Kazatel 12
1 A pamatuj na stvořitele svého ve dnech mladosti své, prvé než nastanou dnové zlí, a přiblíží se léta, o nichž díš: Nemám v nich zalíbení;
While you are still young, keep thinking about [God], who created you. Do that before [you are old] and you experience many troubles, during the years when you say “I no [longer] enjoy being alive.”
2 Prvé než se zatmí slunce a světlo, a měsíc i hvězdy, a navrátí se hustí oblakové po dešti;
[When you become old], the light from the sun and moon and stars will [seem] dim [to you], and [it will seem that the rain] clouds [always] return [quickly] after it rains.
3 V ten den, v kterémž se třísti budou strážní domu, a nakřiví se muži silní, a ustanou melící, proto že jich málo bude, a zatmí se ti, kteříž vyhlédají z oken,
Then your [arms that you use to protect] [MET] your bodies will shake/tremble, and your [legs that support] [MET] your bodies will become weak. Many of your [teeth that you use to] grind/chew [your food] will fall out, and your [eyes that you use to] look out of windows will not see clearly.
4 A zavříny budou dvéře od ulice s slabým zvukem mlení, a povstanou k hlasu ptačímu, a přestanou všecky slibnosti zpěvu;
Your [ears] [MET] will not hear the noise in the streets, and you will not be able to hear clearly the sound of people grinding grain with millstones. You will be awakened in the morning by hearing the birds singing/chirping, [but] you will not be able to hear well the songs that (the birds/people) sing.
5 Ano i vysokosti báti se budou, a úrazu na cestě, a kvésti bude mandlový strom, tak že i kobylka těžká bude, a poruší se žádost; nebo béře se člověk do domu věčného, a choditi budou po ulici kvílící;
You will be afraid to be in high places and afraid of dangers on the roads that you walk on. [Your hair] will become [white like] [MET] the flowers of almond trees. [When you try to walk], you will drag yourself along like [MET] grasshoppers, and you will no longer desire [to have sex]. Then you will [die and] go to your eternal home, and people who will mourn for you will be in the streets.
6 Prvé než se přetrhne provaz stříbrný, a než se rozrazí číše zlatá, a roztříští se věderce nad vrchovištěm, a roztrhne se kolo nad studnicí,
[Think much about God now, because] soon our lives will end, [like] [MET] silver chains or golden bowls that break easily, or like pitchers/jugs that are broken at the water fountain, or like broken pulleys at a well.
7 A navrátí se prach do země, jakž prvé byl, duch pak navrátí se k Bohu, kterýž jej dal.
Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.
8 Marnost nad marnostmi, řekl kazatel, a všecko marnost.
[So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.
9 Èím pak byl kazatel moudřejší, tím více vyučoval lid umění, a rozvažoval, zpytoval, i složil množství přísloví.
I was considered to be a very wise man, and I taught the people many things. I assembled/collected and wrote down many proverbs, and I carefully thought about and studied them.
10 Snažovaltě se kazatel vyhledati věci nejžádostivější, a napsal, což pravého jest, a slova věrná.
I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.
11 Slova moudrých podobná ostnům a hřebíkům vbitým, slova skladatelů, kteráž jsou vydána od pastýře jednoho.
The things that [I and other] wise people say [teach people what they should do]; they are like [SIM] (goads/sharp sticks that people use to strike animals to direct where they should go). They are like [SIM] nails that stick out of pieces of wood. They are given to us by [God, who is like] [MET] our shepherd.
12 A tak tedy jimi, synu můj, hojně dosti osvícen býti můžeš. Dělání knih mnohých žádného konce není, a čísti mnoho jest zemdlení těla.
[So], my son, pay careful attention to what I have written, and choose carefully what you read that others have written, [because] writing proverbs/books is endless, and [trying to] study them all will cause you to become exhausted.
13 Summa všeho, což jsi slyšel: Boha se boj, a přikázaní jeho ostříhej, nebo na tom všecko člověku záleží.
[Now] you have heard all [that I have told you], and here is the conclusion: Revere God, and obey his commandments, because those commandments summarize everything that people should do.
14 Poněvadž všeliký skutek Bůh přivede na soud, i každou věc tajnou, buďto dobrou, buďto zlou.
And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.
