Ecclesiastes 12
1 While you are still young, keep thinking about [God], who created you. Do that before [you are old] and you experience many troubles, during the years when you say “I no [longer] enjoy being alive.”
Lembre-se também de seu Criador nos dias de sua juventude, antes que os dias maus cheguem, e os anos se aproximem, quando você dirá: “Eu não tenho prazer neles”.
2 [When you become old], the light from the sun and moon and stars will [seem] dim [to you], and [it will seem that the rain] clouds [always] return [quickly] after it rains.
Antes do sol, a luz, a lua e as estrelas são escurecidas, e as nuvens retornam após a chuva;
3 Then your [arms that you use to protect] [MET] your bodies will shake/tremble, and your [legs that support] [MET] your bodies will become weak. Many of your [teeth that you use to] grind/chew [your food] will fall out, and your [eyes that you use to] look out of windows will not see clearly.
no dia em que os zeladores da casa tremerão, e os homens fortes devem se curvar, e os moinhos param porque são poucos, e aqueles que olham para fora das janelas ficam escuros,
4 Your [ears] [MET] will not hear the noise in the streets, and you will not be able to hear clearly the sound of people grinding grain with millstones. You will be awakened in the morning by hearing the birds singing/chirping, [but] you will not be able to hear well the songs that (the birds/people) sing.
e as portas devem ser fechadas na rua; quando o som da trituração é baixo, e se levantará à voz de um pássaro, e todas as filhas da música devem ser trazidas para baixo;
5 You will be afraid to be in high places and afraid of dangers on the roads that you walk on. [Your hair] will become [white like] [MET] the flowers of almond trees. [When you try to walk], you will drag yourself along like [MET] grasshoppers, and you will no longer desire [to have sex]. Then you will [die and] go to your eternal home, and people who will mourn for you will be in the streets.
sim, eles devem ter medo das alturas, e terrores estarão a caminho; e a amendoeira deve florescer, e o gafanhoto deve ser um fardo, e o desejo deve falhar; porque o homem vai para sua casa eterna, e as carpideiras andam pelas ruas;
6 [Think much about God now, because] soon our lives will end, [like] [MET] silver chains or golden bowls that break easily, or like pitchers/jugs that are broken at the water fountain, or like broken pulleys at a well.
antes que o cordão prateado seja cortado, ou a tigela dourada está quebrada, ou o jarro está quebrado na primavera, ou a roda quebrada na cisterna,
7 Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.
e a poeira retorna à terra como estava, e o espírito retorna a Deus que o deu.
8 [So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.
“Vaidade das vaidades”, diz o pregador. “Tudo é vaidade!”
9 I was considered to be a very wise man, and I taught the people many things. I assembled/collected and wrote down many proverbs, and I carefully thought about and studied them.
Além disso, porque o Pregador era sábio, ele ainda ensinava o conhecimento do povo. Sim, ele ponderou, procurou e pôs em ordem muitos provérbios.
10 I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.
O Pregador procurou encontrar palavras aceitáveis, e o que foi escrito sem culpa, palavras de verdade.
11 The things that [I and other] wise people say [teach people what they should do]; they are like [SIM] (goads/sharp sticks that people use to strike animals to direct where they should go). They are like [SIM] nails that stick out of pieces of wood. They are given to us by [God, who is like] [MET] our shepherd.
As palavras dos sábios são como goads; e como pregos bem apertados são palavras dos mestres das assembléias, que são dadas por um só pastor.
12 [So], my son, pay careful attention to what I have written, and choose carefully what you read that others have written, [because] writing proverbs/books is endless, and [trying to] study them all will cause you to become exhausted.
Furthermore, meu filho, seja admoestado: de fazer muitos livros não há fim; e muito estudo é um cansaço da carne.
13 [Now] you have heard all [that I have told you], and here is the conclusion: Revere God, and obey his commandments, because those commandments summarize everything that people should do.
Este é o fim da questão. Tudo já foi ouvido. Temam a Deus e guardam seus mandamentos; pois este é todo o dever do homem.
14 And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.
Pois Deus levará cada obra a julgamento, com cada coisa oculta, seja ela boa, seja má.
