Ecclesiastes 7
1 Melius est nomen bonum, quam unguenta pretiosa: et dies mortis die nativitatis.
[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 Melius est ire ad domum luctus, quam ad domum convivii: in illa enim finis cunctorum admonetur hominum, et vivens cogitat quid futurum sit.
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 Melior est ira risu: quia per tristitiam vultus, corrigitur animus delinquentis.
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 Cor sapientium ubi tristitia est, et cor stultorum ubi lætitia.
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 Melius est a sapiente corripi, quam stultorum adulatione decipi.
It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
6 quia sicut sonitus spinarum ardentium sub olla, sic risus stulti: sed et hoc vanitas.
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 Calumnia conturbat sapientem, et perdet robur cordis illius.
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 Melior est finis orationis, quam principium. Melior est patiens arrogante.
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 Ne sis velox ad irascendum: quia ira in sinu stulti requiescit.
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 Ne dicas: Quid putas causæ est quod priora tempora meliora fuere quam nunc sunt? stulta enim est huiuscemodi interrogatio.
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 Utilior est sapientia cum divitiis, et magis prodest videntibus solem.
Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
12 Sicut enim protegit sapientia, sic protegit pecunia. hoc autem plus habet eruditio et sapientia, quod vitam tribuunt possessori suo.
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 Considera opera Dei, quod nemo possit corrigere quem ille despexerit.
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 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.
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 Hæc quoque vidi in diebus vanitatis meæ: Iustus perit in iustitia sua, et impius multo vivit tempore in malitia sua.
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 Noli esse iustus multum: neque plus sapias quam necesse est, ne obstupescas.
[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 Ne impie agas multum: et noli esse stultus, ne moriaris in tempore non tuo.
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 Bonum est te sustentare iustum, sed et ab illo ne subtrahas manum tuam: quia qui timet Deum, nihil negligit.
Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
19 Sapientia confortavit sapientem super decem principes civitatis.
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 Non est enim homo iustus in terra, qui faciat bonum, et non peccet.
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 Sed et cunctis sermonibus, qui dicuntur, ne accomodes cor tuum: ne forte audias servum tuum maledicentem tibi.
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 scit enim conscientia tua, quia et tu crebro maledixisti aliis.
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 Cuncta tentavi in sapientia. Dixi: Sapiens efficiar: et ipsa longius recessit a me
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 multo magis quam erat: et alta profunditas, quis inveniet eam?
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 Lustravi universa animo meo, ut scirem, et considerarem, et quærerem sapientiam, et rationem: et ut cognoscerem impietatem stulti, et errorem imprudentium:
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 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.
[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 Ecce hoc inveni, dixit Ecclesiastes, unum et alterum, ut invenirem rationem,
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 quam adhuc quærit anima mea, et non inveni. Virum de mille unum reperi, mulierem ex omnibus non inveni.
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 Solummodo hoc inveni, quod fecerit Deus hominem rectum, et ipse se infinitis miscuerit quæstionibus. Quis talis ut sapiens est? et quis cognovit solutionem verbi?
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
