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.
Una buena reputación es mejor que un perfume costoso, y el día de tu muerte es mejor que el día de tu 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 un funeral que a una fiesta. Al final, todo el mundo muere, y los que aún están vivos deberían pensar en ello.
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].
La pena es mejor que la risa, porque la tragedia nos ayuda a pensar.
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.
Los sabios piensan en el impacto de la muerte, mientras que los necios sólo piensan en divertirse.
5 It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
Es mejor escuchar la crítica de un sabio que 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.
La risa de los necios es como el crujir de las ramas de espino que se queman debajo de una olla: sin sentido y que se extinguen rápidamente.
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.
Extorsionar a los demás convierte a los sabios en insensatos, y aceptar sobornos corrompe la mente.
8 Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
Terminar algo es mejor que empezarlo. Ser paciente es mejor que ser orgulloso.
9 Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
No te apresures a enojarte, porque la ira controla la mente de los insensatos.
10 Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
No preguntes: “¿Por qué los viejos tiempos eran mejores que ahora?”. Preguntar eso demuestra que no eres sabio.
11 Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
La sabiduría es buena, es como recibir una herencia. Beneficia a todos en la vida.
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 trae seguridad, al igual que el dinero, pero la ventaja para los que tienen sabiduría es que se mantienen sanos y salvos.
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.
Piensa en lo que hace Dios. Si él hace que algo se doble, ¡no podrás enderezarlo!
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 un buen día, alégrate. Cuando llegue un día malo, párate a pensar. Dios hizo cada día, de modo que no sabes lo que te sucederá después.
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.
A lo largo de mi vida he visto muchas cosas que son difíciles de entender. Gente buena que muere joven a pesar de hacer lo correcto, y a la gente malvada que vive una larga vida de 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 pienses que puedes hacer lo correcto con mucha observancia religiosa, y no pretendas ser tan sabio. ¿Quieres destruirte a ti mismo?
17 If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
Por otro lado, no te decidas a vivir una vida malvada, ¡no seas insensato! ¿Por qué 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.
Debes tener en cuenta estas advertencias. Los que siguen a Dios estarán seguros de evitar ambas cosas.
19 If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
La sabiduría da a una persona sabia más poder que diez consejeros de la ciudad.
20 There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
No hay una sola persona buena en todo el mundo que haga siempre lo correcto y no peque nunca.
21 Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
No te tomes a pecho todo lo que dice la gente, pues de lo contrario podrías oír a tu siervo hablar mal de ti,
22 You know that you have also cursed other people.
¡pues sabes cuántas veces tú mismo has hablado mal de los demás!
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.
He examinado todo esto usando los principios de la sabiduría. Me dije: “Pensaré con sabiduría”. Pero la sabiduría se me escapó.
24 Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
Todo lo que existe está fuera de nuestro alcance, es demasiado profundo para nuestro entendimiento. ¿Quién puede comprenderlo?
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.
Dirigí mis pensamientos a descubrir, investigar y averiguar más sobre la sabiduría y lo que tiene sentido. Quería saber más sobre lo estúpido que es el mal y lo ridículo que es ser un insensato.
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.
Descubrí algo más horrible que la muerte: una tontería como la mujer que trata de atraparte, que quiere usar su mente y sus manos para capturarte y atarte. Los que siguen a Dios no serán atrapados, pero los pecadores caerán en su trampa.
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,
Esto es lo que descubrí después de sumar dos y dos juntos para intentar averiguar qué significaba todo aquello, dice el Maestro.
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.
Aunque realmente busqué, no encontré lo que buscaba. La gente dice: “Encontré un hombre entre mil, pero ni una sola mujer”.
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.
Pero descubrí esto: Dios hizo al ser humano para hacer lo que es correcto, pero ellos han seguido sus propias ideas.
