Eclesiastés 7
1 Un buen nombre es mejor que el aceite de gran precio, y el día de la muerte que el día de 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 Es mejor ir a la casa del llanto que ir a la casa del banquete; porque ese es el fin de cada hombre, y los vivos lo llevarán a sus corazones.
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 El dolor es mejor que la alegría; Cuando la cara está triste, la mente mejora.
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 Los corazones de los sabios están en la casa del llanto; más los corazones de los necios están en la casa de la alegría.
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 Es mejor tomar nota de la represión de los hombres sabios, que escuchar el canto 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 Al igual que el crujir de espinas debajo de una olla, también lo es la risa de un hombre necio; y esto de nuevo no tiene ningún propósito.
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 Los sabios están preocupados por la opresión de los crueles, y dar dinero es la destrucción del 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 El fin de una cosa es mejor que su comienzo, y un espíritu amable es mejor que el orgullo.
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 No dejes que tu espíritu se enoje; Porque la ira está en el corazón de los necios.
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 No digas: ¿Por qué los días que han pasado son mejores que estos? Tal pregunta no proviene de la sabiduría.
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 La sabiduría junto con una herencia es buena, y un beneficio 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 La sabiduría evita que un hombre corra peligro, como protege el dinero; pero el valor del conocimiento es que la sabiduría da vida a su dueño.
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 Reflexiona sobre la obra de Dios. ¿Quién enderezará lo que él ha torcido?
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 riqueza ten alegría, pero en el día del mal, piensa: Dios ha puesto el uno en contra del otro, para que el hombre no esté seguro de lo que sucederá 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 Estos dos los he visto en mi vida que no tienen ningún propósito: un hombre bueno que llega a su fin en su justicia, y un hombre malo cuyos días son largos en su maldad.
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 seas demasiado justo y no se demasiado sabio. ¿Por qué dejar que la destrucción venga sobre ti?
[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 seas malvado, y no seas necio. ¿Por qué llegar a su fin antes de tiempo?
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 Es bueno tomar esto en tu mano y no apartarte de esto otro; el que tiene temor de Dios estará libre de los dos.
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 hace a un hombre sabio más fuerte que diez gobernantes en una ciudad.
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 No hay hombre en la tierra de tal justicia que haga el bien y esté libre de pecado todos los días.
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 No escuches todas las palabras que los hombres dicen, por temor a escuchar las maldiciones de tu siervo.
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 Tu corazón tiene conocimiento de la frecuencia con que otros han sido maldecidos por ti.
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 Todo esto lo he puesto a prueba por sabiduría; Dije: Seré sabio, pero estaba 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 Lejos está la existencia verdadera, y muy profunda; ¿Quién puede tener conocimiento de ello?
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 Me dediqué a conocer y a buscar la sabiduría y la razón de las cosas, y reconocer la maldad de la insensatez y la necedad de 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 vi una cosa más amarga que la muerte, incluso la mujer cuyo corazón está lleno de trucos y redes, y cuyas manos son como cadenas. Aquel con quien Dios se complace se liberará de ella, pero el pecador será tomado por ella.
[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 ¡Mira! Esto lo he visto, dijo el Predicador, tomando una cosa tras otra para obtener la cuenta verdadera,
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 Que mi alma todavía está buscando, pero no la tengo; un hombre entre mil he visto; Pero una mujer entre todas estas no he hallado.
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 Esto solo lo he visto, que Dios enderezó a los hombres, pero han estado buscando todo tipo de artimañas.
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
