarem, et quærerem sapientiam, et rationem: et ut cognoscerem impietatem stulti, et errorem imprudentium:
26 And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.
et inveni amariorem morte mulierem, quæ laqueus venatorum est, et sagena cor eius, vincula sunt manus illius. qui placet Deo, effugiet illam: qui autem peccator est, capietur ab illa.
27 “Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
Ecce hoc inveni, dixit Ecclesiastes, unum et alterum, ut invenirem rationem,
28 While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.
quam adhuc quærit anima mea, et non inveni. Virum de mille unum reperi, mulierem ex omnibus non inveni.
29 Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
Solummodo hoc inveni, quod fecerit Deus hominem rectum, et ipse se infinitis miscuerit quæstionibus. Quis talis ut sapiens est? et quis cognovit solutionem verbi?
