Prædikeren 5
1 Forvar din Fod, naar du vil gaa til Guds Hus, og vær nær for at høre; dette er bedre, end naar Daarerne yde Slagtoffer; thi de vide ikke, at de gøre ondt.
When you enter God’s temple, you should be sure to listen carefully. Doing that is better than offering sacrifices to God [and then not obeying him], which is foolish.
2 Vær ikke snar med din Mund, og lad dit Hjerte ikke haste med at fremføre et Ord for Guds Ansigt; thi Gud er i Himmelen og du paa Jorden, derfor lad dine Ord være faa!
Think carefully before you speak [MTY] or before you promise God that you will do something [IDM]. [Do not forget that] God is in heaven [and he is all-powerful] and you are here on the earth, so think carefully before you [make any promises to God].
3 Thi hvor der er megen Møje, komme Drømme; og hvor der er mange Ord, der hører man Daarens Røst.
If you are continually thinking [and worrying] about things, you will have bad dreams about them and not rest [well]. And the more you talk, the more likely it will be that you will say things that are foolish.
4 Naar du lover Gud et Løfte, tøv ikke med at betale det; thi han har ikke Velbehag til Daarer; hvad du lover, det betal!
When you solemnly promise God that you will do something, do not be foolish by delaying in doing it, because God is not pleased with foolish people. Do [all] the things that you promise God that you will do.
5 Det er bedre, at du intet lover, end at du lover og ikke betaler.
It is better to not promise [anything] than to promise to do something, and [then] not doing it.
6 Tilsted ikke din Mund at bringe Synd over dit Kød, og sig ikke for Engelens Ansigt, at det var en Overilelse; hvi skulde Gud fortørnes for din Røst og fordærve dine Hænders Gerning?
Do not sin by promising to do something and then not doing it. And [when you promise God to do something and do not do it], do not say to God’s priest that it was a mistake for you to promise to do that. If you do that, God will certainly [RHQ] become very angry with you, and he will take from you everything that you [SYN] have worked to acquire.
7 Thi hvor der er mange Drømme, der er Forfængelighed, og ligesaa, hvor der er mange Ord; men frygt Gud!
Promising to do something and not doing it is like [SIM] a dream that has no value; instead, revere God [by doing what you promised him that you would do].
8 Dersom du ser, at en fattig fortrykkes, og at Ret og Retfærdighed krænkes i Landskabet, da forundre dig ikke over den Idræt; thi en Høj er Vogter over en Høj, og den Højeste over dem begge;
Do not be surprised if you see poor [people] being (oppressed/treated cruelly) [by powerful/influential people], or if you see judges making unjust decisions throughout the land. [That happens] because the people who do that are supervised [and cheated by] more important officials [DOU],
9 og en Fordel for Jorden i det Hele er det, at der er en Konge over det dyrkede Land.
and even the king forces the people to give him some of the crops that they harvest.
10 Hvo der elsker Penge, kan ikke mættes af Penge, og hvo som elsker meget Gods, ikke af Indtægt; ogsaa dette er Forfængelighed.
Everyone who tries to [get as much] money as they can will never think that they have enough. They will never be satisfied with the money that they have. That also is senseless.
11 Hvor Godset bliver meget, bliver der mange, som fortære det; hvad Fordel er der da for dem, som eje det, uden det, at deres Øjne se derpaa?
The more money that we have, the more people want us to spend our money to buy things for them. So people who have a lot of money do not [RHQ] benefit from it; they see [MTY] it when they get it, but it soon (disappears/is completely spent).
12 Hvo der arbejder, ham er Søvnen sød, hvad heller han æder lidet eller meget; men den riges Mættelse tillader ham ej at sove.
Those who work hard sleep peacefully [at night], even if they do not have much food to eat. But rich [people] do not sleep well, because [they worry] about their money.
13 Der er et slemt Onde, som jeg saa under Solen, at Rigdom bevares af sin Herre til hans egen Ulykke;
I have seen [another] terrible thing that happens here on the earth [MTY]: People save [up all] their money and become rich, [but] they are not helped by saving a lot of money,
14 og at denne Rigdom gaar til Grunde ved en uheldig Stræben, saa at, om han avlede en Søn, der ikke bliver noget i hans Haand.
[because] something happens that causes their money to be gone, and when they die, there is no money for their children to get/inherit.
15 Ligesom han udgik af sin Moders Liv, saa skal han atter nøgen gaa bort, som han kom; og han skal, trods sit Arbejde, ikke tage noget, som han kan føre i sin Haand.
When we are born, we do not bring anything with us, and when we die, we take nothing with us from all that we have earned by our working hard.
16 Ogsaa dette er et slemt Onde, at han i alle Maader skal gaa bort, saaledes som han kom; hvad Fordel har han da deraf, at han har arbejdet hen i Vejret?
That also seems senseless. People bring nothing [into the world when they are born], and they leave [this world] taking nothing with them. They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit [MET].
17 Ja, alle sine Dage æder han sit Brød i Mørket, og han har megen Græmmelse tillige med sin Sygdom og Harme.
[Furthermore, rich people] are always miserable [MET] and sad, and depressed/discouraged and often sick and (resentful/thinking that what has happened to them is unfair).
18 Se her, hvad jeg har set: At det er godt og smukt at æde og drikke og at se godt af alt sit Arbejde, som man arbejder med under Solen i alle sine Levedage, som Gud har givet en; thi det er hans Del;
So, the best thing for people to do here on the earth during the few years that God allows them to be alive is to eat and drink and to enjoy their work, because those are the things that God has given to them.
19 og naar der er et Menneske, som Gud har givet Rigdom og Gods og givet ham Magt at æde deraf og at modtage sin Del og at glæde sig i sit Arbejde: Da er dette en Guds Gave.
If people are rich and have a lot of possessions, and are able to (enjoy/be happy with) the things that they have and to enjoy their work, those things are [also] gifts from God.
20 Thi han vil ikke tænke meget paa sit Livs Dage, efterdi Gud bønhører ham, i hvad der er hans Hjertes Glæde.
Those people do not worry much about [everything that has happened] during the time that they have been alive, because God enables them to be happy doing everything that they do.
