1 Ella hizo prosperar sus empresas gracias a un santo profeta. | 1 She made their affairs prosper through the holy prophet. |
2 Ellos atravesaron un desierto inhabitable y levantaron sus carpas en lugares intransitados; | 2 They journeyed through the uninhabited desert, and in solitudes they pitched their tents; |
3 enfrentaron a sus enemigos y rechazaron a sus adversarios. | 3 they withstood enemies and took vengeance on their foes. |
4 Cuando estaban sedientos, te invocaron, y una roca escarpada les dio agua, una dura piedra les calmó la sed. | 4 When they thirsted, they called upon you, and water was given them from the sheer rock, assuagement for their thirst from the hard stone. |
5 Así, lo mismo que sirvió de castigo a sus enemigos fue para ellos un beneficio en sus dificultades. | 5 For by the things through which their foes were punished they in their need were benefited. |
6 En lugar de la vertiente perenne de un río, enturbiado por una mezcla de sangre y barro, | 6 Instead of a spring, when the perennial river was troubled with impure blood |
7 como castigo por un decreto infanticida, les diste, contra toda esperanza, un agua abundante, | 7 as a rebuke to the decree for the slaying of infants, You gave them abundant water in an unhoped-for way, |
8 mostrándoles por la sed que soportaron entonces cómo habías castigado a sus adversarios. | 8 once you had shown by the thirst they then had how you punished their adversaries. |
9 Por la prueba a que fueron sometidos, aunque eran corregidos con misericordia, comprendieron los tormentos que soportaban los impíos, al ser juzgados con ira. | 9 For when they had been tried, though only mildly chastised, they recognized how the wicked, condemned in anger, were being tormented. |
10 Porque a ellos los probaste como un padre que reprende, pero a los otros los sentenciaste como un rey implacable que condena. | 10 the latter you tested, admonishing them as a father; the former as a stern king you probed and condemned. |
11 Y tanto lejos como cerca de los tuyos, estaban igualmente atribulados, | 11 Both those afar off and those close by were afflicted: |
12 ya que una doble tristeza se apoderó de ellos y gimieron al recordar el pasado: | 12 For a twofold grief took hold of them and a groaning at the remembrance of the ones who had departed. |
13 cuando comprendieron que lo que a ellos los castigaba había sido un beneficio para los otros, sintieron la mano del Señor. | 13 For when they heard that the cause of their own torments was a benefit to these others, they recognized the Lord. |
14 Al que antes habían hecho exponer al peligro, y luego rechazaron con desprecio, lo admiraron al final de los acontecimientos, admiraron al que antes habían abandonado en las aguas después de sufrir una sed muy diferente a la de los justos. | 14 Him who of old had been cast out in exposure they indeed mockingly rejected; but in the end of events, they marveled at him, since their thirst proved unlike that of the just. |
15 A causa de sus insensatos e injustos pensamientos, que los extraviaban hasta hacerles rendir culto a reptiles irracionales y a insectos despreciables, tú les enviaste como castigo una multitud de animales irracionales, | 15 And in return for their senseless, wicked thoughts, which misled them into worshiping dumb serpents and worthless insects, You sent upon them swarms of dumb creatures for vengeance; |
16 para que comprendieran que uno es castigado con lo mismo que le sirve para pecar. | 16 that they might recognize that a man is punished by the very things through which he sins. |
17 Ya que tu mano omnipotente, aquella que creó el mundo de una materia informe bien podía enviar contra ellos una multitud de osos o de leones feroces, | 17 For not without means was your almighty hand, that had fashioned the universe from formless matter, to send upon them a drove of bears or fierce lions, |
18 o fieras desconocidas creadas expresamente, llenas de furor, que exhalaran un aliento de fuego, despidieran un humo nauseabundo, o lanzaran de sus ojos terribles rayos: | 18 Or new-created, wrathful, unknown beasts to breathe forth fiery breath, Or pour out roaring smoke, or flash terrible sparks from their eyes. |
19 animales capaces, no sólo de destruirlos de un zarpazo, sino de hacerlos perecer con su aspecto terrorífico. | 19 Not only could these attack and completely destroy them; even their frightful appearance itself could slay. |
20 Aún sin esto, ellos podían ser derribados de un soplo, perseguidos por la Justicia, barridos por el soplo de tu poder. Pero tú lo has dispuesto todo con medida, número y peso. | 20 Even without these, they could have been killed at a single blast, pursued by retribution and winnowed out by your mighty spirit; But you have disposed all things by measure and number and weight. |
21 Tu inmenso poder está siempre a tu disposición, ¿y quién puede resistir a la fuerza de tu brazo? | 21 For with you great strength abides always; who can resist the might of your arm? |
22 El mundo entero es delante de ti como un grano de polvo que apenas inclina la balanza, como una gota de rocío matinal que cae sobre la tierra. | 22 Indeed, before you the whole universe is as a grain from a balance, or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. |
23 Tú te compadeces de todos, porque todo lo puedes, y apartas los ojos de los pecados de los hombres para que ellos se conviertan. | 23 But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook the sins of men that they may repent. |
24 Tú amas todo lo que existe y no aborreces nada de lo que has hecho, porque si hubieras odiado algo, no lo habrías creado. | 24 For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. |
25 ¿Cómo podría subsistir una cosa si tú no quisieras? ¿Cómo se conservaría si no la hubieras llamado? | 25 And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? |
26 Pero tú eres indulgente con todos, ya que todo es tuyo, Señor que amas la vida, | 26 But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls, |