Ecclesiaste 12
1 Ma ricordati del tuo Creatore nei giorni della tua giovinezza, prima che vengano i cattivi giorni e giungano gli anni dei quali dirai: “Io non ci ho più alcun piacere”;
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.”
2 prima che il sole, la luce, la luna e le stelle s’oscurino, e le nuvole tornino dopo la pioggia:
[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.
3 prima dell’età in cui i guardiani della casa tremano, gli uomini forti si curvano, le macinatrici si fermano perché son ridotte a poche, quelli che guardan dalle finestre si oscurano,
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.
4 e i due battenti della porta si chiudono sulla strada perché diminuisce il rumore della macina; in cui l’uomo si leva al canto dell’uccello, tutte le figlie del canto s’affievoliscono,
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.
5 in cui uno ha paura delle alture, ha degli spaventi mentre cammina, in cui fiorisce il mandorlo, la locusta si fa pesante, e il cappero non fa più effetto perché l’uomo se ne va alla sua dimora eterna e i piagnoni percorrono le strade;
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.
6 prima che il cordone d’argento si stacchi, il vaso d’oro si spezzi, la brocca si rompa sulla fonte, la ruota infranta cada nel pozzo;
[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.
7 prima che la polvere torni alla terra com’era prima, e lo spirito torni a Dio che l’ha dato.
Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.
8 Vanità delle vanità, dice l’Ecclesiaste, tutto è vanità.
[So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.
9 L’Ecclesiaste, oltre ad essere un savio, ha anche insegnato al popolo la scienza, e ha ponderato, scrutato e messo in ordine un gran numero di sentenze.
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.
10 L’Ecclesiaste s’è applicato a trovare delle parole gradevoli; esse sono state scritte con dirittura, e sono parole di verità.
I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.
11 Le parole dei savi son come degli stimoli, e le collezioni delle sentenze sono come de’ chiodi ben piantati; esse sono date da un solo pastore.
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.
12 Del resto, figliuol mio, sta’ in guardia: si fanno de’ libri in numero infinito; e molto studiare è una fatica per il corpo.
[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.
13 Ascoltiamo dunque la conclusione di tutto il discorso: Temi Dio e osserva i suoi comandamenti, perché questo e il tutto dell’uomo.
[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.
14 Poiché Dio farà venire in giudizio ogni opera, tutto ciò ch’è occulto, sia bene, sia male.
And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.
