Propovjednik 2
1 Tad rekoh u srcu svom: “Daj da okušam užitak i vidim što naslada pruža” - ali gle: i to je ispraznost!
[Then] I said to myself, “Okay, I will try to do everything that I enjoy. I will find out whether doing what I enjoy can truly enable me to be happy.” But I found out that doing that was also useless/senseless.
2 O smijehu rekoh: “Ludost je”; o užitku: “Čemu valja?”
[So] I said [to myself], “It is foolish to laugh [all the time], and continually doing what I enjoy does not seem to bring any lasting benefit.”
3 Odlučih tijelo krijepiti vinom, a srce posvetiti mudrosti; poželjeh prigrliti i ludost, kako bih spoznao usrećava li ljude ono što pod nebesima čine za izbrojenih dana svojega života.
[So], after thinking a lot about it, I decided to (cheer myself/cause myself to be happy) by drinking [a lot of] wine. [So] while I was still trying to be wise, I decided to do things that [many] people do to be happy during the short time that they are alive on the earth.
4 Učinih velika djela: sazidah sebi palače, zasadih vinograde;
I did great things: I [caused] houses to be built for myself and vineyards to be planted.
5 uredih perivoje i voćnjake, nasadih u njima voćke svakojake.
I [told my workers] to make gardens and parks. [Then] I [told them to] fill the gardens with many kinds of fruit trees.
6 Načinih jezera da plodna sadišta natapam.
I [told them to] build reservoirs to store water to irrigate the fruit trees.
7 Nakupovah robova i robinja, imadoh i sluge domaće, a tako i stada krupne i sitne stoke više no itko prije mene u Jeruzalemu.
I bought male and female slaves, and babies [who later became my slaves] were born in my palace. I also owned more livestock than any of the previous kings in Jerusalem had owned.
8 Nagomilah srebro i zlato i blago kraljeva i pokrajina, nabavih pjevače i pjevačice i svakoga raskošja ljudskog, sve škrinju na škrinji.
I also accumulated large amounts of silver and gold [that were paid to me] from the treasures of kings and rulers of provinces. [I hired] men and women to sing for me, and I had many (concubines/slave wives) who gave me [much] pleasure [EUP].
9 I postadoh tako velik, veći no bilo tko prije mene u Jeruzalemu; a nije me ni mudrost moja ostavila.
So, I became greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was [very] wise.
10 I što god su mi oči poželjele, nisam im uskratio, niti branih srcu svojemu kakva veselja, već se srce moje veselilo svakom trudu mojem, i takva bi nagrada svakom mojem naporu.
I got everything [LIT] that I [SYN] saw and wanted. I did everything [LIT] that I thought would enable me to be happy. All those things that I [SYN] enjoyed were [like] a reward for all my hard work.
11 A onda razmotrih sva svoja djela, sve napore što uložih da do njih dođem - i gle, sve je to opet ispraznost i pusta tlapnja! I ništa nema valjano pod suncem.
[But] then I thought about all the hard work that I [SYN] had done [to get all those things], and none of it seems to bring any lasting benefit [DOU]. It was all [like] chasing the wind.
12 Okrenuh zatim misao svoju mudrosti, gluposti i ludosti. Što, na priliku, čini kraljev nasljednik? Ono što je već učinjeno.
Then I started to think about being wise, and [also about] being foolish [DOU]. [I said to myself, “I certainly do not think that] [RHQ] the next king will be able to do anything better than I can.”
13 I spoznadoh da je bolja mudrost od ludosti, kao što je svjetlost bolja od tame.
And I thought, “Surely it is better to be wise than to be foolish, like light is better than darkness,
14 Mudracu su oči u glavi, a bezumnik luta u tami. Ali također znam da obojicu stiže ista kob.
[because] wise people [walk in the daylight and] [IDM] can see where they are going, but foolish people walk in the darkness [and cannot see where they are going].” But I [also] realized that both wise people and foolish people eventually die.
15 Zato rekoh u sebi: “Kakva je sudbina luđaku, takva je i meni. Čemu onda žudjeti za mudrošću?” I rekoh u srcu: “I to je ispraznost!”
So I said to myself, “I am very wise, but I will [die at the end of my life], like foolish people do. So (how has it benefited me to be very wise?/it certainly has not benefited me to be very wise [RHQ]). I do not understand why [people consider that] it is valuable to be wise.
16 Jer trajna spomena nema ni mudru ni bezumniku: obojicu će poslije nekog vremena prekriti zaborav! I, jao, mudrac mora umrijeti kao i bezumnik.
Wise people and foolish people all die. And after we die, we will all eventually be forgotten [DOU].”
17 Omrznuh život, jer mi se učini mučnim sve što se zbiva pod suncem: sve je ispraznost i pusta tlapnja.
So I hated being alive, because everything that we do here on the earth [MTY] distresses me. It all seems to be useless [like] chasing the wind.
18 Zamrzih sve za što sam se pod suncem trudio i što sad ostavljam svome nasljedniku.
I [also began to] hate all the hard work that I had done, because [when I die], everything [that I have acquired] will belong to the next king.
19 Tko zna hoće li on biti mudar ili lud? Pa ipak on će biti gospodar sve moje muke u koju uložih sav svoj napor i mudrost pod suncem. I to je ispraznost.
And (who/no one) knows [RHQ] whether he will be wise or whether he will be foolish. But even if he is foolish, he will acquire all the things that I worked very hard and wisely to get.
20 I stao sam srcem očajavati zbog velikog napora kojim sam se trudio pod suncem.
I thought about all the hard work that I had done. [It seemed useless], and I became depressed/discouraged.
21 Jer čovjek se trudi mudro i umješno i uspješno, pa sve to mora ostaviti u baštinu drugomu koji se oko toga nije uopće trudio. I to je ispraznost i velika nevolja.
Some people work wisely and skillfully, using the things that they have learned. But [when they die], they leave everything, and someone who has not worked hard acquires those things. And that also [seemed to] be senseless and caused me to be discouraged.
22 Jer što on dobiva za sav svoj napor i trud koji je pod suncem podnio?
So, it seems that people do not [RHQ] get much for all the hard work that they do and for worrying.
23 Jer svi su njegovi dani doista mukotrpni, poslovi mu puni brige; čak ni noću ne miruje srce njegovo. I to je ispraznost.
Every day the work that they do causes them to experience pain and to be worried. And during the night, their minds are not able to rest. That also is very frustrating.
24 Nema čovjeku druge sreće već jesti i piti i biti zadovoljan svojim poslom. I to je, vidim, dar Božje ruke.
[So I decided that] the best thing that we can do is to enjoy what we eat and drink, and [also] enjoy our work. And I realized that those things are what God intends for us.
25 Jer tko bi mogao jesti, tko li nezadovoljan biti, osim po njemu.
There is absolutely no one [RHQ] who is able to enjoy those things if God does not give those things to him.
26 Mudrost, spoznaju, radost on daruje onom tko mu je po volji, a grešniku nameće zadaću da sabira i skuplja za onoga tko je po volji Bogu. I to je ispraznost i pusta tlapnja.
God enables those who please him to be wise, to know [many things], and to enjoy [many things]. But if sinful people work hard and become rich, God [can] take their money away from them and give it to those who please him. But that also is something that is difficult for me to understand. [Their working hard seems] useless, [like] chasing the wind.
