Eclesiastés 12
1 Deja que tu mente se dirija a tu Hacedor en los días de tu juventud, mientras que los días malos no vienen, y los años se acerquen cuando digas: no tengo placer en ellos;
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 Mientras que el sol, o la luz, o la luna, o las estrellas, no son oscuras, o las nubes grises no regresan después de la lluvia;
[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 En el día en que los encargados de la casa tiemblan de miedo, y los hombres fuertes se inclinan, y las mujeres que trituraban el grano descansan porque su número es pequeño, y las que miran por la ventana no pueden ver;
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 Cuando las puertas están cerradas en la calle, y el sonido del molino es bajo, y se levanten a la voz del ave, y las hijas de la música serán humilladas.
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 Cuando tengan miedo de lo que es alto, y el peligro que está en el camino, y el árbol es blanco con flores, y lo menos es un peso, y el deseo se acaba, porque el hombre va a su último lugar de descanso, y los que están tristes están en las calles;
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 de que se corte el cordón de plata, o se rompa la vasija de oro, o se rompa la olla en la fuente, o se rompe la rueda en el pozo de agua;
[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 Y el polvo vuelve a la tierra como era, y el espíritu vuelve a Dios que lo dio.
Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.
8 Todas las cosas no tienen ningún propósito, dice el Predicador, todo no tiene ningún propósito.
[So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.
9 Y como el Predicador fue sabio, todavía le dio conocimiento a la gente; buscando, probando y poniendo en orden una gran cantidad de dichos sabios.
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 El Predicador hizo una búsqueda de palabras agradables, pero sus escritos fueron rectos y verdaderos.
I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.
11 Las palabras de los sabios son como aguijones, y los dichos agrupados son como clavos fijados con un martillo; son dados por un pastor de la congregación.
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 Y además, hijo mío, toma nota de esto: de la fabricación de libros no hay fin, y mucho aprendizaje es un cansancio para la 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 Esta es la última palabra. Todo se ha dicho. Teme a Dios y guarda sus leyes; porque esto es correcto para cada hombre.
[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 Dios juzgará toda obra, con todo lo secreto, lo bueno o lo malo.
And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.
