Eclesiastes 7
1 Nasaysayaat ti napintas a nagan ngem ti nangina a pabanglo, ken ti aldaw ti pannakatay ket nasaysayaat ngem ti aldaw ti pannakaiyanak.
[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.
2 Nasaysayaat iti mapan iti balay iti ladladingit ngem iti balay iti ramrambak, ta umay ti panagladangit kadagiti amin a tattao iti pagpatinggaan ti biag, isu a masapul nga ipapuso dagiti sibibiag a tattao daytoy.
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.
3 Nasaysayaat ti ladingit ngem ti katawa, ta kalpasan ti kinaliday ti rupa ket dumteng ti kinaragsak ti puso.
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].
4 Ti puso ti masirib ket adda iti balay iti ladladingit, ngem adda ti puso dagiti maag iti balay iti ramrambak.
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.
5 Nasaysayaat ti dumngeg iti panangtubngar iti masirib ngem ti dumngeg iti kanta dagiti maag.
It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
6 Ta kasla iti panagrissat dagiti mapupuoran a sisiit iti sirok ti banga, kasta met ti katawa dagiti maag. Maiyarig met laeng daytoy iti alingasaw.
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.
7 Awan duadua a ti panagkusit ket pagbalinenna a maag ti maysa a masirib a tao, ken dadaelen ti pasuksok ti pusona.
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.
8 Nasaysayaat ti panagleppas ti maysa a banag ngem ti rugrugi; ken nasaysayaat dagiti tattao a naanus ti espirituda ngem dagiti natangsit ti espirituda.
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 Saankayo a dagus a makapungtot iti espirituyo, ta agnanaed ti pungtot kadagiti puso dagiti maag.
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 Saanyo a kunaen, “Apay a nasaysayaat dagiti naglabas nga aldaw ngem kadagitoy? Ta saan a gapu iti kinasirib a dinamagyo daytoy.
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 Ti kinasirib ket nasayaat a kas kadagiti napapateg a banbanag a tinawidtayo manipud kadagiti kapuonantayo. Mangipapaay daytoy iti pagimbagan para kadagiti makakita iti init.
Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
12 Ta mangipapaay iti salaknib ti kinasirib kas iti kuarta a makaipaay iti salaknib, ngem ti pagimbagan iti pannakaammo ket mangmangted ti kinasirib iti biag iti siasinoman nga addaan iti daytoy.
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.
13 Utobem dagiti aramid ti Dios: Siasino ti makalinteg ti aniaman a banag nga inaramidna a killo?
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.
14 No nasayaat dagiti tiempo, agbiagka a siraragsak iti dayta a kinasayaat, ngem no saan a nasayaat dagiti tiempo, utobem daytoy: impalubos ti Dios nga umadda iti agpada a tiempo. Iti daytoy a rason, awanto ti makaammo ti aniaman a banag a dumteng kalpasanna.
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.
15 Nakitak dagiti adu a banbanag kabayatan dagiti awan kaipapananna nga al-aldawko. Adda dagiti mapukaw a nalinteg a tattao iti laksid dagiti kinalintegda ken adda dagiti nadangkes a tattao nga agbibiag iti atiddug iti laksid kadagiti kinadakesda.
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.
16 Saanka nga aginsisingpet, a masirib iti bukodmo a panagkita. Apay koma a dadaelem ti bagim?
[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.
17 Saanka unay nga agbalin a nadangkes wenno maag. Apay koma a matayka sakbay ti naituding a tiempom?
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 Nasayaat a salimetmetam koma daytoy a kinasirib, ken saanmo koma nga ikkaten dagiti imam manipud iti kinalinteg. Ta ti tao nga agbutbuteng iti Dios ket maaramidnanto dagiti amin a pagrebbenganna.
Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
19 Nabilbileg ti kinasirib iti masirib a tao, ngem ti sangapulo a mangiturturay iti siudad.
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 Awan ti nalinteg a tao ditoy rabaw ti daga nga agar-aramid iti nasayaat ken saanen pulos nga agbasbasol.
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 Saanka a dumngeg kadagiti amin a sasao a maibalbalikas, gapu ta amangan no mangngegmo ti adipenmo a mangilunod kenka.
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 Kasta met, ammom iti bagim nga iti bukodmo a puso ket masansan nga inlunodmo dagiti dadduma.
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 Napaneknekak amin dagitoy babaen iti kinasirib. Kinunak, “Agbalinak a masirib,” ngem nakarkaro daytoy ngem ti kabaelak.
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.
24 Adayo ti kinasirib ken kasta unay ti kinaunegna. Siasino ti makasarak iti daytoy?
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 Intalyawko ti pusok nga agadal ken agsukimat ken agbiruk iti kinasirib ken kadagiti pannakaipalawag ti kinapudno ken tapno maawatan a ti dakes ket kinakuneng ken ti kinamaag ket kinamauyong.
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.
26 Naduktalak a ti napapait ngem iti patay ket ti siasinoman a babai a ti pusona ket napno kadagiti silo ken iket, ken dagiti imana ket kawar. Makalibas kenkuana ti siasinoman a makaay-ayo iti Dios, ngem maalananto dagiti managbasol.
[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.
27 “Panunotenyo ti naduktalak,” kinuna ti Manursuro. Naynayunak ti mangdukduktal iti sabali pay tapno makabirukak iti pannakaipalawag iti kinapudno.
This is what I have learned: I tried to learn more and more about things to try to find out the reason for everything,
28 Daytoy ti birbirukek pay laeng, ngem saanko a nasarakan daytoy. Nakasakarak iti maysa a nalinteg a lalaki kadagiti rinibo, ngem awan ti nabirukak kadakuada a babai.
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.
29 Naduktalak laeng daytoy: a pinarsua ti Dios a nalinteg ti sangkataoan, ngem pimmanawda nga agbirbiruk kadagiti adu a kinarigat.
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
