The Latin Vulgate VUL
Good News Translation GNT
1 sapientia hominis lucet in vultu eius et potentissimus faciem illius commutavit
1
Only the wise know what things really mean. Wisdom makes them smile and makes their frowns disappear.
2 ego os regis observo et praecepta iuramenti Dei
2
Do what the king says, and don't make any rash promises to God.
3 ne festines recedere a facie eius neque permaneas in opere malo quia omne quod voluerit faciet
3
The king can do anything he likes, so depart from his presence; don't stay in such a dangerous place.
4 et sermo illius potestate plenus est nec dicere ei quisquam potest quare ita facis
4
The king acts with authority, and no one can challenge what he does.
5 qui custodit praeceptum non experietur quicquam mali tempus et responsionem cor sapientis intellegit
5
As long as you obey his commands, you are safe, and a wise person knows how and when to do it.
6 omni negotio tempus est et oportunitas et multa hominis adflictio
6
There is a right time and a right way to do everything, but we know so little!
7 quia ignorat praeterita et ventura nullo scire potest nuntio
7
None of us knows what is going to happen, and there is no one to tell us.
8 non est in hominis dicione prohibere spiritum nec habet potestatem in die mortis nec sinitur quiescere ingruente bello neque salvabit impietas impium
8
No one can keep from dying or put off the day of death. That is a battle we cannot escape; we cannot cheat our way out.
9 omnia haec consideravi et dedi cor meum in cunctis operibus quae fiunt sub sole interdum dominatur homo homini in malum suum
9
I saw all this when I thought about the things that are done in this world, a world where some people have power and others have to suffer under them.
10 vidi impios sepultos qui etiam cum adviverent in loco sancto erant et laudabantur in civitate quasi iustorum operum sed et hoc vanitas est
10
Yes, I have seen the wicked buried and in their graves, but on the way back from the cemetery people praise them in the very city where they did their evil. It is useless.
11 etenim quia non profertur cito contra malos sententia absque ullo timore filii hominum perpetrant mala
11
Why do people commit crimes so readily? Because crime is not punished quickly enough.
12 attamen ex eo quod peccator centies facit malum et per patientiam sustentatur ego cognovi quod erit bonum timentibus Deum qui verentur faciem eius
12
A sinner may commit a hundred crimes and still live. Oh yes, I know what they say: "If you obey God, everything will be all right,
13 non sit bonum impio nec prolongentur dies eius sed quasi umbra transeant qui non timent faciem Dei
13
but it will not go well for the wicked. Their life is like a shadow and they will die young, because they do not obey God."
14 est et alia vanitas quae fit super terram sunt iusti quibus multa proveniunt quasi opera egerint impiorum et sunt impii qui ita securi sunt quasi iustorum facta habeant sed et hoc vanissimum iudico
14
But this is nonsense. Look at what happens in the world: sometimes the righteous get the punishment of the wicked, and the wicked get the reward of the righteous. I say it is useless.
15 laudavi igitur laetitiam quod non esset homini bonum sub sole nisi quod comederet et biberet atque gauderet et hoc solum secum auferret de labore suo in diebus vitae quos dedit ei Deus sub sole
15
So I am convinced that we should enjoy ourselves, because the only pleasure we have in this life is eating and drinking and enjoying ourselves. We can at least do this as we labor during the life that God has given us in this world.
16 et adposui cor meum ut scirem sapientiam et intellegerem distentionem quae versatur in terra est homo qui diebus ac noctibus somnum oculis non capit
16
Whenever I tried to become wise and learn what goes on in the world, I realized that you could stay awake night and day
17 et intellexi quod omnium operum Dei nullam possit homo invenire rationem eorum quae fiunt sub sole et quanto plus laboraverit ad quaerendum tanto minus inveniat etiam si dixerit sapiens se nosse non poterit repperire
17
and never be able to understand what God is doing. However hard you try, you will never find out. The wise may claim to know, but they don't.
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.