Propovjednik 7
1 Bolji je dobar glas nego skupocjeno ulje, i smrtni dan nego dan rođenja.
A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
2 Bolje je ići u kuću gdje je žalost nego u kuću gdje je gozba, jer ondje je kraj svakoga čovjeka, i tko je živ, nek' primi k srcu!
It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.
3 Bolji je jad nego smijeh, jer pod žalosnim licem srce je radosno.
Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
4 Srce je mudrih ljudi u kući žalosti, a srce bezumnih u kući veselja.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 Bolje je poslušati ukor mudra čovjeka negoli slušati hvalospjev luđaka.
It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Jer kao prasak trnja ispod kotla, takav je smijeh luđaka, i to je ispraznost.
For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
7 Jer smijeh od mudraca čini luđaka i veselje kvari srce.
Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Bolji je svršetak stvari nego njezin početak i bolja je strpljivost od oholosti.
The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
9 Ne nagli u srdžbu, jer srdžba počiva u srcu luđaka.
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
10 Ne pitaj zašto su negdašnja vremena bila bolja od ovih, jer to nije mudro pitanje.
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
11 Mudrost je dragocjena baština i probitak onima na koje sunce sja.
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
12 Jer kao što je novac zaštita, tako je i mudrost; a prednost je mudrosti u tome što izbavlja onoga tko je ima.
For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
13 Pogledaj djela Božja; tko može ispraviti što je on iskrivio?
Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
14 U sretan dan uživaj sreću, a u zao dan razmišljaj: Bog je stvorio jedno kao i drugo - da čovjek ne otkrije ništa od svoje budućnosti.
In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.
15 Svašta vidjeh u svojemu ništavnom životu: pravednik propada unatoč svojoj pravednosti, a bezbožnik i dalje živi unatoč svojoj bezbožnosti.
In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
16 Ne budi prepravedan i ne budi premudar; zašto da se uništavaš?
Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Ne budi preopak i ne budi lud; zašto bi umro prije vremena?
Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
18 Dobro je da držiš jedno, ali ni drugo ne puštaj iz ruke, jer tko se boji Boga, izbavlja se od svega.
It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.
19 Mudrost mudraca veću moć daje gradu nego deset mogućnika.
Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
20 Na zemlji nema pravednika koji, čineći dobro, ne bi nikad sagriješio.
Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 I još jedno: nemoj se obazirati na govorkanje; čut ćeš možda da te sluga tvoj proklinjao;
Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
22 a zna tvoje srce kako si i ti često druge proklinjao.
For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 Sve sam to mudrošću iskušao. Mislio sam da sam mudar, ali mi je mudrost bila nedokučiva.
All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
24 Ono što jest, daleko je i duboko, tako duboko - tko da i pronađe?
What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
25 I još jednom pokušah istražiti i shvatiti mudrost i smisao, da spoznam opačinu kao ludost, a ludost kao bezumlje.
I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.
26 Otkrih da ima nešto gorče od smrti - žena, ona je zamka, srce joj je mreža, a ruke okovi; tko je Bogu drag, izmiče joj, a grešnik je njezin sužanj.
And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.
27 Eto, to sam sve u svemu otkrio, veli Propovjednik.
“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
28 I još sam tražio, ali bez uspjeha. Nađoh čovjeka - jednog od tisuću, a žene ne nađoh među svima nijedne.
While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.
29 Otkrih ovo: Bog stvori čovjeka jednostavnim, a on snuje nebrojene spletke.
Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
