Eclesiastés 5
1 Ten cuidado cuando entres en la casa de Dios. Es mejor escuchar y responder en lugar de ofrecer sacrificios sin sentido. La gente que hace tal cosa ni siquiera sabe que está actuando mal.
When you enter God’s temple, you should be sure to listen carefully. Doing that is better than offering sacrifices to God [and then not obeying him], which is foolish.
2 No te precipites, y piensa antes de hablar con Dios. Porque Dios está en el cielo y tú en la tierra, así que sé breve.
Think carefully before you speak [MTY] or before you promise God that you will do something [IDM]. [Do not forget that] God is in heaven [and he is all-powerful] and you are here on the earth, so think carefully before you [make any promises to God].
3 Cuando te preocupas demasiado, tienes pesadillas; cuando hablas demasiado, dices tonterías.
If you are continually thinking [and worrying] about things, you will have bad dreams about them and not rest [well]. And the more you talk, the more likely it will be that you will say things that are foolish.
4 Cuando haces un voto a Dios, con una maldición sobre ti si no lo cumples, no te demores en cumplirlo, pues no le agrada el comportamiento insensato. Así que cumple lo que has prometido.
When you solemnly promise God that you will do something, do not be foolish by delaying in doing it, because God is not pleased with foolish people. Do [all] the things that you promise God that you will do.
5 Más vale no hacer ningún voto que hacer un voto que no se cumpla.
It is better to not promise [anything] than to promise to do something, and [then] not doing it.
6 No dejes que tu boca te haga pecar. Y no le digas al sacerdote que tu voto fue un error, pues ¿por qué enemistarte con Dios rompiendo tu promesa? Podría hacer caer sobre ti tu propia maldición.
Do not sin by promising to do something and then not doing it. And [when you promise God to do something and do not do it], do not say to God’s priest that it was a mistake for you to promise to do that. If you do that, God will certainly [RHQ] become very angry with you, and he will take from you everything that you [SYN] have worked to acquire.
7 Ciertamente hay muchos sueños, preguntas sobre su significado y muchas ideas diferentes, pero tú debes seguir a Dios.
Promising to do something and not doing it is like [SIM] a dream that has no value; instead, revere God [by doing what you promised him that you would do].
8 Si ves gente pobre en algún lugar siendo oprimida, o la verdad y la justicia violada, no te escandalices por ello, porque cada funcionario es responsable ante otros más altos, y hay funcionarios por encima de ellos también.
Do not be surprised if you see poor [people] being (oppressed/treated cruelly) [by powerful/influential people], or if you see judges making unjust decisions throughout the land. [That happens] because the people who do that are supervised [and cheated by] more important officials [DOU],
9 Sin embargo, lo que la tierra produce es para todos, incluso el rey se beneficia de lo que se cultiva.
and even the king forces the people to give him some of the crops that they harvest.
10 La gente que ama el dinero nunca tiene suficiente dinero; los que aman la riqueza nunca tienen suficientes ingresos. Esto también es muy temporal y tiene poco sentido.
Everyone who tries to [get as much] money as they can will never think that they have enough. They will never be satisfied with the money that they have. That also is senseless.
11 Cuanto más ganas, más gastos tienes. ¡Sólo pareciera que tuvieras más!
The more money that we have, the more people want us to spend our money to buy things for them. So people who have a lot of money do not [RHQ] benefit from it; they see [MTY] it when they get it, but it soon (disappears/is completely spent).
12 Los que trabajan duro duermen bien, tengan poco o mucho que comer, pero los ricos poseen tanto que no descansan.
Those who work hard sleep peacefully [at night], even if they do not have much food to eat. But rich [people] do not sleep well, because [they worry] about their money.
13 Aquí he observado algo que es realmente enfermizo: Las personas que acumulan dinero se perjudican a sí mismas.
I have seen [another] terrible thing that happens here on the earth [MTY]: People save [up all] their money and become rich, [but] they are not helped by saving a lot of money,
14 Ponen su dinero en malas inversiones y lo pierden todo. Cuando nacemos, no traemos nada al mundo.
[because] something happens that causes their money to be gone, and when they die, there is no money for their children to get/inherit.
15 Cuando morimos, nos vamos tan desnudos como cuando nacimos, sin llevarnos nada de todo lo que hemos trabajado.
When we are born, we do not bring anything with us, and when we die, we take nothing with us from all that we have earned by our working hard.
16 ¡Esto también me enferma! ¿Qué gana la gente, trabajando para el viento?
That also seems senseless. People bring nothing [into the world when they are born], and they leave [this world] taking nothing with them. They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit [MET].
17 Viven su vida en la oscuridad, muy frustrados, enfermos y resentidos.
[Furthermore, rich people] are always miserable [MET] and sad, and depressed/discouraged and often sick and (resentful/thinking that what has happened to them is unfair).
18 Pero yo observé que lo bueno y lo correcto es comer, beber y hallar placer en el trabajo que Dios nos da aquí en esta vida. Este es el regalo de Dios para nosotros.
So, the best thing for people to do here on the earth during the few years that God allows them to be alive is to eat and drink and to enjoy their work, because those are the things that God has given to them.
19 Además, a todos los que Dios les da riquezas y posesiones, les da también la capacidad de disfrutar de estos dones, de estar agradecidos por lo que se les da y de disfrutar del trabajo que hacen. Esto también es un regalo de Dios para nosotros.
If people are rich and have a lot of possessions, and are able to (enjoy/be happy with) the things that they have and to enjoy their work, those things are [also] gifts from God.
20 De hecho, estas personas tienen poco tiempo para pensar en la vida porque Dios las mantiene ocupadas con todo lo que las hace felices.
Those people do not worry much about [everything that has happened] during the time that they have been alive, because God enables them to be happy doing everything that they do.
