Mpitoriteny 7
1 Ambone’ ty fahosotse sarotse ty tahinañe soa; naho ty androm-pihomahañe, ta ty andro nisamahañe.
[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 Hàmake t’ie mb’an-traño fandalàñe ta te mb’añ’anjomba fisabadidahañe, fa izay ty figadoña’ ze kila ondaty, ee te hapo’ ty veloñe an-tro’e ao izay.
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 Ambone’ ty fiankahafañe ty haemberañe; fa mete ho fale ty arofo ndra te lonjetse ty laharañe.
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 Añ-anjombam-pandalàñe ao ty arofo’ o mahihitseo, le an-trañom-piankahafañe ao ty tro’ o dagolao.
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 Hàmake t’ie mijanjiñe ty fañendaha’ ty mahihitse, ta te mitsanoñe ty sabo’ o mineñeo.
It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
6 Hambañe ami’ty fipipiham-patike ambane’ valàñe eo, ty fitohafa’ i dagola; hakoahañe ka izay.
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 Toe mampinè’ ty mahihitse ty famorekekeañe, vaho mamorek’ arofo ty vokàñe.
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 Ambone’ ty fifotoran-draha ty figadoña’e, le ambone’ ty troke misenge ty arofo mahaliñe.
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 Ko malisa ho viñetse añ’arofo irehe, amy te mimoneñe am-banian-dagola ao ty habosehañe.
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 Ko manao ty hoe, Ino ty nahasoa o andro taoloo te amo henanekeo? toe tsy aman-kihitse i ontane’o zay.
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 Raha soa te mitraoke an-kihitse ty lova, toe tombo’ o mahaisake i androio.
Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
12 Manahake ty fañarova’ ty vara ty fañambena’ i hihitsey; fe ty hasoa’ o hilalao, arova’ i hihitsey ty fiai’ o manañ’ azeo.
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 Haraharao ty fitoloñan’ Añahare; ia ty mahay mañity ty nimengoha’e.
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 Mifalea añ’andro vokatse, vaho mitsakorea añ’andron-kankàñe; songa nanoen’ Añahare itoy naho iroy, soa tsy ho oni’ ondaty ndra inoñ’ inoñe amo hanonjohy azeo.
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 Hene nitreako amo haveloko koakey; eo t’indaty vaño mihomak’ amy havantaña’ey, eo ka ty lo-tsereke mañalava andro amy haratia’ey.
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 Ko loho vantañe; ko losore’o ty hihitse; Ino ty hampiantoa’o ty vata’o?
[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 Ko loho tsereheñe, naho ko manao gege; ino ty hivetraha’o aolo’ ty andro’o?
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 Soa re te fahara’o iroy, vaho tsy asita’o itoy, fa horihe’ ty mañeveñe aman’ Añahare i roe rey.
Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
19 Mampaozatse ty mahihitse ambone’ ty mpifehe folo an-drova ao, ty hihitse.
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 Fa toe tsitantane t’indaty vañoñe mitolon-kavantañañe le lia’e tsy mandilatse.
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 Aa le ko loho haoñe’o ze fonga enta saontsieñe, tsy mone ho janji’o mamatse azo ty mpitoro’o;
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 amy te beteke, fohi’ ty vata’o te ihe namatse ty ila’e.
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 Fa hene nitsoheako an-kihitse, le hoe iraho: Ho paiako ty hihitse, fe nihànkañe amako.
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 Tsietoitane añe naho miheotse o raha fa nifetsakeo, ia ty hahatendreke aze?
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 Natoliko ty troko handrèndreke naho hitsikarake vaho hikodebe ty hihitse naho ty lengo’ o rahao, naho ty hahafohinako ty haratia’ ty hadagolàñe, vaho ty hanè’ o hagegeañeo;
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 le nitreako te mafaitse te ami’ty havilasy ty rakemba amam-pandrike, ie harato ty tro’e, naho silisilim-pandrohizañe o taña’eo; hiponiora’ ty mahafale an’ Andrianañahare; fe ho tsepahe’e ty mpanan-tahiñe.
[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 Ingo, itoy ty nitreako, hoe ty mpañoke, ie tovoñañe ami’ty raha raike ty ila’e, hamoliliañ’ aze;
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 ie nitolom-pipay ty troko, fe mbe mboe tsy naharendreke; fa nahatrea ondaty raik’ ami’ty arivo iraho, fe tsy nahatrea rakemba raik’ amy rezay iaby.
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 Inao, te zao avao ty nitreako, te nanoen’ Añahare mahity t’indaty, f’ie mikitro-draha maro.
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
