< Eclesiastes 12 >

1 Portanto lembra-te de teu Criador nos dias de tua juventude, antes que venham os dias ruins, e cheguem os anos, dos quais venhas a dizer: Não tenho neles contentamento;
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 Antes que se escureçam o sol, a luz, a lua e as estrelas; e voltem as nuvens após a chuva.
[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 No dia em que os guardas da casa tremerem, e os homens fortes se encurvarem; e cessarem os moedores, por terem diminuído, e se escurecerem os que olham pelas janelas;
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 as portas da rua se fecharem, enquanto se abaixa o ruído da moedura; e se levantar a voz das aves, e todas as vozes do canto se encurvarem.
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 Como também [quando] temerem as coisas altas, e houver espantos no caminho; e florescer a amendoeira, e o gafanhoto se tornar pesado, e acabar o apetite; porque o homem vai para sua casa eterna, e os que choram andarão ao redor da praça;
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 Antes que se afrouxe a correia de prata, e de despedace a vasilha de ouro; e se quebre o vaso junto à fonte, e se despedace a roda junto ao poço.
[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 E o pó volte à terra, assim como era; e o espírito volte a Deus, que o deu.
Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.
8 Futilidade das futilidades! - diz o pregador - Tudo é futilidade.
[So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.
9 Além do Pregador ter sido sábio, ele também ensinou conhecimento ao povo. Ele ouviu, investigou e pôs em ordem muitos provérbios.
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 O Pregador procurou achar palavras agradáveis, e escreveu coisas corretas, palavras de verdade.
I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.
11 As palavras dos sábios são como aguilhões, e como pregos bem fixados [pelos] mestres das congregações, [que] foram dadas pelo único Pastor.
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 Além destas coisas, filho meu, tem cuidado; fazer muitos livros é [algo que] não tem fim; e estudar muito cansa a carne.
[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 De tudo o que foi ouvido, a conclusão é: teme a Deus, e guarda os mandamentos dele; porque isto é [o dever de] todo homem.
[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 Porque Deus trará a julgamento toda obra, até mesmo tudo o que está encoberto, seja bom ou mal.
And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.

< Eclesiastes 12 >