Ecclesiastes 7

VULGATA	NEW JERUSALEM
1 Quid necesse est homini majora se quærere, cum ignoret quid conducat sibi in vita sua, numero dierum peregrinationis suæ, et tempore quod velut umbra præterit ? aut quis ei poterit indicare quod post eum futurum sub sole sit ?	1 Better a good name than costly oil, the day of death than the day of birth.
2 Melius est nomen bonum quam unguenta pretiosa, et dies mortis die nativitatis.	2 Better go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting; for to this end everyone comes, let theliving take this to heart.
3 Melius est ire ad domum luctus quam ad domum convivii ; in illa enim finis cunctorum admonetur hominum, et vivens cogitat quid futurum sit.	3 Better sadness than laughter: a joyful heart may be concealed behind sad looks.
4 Melior est ira risu, quia per tristitiam vultus corrigitur animus delinquentis.	4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, the heart of fools in the house of gaiety.
5 Cor sapientium ubi tristitia est, et cor stultorum ubi lætitia.	5 Better attend to the reprimand of the wise than listen to a song sung by a fool.
6 Melius est a sapiente corripi, quam stultorum adulatione decipi ;	6 For like the crackling of thorns under the cauldron is the laughter of fools: and that too is futile.
7 quia sicut sonitus spinarum ardentium sub olla, sic risus stulti. Sed et hoc vanitas.	7 But being oppressed drives a sage mad, and a present corrupts the heart.
8 Calumnia conturbat sapientem, et perdet robur cordis illius.	8 Better the end of a matter than its beginning, better patience than ambition.
9 Melior est finis orationis quam principium. Melior est patiens arrogante.	9 Do not be too easily exasperated, for exasperation dwel s in the heart of fools.
10 Ne sis velox ad irascendum, quia ira in sinu stulti requiescit.	10 Do not ask why the past was better than the present, for this is not a question prompted by wisdom.
11 Ne dicas : Quid putas causæ est quod priora tempora meliora fuere quam nunc sunt ? stulta enim est hujuscemodi interrogatio.	11 Wisdom is as good as a legacy, profitable to those who enjoy the light of the sun.
12 Utilior est sapientia cum divitiis, et magis prodest videntibus solem.	12 For as money protects, so does wisdom, and the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom bestowslife on those who possess her.
13 Sicut enim protegit sapientia, sic protegit pecunia ; hoc autem plus habet eruditio et sapientia, quod vitam tribuunt possessori suo.	13 Consider God's creation: who, for instance, can straighten what God has bent?
14 Considera opera Dei, quod nemo possit corrigere quem ille despexerit.	14 When things are going wel , enjoy yourself, and when they are going badly, consider this: God hasdesigned the one no less than the other so that we should take nothing for granted.
15 In die bona fruere bonis, et malam diem præcave ; sicut enim hanc, sic et illam fecit Deus, ut non inveniat homo contra eum justas querimonias.	15 In my futile life, I have seen everything: the upright person perishing in uprightness and the wickedperson surviving in wickedness.
16 Hæc quoque vidi in diebus vanitatis meæ : justus perit in justitia sua, et impius multo vivit tempore in malitia sua.	16 Do not be upright to excess and do not make yourself unduly wise: why should you destroy yourself?
17 Noli esse justus multum, neque plus sapias quam necesse est, ne obstupescas.	17 Do not be wicked to excess, and do not be a fool: why die before your time?
18 Ne impie agas multum, et noli esse stultus, ne moriaris in tempore non tuo.	18 It is wise to hold on to one and not let go of the other, since the godfearing wil find both.
19 Bonum est te sustentare justum : sed et ab illo ne subtrahas manum tuam ; quia qui timet Deum nihil negligit.	19 Wisdom makes the wise stronger than a dozen governors in a city.
20 Sapientia confortavit sapientem super decem principes civitatis ;	20 No one on earth is sufficiently upright to do good without ever sinning.
21 non est enim homo justus in terra qui faciat bonum et non peccet.	21 Again, do not listen to all that people say, then you wil not hear your servant abusing you.
22 Sed et cunctis sermonibus qui dicuntur ne accomodes cor tuum, ne forte audias servum tuum maledicentem tibi ;	22 For often, as you very wel know, you have abused others.
23 scit enim conscientia tua quia et tu crebro maledixisti aliis.	23 Thanks to wisdom, I have found all this to be true; I resolved to be wise, but this was beyond myreach!
24 Cuncta tentavi in sapientia. Dixi : Sapiens efficiar : et ipsa longius recessit a me,	24 The past is out of reach, buried deep -- who can discover it?
25 multo magis quam erat. Et alta profunditas, quis inveniet eam ?	25 But I have reached the point where, having learnt, explored and investigated wisdom and reflection, Irecognise evil as being a form of madness, and fol y as something stupid.
26 Lustravi universa animo meo, ut scirem et considerarem, et quærerem sapientiam, et rationem, et ut cognoscerem impietatem stulti, et errorem imprudentium :	26 And I find woman more bitter than Death, she is a snare, her heart is a net, and her arms are chains.The man who is pleasing to God eludes her, but the sinner is captured by her.
27 et inveni amariorem morte mulierem, quæ laqueus venatorum est, et sagena cor ejus ; vincula sunt manus illius. Qui placet Deo effugiet illam ; qui autem peccator est capietur ab illa.	27 This is what I think, says Qoheleth, having examined one thing after another to draw some conclusion,
28 Ecce hoc inveni, dixit Ecclesiastes, unum et alterum ut invenirem rationem,	28 which I am still looking for, although unsuccessful y: one man in a thousand, I may find, but a womanbetter than other women-never.
29 quam adhuc quærit anima mea, et non inveni. Virum de mille unum reperi ; mulierem ex omnibus non inveni.	29 This alone is my conclusion: God has created man straightforward, and human artifices are humaninventions.
30 Solummodo hoc inveni, quod fecerit Deus hominem rectum, et ipse se infinitis miscuerit quæstionibus. Quis talis ut sapiens est ? et quis cognovit solutionem verbi ?