Sabiduría, 2
1. Porque se dicen discurriendo desacertadamente: «Corta es y triste nuestra vida; no hay remedio en la muerte del hombre ni se sabe de nadie que haya vuelto del Hades.
1. For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, "Short and sorrowful is our life, and there is no remedy when a man comes to his end, and no one has been known to return from Hades.
2. Por azar llegamos a la existencia y luego seremos como si nunca hubiéramos sido. Porque humo es el aliento de nuestra nariz y el pensamiento, una chispa del latido de nuestro corazón;
2. Because we were born by mere chance, and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been; because the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts.
3. al apagarse, el cuerpo se volverá ceniza y el espíritu se desvanecerá como aire inconsistente.
3. When it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes, and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.
4. Caerá con el tiempo nuestro nombre en el olvido, nadie se acordará de nuestras obras; pasará nuestra vida como rastro de nube, se disipará como niebla acosada por los rayos del sol y por su calor vencida.
4. Our name will be forgotten in time and no one will remember our works; our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and be scattered like mist that is chased by the rays of the sun and overcome by its heat.
5. Paso de una sombra es el tiempo que vivimos, no hay retorno en nuestra muerte; porque se ha puesto el sello y nadie regresa.
5. For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow, and there is no return from our death, because it is sealed up and no one turns back.
6. Venid, pues, y disfrutemos de los bienes presentes, gocemos de las criaturas con el ardor de la juventud.
6. "Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist, and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.
7. Hartémonos de vinos exquisitos y de perfumes, no se nos pase ninguna flor primaveral,
7. Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes, and let no flower of spring pass by us.
8. coronémonos de rosas antes que se marchiten;
8. Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
9. ningún prado quede libre de nuestra orgía, dejemos por doquier constancia de nuestro negocijo; que nuestra parte es ésta, ésta nuestra herencia.
9. Let none of us fail to share in our revelry, everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment, because this is our portion, and this our lot.
10. Oprimamos al justo pobre, no perdonemos a la viuda, no respetemos las canas llenas de años del anciano.
10. Let us oppress the righteous poor man; let us not spare the widow nor regard the gray hairs of the aged.
11. Sea nuestra fuerza norma de la justicia, que la debilidad, como se ve, de nada sirve.
11. But let our might be our law of right, for what is weak proves itself to be useless.
12. Tendamos lazos al justo, que nos fastidia, se enfrenta a nuestro modo de obrar, nos echa en cara faltas contra la Ley y nos culpa de faltas contra nuestra educación.
12. "Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training.
13. Se gloría de tener el conocimiento de Dios y se llama a sí mismo hijo del Señor.
13. He professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord.
14. Es un reproche de nuestros criterios, su sola presencia nos es insufrible,
14. He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
15. lleva una vida distinta de todas y sus caminos son extraños.
15. the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange.
16. Nos tiene por bastardos, se aparta de nuestros caminos como de impurezas; proclama dichosa la suerte final de los justos y se ufana de tener a Dios por padre.
16. We are considered by him as something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father.
17. Veamos si sus palabras son verdaderas, examinemos lo que pasará en su tránsito.
17. Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;
18. Pues si el justo es hijo de Dios, él le asistirá y le librará de las manos de sus enemigos.
18. for if the righteous man is God's son, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
19. Sometámosle al ultraje y al tormento para conocer su temple y probar su entereza.
19. Let us test him with insult and torture, that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his forbearance.
20. Condenémosle a una muerte afrentosa, pues, según él, Dios le visitará.»
20. Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected."
21. Así discurren, pero se equivocan; los ciega su maldad;
21. Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray, for their wickedness blinded them,
22. no conocen los secretos de Dios, no esperan recompensa por la santidad ni creen en el premio de las almas intachables.
22. and they did not know the secret purposes of God, nor hope for the wages of holiness, nor discern the prize for blameless souls;
23. Porque Dios creó al hombre para la incorruptibilidad, le hizo imagen de su misma naturaleza;
23. for God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity,
24. mas por envidia del diablo entró la muerte en el mundo, y la experimentan los que le pertenecen.
24. but through the devil's envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.
