Eclesiastés 7
1 Más vale la buena reputación que preciosos ungüentos, y más el día de la muerte que el del nacimiento.
[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 Mejor es ir a la casa del luto que a la casa del festín; pues aquella (recuerda) el fin de todos los hombres, y el viviente se pone a reflexionar.
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 Mejor es el pesar que la risa, pues la tristeza del rostro es medicina para el corazón.
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 El corazón de los sabios está en la casa del luto, y el de los necios en la casa del placer.
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 Más vale oír la reprensión del sabio, que escuchar el cantar de los necios;
It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
6 porque como el crepitar de los espinos debajo de la olla, así es la risa de los necios. Y también esto es vanidad.
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 Porque la vejación conturba al sabio, y las dádivas corrompen el corazón.
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 Mejor es el fin de una cosa que sus comienzos; y vale más el hombre sufrido que el arrogante.
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 No seas ligero en airarte; la ira reside en el seno de los insensatos.
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 No preguntes: “¿Por qué los tiempos antiguos fueron mejores que estos?”, porque no es sabiduría el preguntarlo.
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 Cosa buena es la sabiduría con bienes materiales, y de gran provecho para los que ven el sol.
Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
12 Escudo es la sabiduría, y escudo es el dinero, pero el conocimiento de la sabiduría tiene la ventaja de dar vida a su poseedor.
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 la obra de Dios: ¿Quién podrá enderezar lo que Él encorvó?
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 En el día de la prosperidad goza de la prosperidad, y en el día de la adversidad ten presente que Dios hizo al uno como al otro, a fin de que el hombre nada sepa de lo que ha de venir después de Él.
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 Todo lo he visto en los días de mi vanidad: al justo, que perece en medio de su justicia, y al malvado, que vive largo tiempo en medio de sus iniquidades.
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 No quieras ser demasiado justo, ni demasiado sabio. ¿Por qué quieres perderte?
[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 No hagas mucho mal, ni seas insensato. ¿Por qué quieres morir antes de tiempo?
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 Bueno es retener lo uno, sin dejar de tu mano lo otro; porque quien teme a Dios, evita todos esos (excesos).
Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
19 La sabiduría da al sabio más fuerzas que diez poderosos que hay en la ciudad.
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 Porque no hay sobre la tierra hombre justo que obre bien y no peque nunca.
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 No prestes atención a todas las palabras que se dicen, no sea que oigas a tu siervo hablar mal de ti.
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 Pues bien sabe tu conciencia que también tú muchas veces has murmurado de otros.
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 He probado todo esto por medio de la sabiduría. Me dije “Quiero ser sabio”, mas la (sabiduría) está lejos de mí.
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 Lo que se queda lejos y es más profundo, ¿quién podrá alcanzarlo?
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 Apliqué mi corazón para conocer, investigar y buscar la sabiduría y la razón de ser (de las cosas), y para conocer la maldad de la insensatez, la necedad y la locura,
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 y hallé que más amarga que la muerte es aquella mujer cuyo corazón es lazo y red, y cuyas manos son cadenas. Quien agrada a Dios, escapa de ella, pero el pecador quedará preso en sus lazos.
[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 He aquí lo que hallé, dice el Predicador, contemplando una cosa tras otra para averiguar sus razones,
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 las cuales busca todavía mi alma, sin poder encontrarlas. Entre mil hallé un hombre, pero no una mujer entre otras tantas mujeres.
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 Pero esto hallé; nótalo bien: Dios creó al hombre recto; mas ellos se entregaron a muchos vanos pensamientos.
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
