| 1 Se despliega con vigor de un confín a otro | y todo lo gobierna con acierto. | 1 She reacheth therefore from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly. |
| 2 La amé y la busqué desde mi juventud | y la pretendí como esposa, | enamorado de su hermosura. | 2 Her have I loved, and have sought her out from my youth, and have desired to take her for my spouse, and I became a lover of her beauty. |
| 3 Su intimidad con Dios realza su nobleza, | pues el Señor de todas las cosas la ama. | 3 She glorifieth her nobility by being conversant with God: yea and the Lord of all things hath loved her. |
| 4 Está iniciada en la ciencia de Dios | y es la que elige entre sus obras. | 4 For it is she that teacheth the knowledge of God, and is the chooser of his works. |
| 5 Si la riqueza es un bien deseable en la vida, | ¿hay mayor riqueza que la sabiduría, que lo realiza todo? | 5 And if riches be desired in life, what is richer than wisdom, which maketh all things? |
| 6 Y si la inteligencia es quien lo realiza, | ¿quién sino la sabiduría es artífice de cuanto existe? | 6 And if sense do work: who is a more artful worker than she of those things that are? |
| 7 Si alguien ama la justicia, las virtudes son fruto de sus afanes, | pues ella enseña templanza y prudencia, justicia y fortaleza: | para los hombres no hay nada en la vida más útil que esto. | 7 And if a man love justice: her labours have great virtues; for she teacheth temperance, and prudence, anad justice, and fortitude, which are such things as men can have nothing more profitable in life. |
| 8 Y si alguien desea una gran experiencia, | ella conoce el pasado y adivina el futuro, | conoce los dichos ingeniosos y la solución de los enigmas, | prevé de antemano signos y prodigios | y el desenlace de momentos y tiempos. | 8 And if a man desire much knowledge: she knoweth things past, and judgeth of things to come: she knoweth the subtilties of speeches, and the solutions of arguments: she knoweth signs and wonders before they be done, and the events of times and ages. |
| 9 Así pues, decidí hacerla compañera de mi vida, | sabiendo que sería mi consejera en la dicha | y mi consuelo en las preocupaciones y la tristeza: | 9 I purposed therefore to take her to me to live with me: knowing that she will communicate to me of her good things, and will be a comfort in my cares and grief. |
| 10 «Gracias a ella obtendré gloria entre la gente | y honor entre los ancianos, aunque sea joven. | 10 For her sake I shall have glory among the multitude, and honour with the ancients, though I be young: |
| 11 En el juicio lucirá mi agudeza | y seré la admiración de los poderosos. | 11 And I shall be found of a quick conceit in judgment, and shall be admired in the sight of the mighty, and the faces of princes shall wonder at me. |
| 12 Si callo, esperarán a que hable, | si tomo la palabra, me prestarán atención | y si me alargo hablando, se llevarán la mano a la boca. | 12 They shall wait for me when I hold my peace, and they shall look upon me when I speak, and if I talk much they shall lay their hands on their mouths. |
| 13 Gracias a ella alcanzaré la inmortalidad | y legaré a la posteridad un recuerdo imperecedero. | 13 Moreover by the means of her I shall have immortality: and shall leave behind me an everlasting memory to them that come after me. |
| 14 Gobernaré pueblos y someteré naciones, | 14 I shall set the people in order: and nations shall be subject to me. |
| 15 soberanos terribles se asustarán al oír hablar de mí; | me mostraré bueno con el pueblo y valiente en la guerra. | 15 Terrible kings hearing shall be afraid of me: among the multitude I shall be found good, and valiant in war. |
| 16 Al volver a mi casa descansaré junto a ella, | pues su compañía no causa amargura | y su intimidad no entristece, sino que alegra y regocija». | 16 When I go into my house, I shall repose myself with her: for her conversation hath no bitterness, nor her company any tediousness, but joy and gladness. |
| 17 Pensaba en estas cosas | y reflexionaba sobre ellas en mi corazón: | la inmortalidad consiste en emparentar con la sabiduría, | 17 Thinking these things with myself, and pondering them in my heart, that to be allied to wisdom is immortality, |
| 18 en su amistad se encuentra un noble deleite, | hay riqueza inagotable en el trabajo de sus manos, | prudencia en la asiduidad de su trato | y prestigio en la conversación con ella. | Así pensaba tratando de hacerla mía. | 18 And that there is great delight in her friendship, and inexhaustible riches in the works of her hands, and in the exercise of conference with her, wisdom, and glory in the communication of her words: I went about seeking, that I might take her to myself. |
| 19 Era yo un muchacho de buen natural, | me tocó en suerte un alma buena, | 19 And I was a witty child and had received a good soul. |
| 20 o mejor dicho, siendo bueno, entré en un cuerpo sin tara. | 20 And whereas I was more good, I came to a body undefiled. |
| 21 Pero, al comprender que no la alcanzaría, si Dios no me la daba | —y ya era un signo de sensatez saber de quién procedía tal don—, | acudí al Señor y le supliqué, diciéndole de todo corazón: | 21 And as I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, except God gave it, and this also was a point of wisdom, to know whose gift it was: I went to the Lord, and besought him, and said with my whole heart: |
