Prædikeren 7
1 Bedre er et godt Navn end en god Salve og Dødens Dag end ens Fødselsdag.
[Having] a good reputation [MTY] is better than fine perfume, and the day that we die is better than the day that we are born.
2 Det er bedre at gaa til Sørgehuset end at gaa til Gæstebudshuset, fordi hint er hvert Menneskes Endeligt; og den levende skal lægge sig det paa Hjerte.
It is better to go to a house where people are mourning [about someone who has died] than to go to a house where people are feasting, because everyone will die some day, and people who are alive should think seriously [IDM] about that.
3 Græmmelse er bedre end Latter; thi, naar Ansigtet ser ilde ud, kan Hjertet have det godt.
It is better to be sad than to be [always] laughing, because being sad can cause us to think more about how we should conduct our lives [IDM].
4 De vises Hjerte er i Sorrigs Hus; men Daarernes Hjerte er i Glædes Hus.
Wise [people] who go to where others are mourning think about [the fact that some day they also will] die, but foolish people [PRS] [do not think about that]; they are always [MTY] laughing.
5 Det er bedre at høre Skænd af den vise, end at man hører Sang af Daarer.
It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
6 Thi som Tjørne sprage under Gryden, saa er Daarers Latter; ogsaa dette er Forfængelighed.
By [listening to] foolish people laughing we will not [learn any more than by listening to] the crackling of thorns [being burned] under a pot. Listening to fools is senseless.
7 Thi Fortrykkelse kan gøre en viis gal, og Gave kan fordærve et Hjerte.
When wise people say to others, “You must pay me a lot of money for me to protect you,” that causes those wise people to become foolish, and [accepting] bribes causes people to become unable to do what is fair/just.
8 Enden paa en Ting er bedre end Begyndelsen derpaa; bedre langmodig end hovmodig.
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 Vær ikke hastig i dit Sind til at fortørnes; thi Fortørnelse hviler i Daarers Barm.
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 Sig ikke: Hvoraf kom det, at de forrige Dage vare bedre end disse? thi du spørger ikke om saadant af Visdom.
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 Visdom er god som et Arvegods, ja bedre for dem, som skue Solen;
Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
12 thi at være under Visdoms Skygge, er at være under Penges Skygge; og Kundskabs Fortrin er: At Visdommen giver dem Livet, som eje den.
We are [sometimes] protected by being wise like we are [sometimes] protected by having a lot of money, but being wise is better [than having a lot of money], [because] being wise prevents us from [doing foolish things that would] cause us to die.
13 Se Guds Gerning; thi hvo kan gøre det lige, som han gør kroget?
Think [carefully about] what God has done. Certainly no one can [RHQ] cause to become straight the things that God has caused to be crooked.
14 Vær ved et godt Mod paa en god Dag, men betænk paa en ond Dag, at Gud har gjort denne ved Siden af den anden, for at Mennesket ikke skal finde noget, som skal ske efter ham.
When things are going well for you, be happy, and when things are not going well for you, remember that God is the one who causes good things to happen and who also causes disasters.
15 Alt det har jeg set i min Forfængeligheds Dage: Der er en retfærdig, som omkommer i sin Retfærdighed, og der er en ugudelig, som lever længe i sin Ondskab.
During all the time that I have been alive I have seen a lot of [HYP] things that seem senseless. I have seen righteous people die [while they are still young], and I have seen wicked people remain alive for a very long time in [spite of] their continuing to be wicked.
16 Vær ikke alt for retfærdig, og te dig ikke overvættes viis; hvorfor vil du ødelægge dig selv?
[So] do not think that you are very righteous and do not think that you are very wise, [because if you think those things], you will destroy yourself.
17 Vær ikke alt for uretfærdig, og vær ikke en Daare; hvorfor skulde du dø i Utide?
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 Det er godt, at du holder fast ved det ene, men du skal og ikke lade din Haand af fra det andet; thi den, som frygter Gud, undgaar det alt.
Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
19 Visdom styrker en viis mere end ti vældige, som ere i en Stad.
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 Thi der er ikke et Menneske retfærdigt paa Jorden, som gør godt og ikke synder.
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 Læg ikke heller paa dit Hjerte alle de Ord, som man siger, at du ikke skal høre din Tjener forbande dig.
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 Thi dit Hjerte ved ogsaa de mange Gange, da du selv har forbandet andre.
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 Alt det har jeg forsøgt med Visdommen; jeg sagde: Jeg vil opnaa Visdom, men den forblev langt fra mig.
I said [to myself] that I would use my wisdom to study all the things [that I have written about], but I was not able to do it successfully.
24 Det, som er til, er langt borte og dybt, dybt! hvo kan finde det?
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 Jeg vendte mig om med mit Hjerte, for at forstaa og at udgranske og at søge Visdom og Fornuftighed og for at forstaa, at Ugudelighed er Daarskab, og at Daarskab er Vanvid.
But I decided to investigate things and by my wisdom try to understand the reason for everything. I also wanted to understand why people act wickedly and why they act very foolishly.
26 Og jeg fandt, hvad der var beskere end Døden: Den Kvinde, hvis Hjerte var Snarer og Garn, og hvis Hænder vare Baand; den, som er velbehagelig for Guds Ansigt, skal undkomme fra hende, men en Synder skal fanges ved hende.
[One thing I learned was that] (allowing a woman to seduce you/having sex with a woman to whom you are not married) is worse than dying. A woman who tries to seduce men is [as dangerous as] a trap [MET]. [If you allow her to put] her arms [around you, it will be as though she will be fastening you with] chains. Women like that will capture sinful men, but men who please God will escape from such women.
27 Se, dette har jeg fundet, sagde Prædikeren, det ene efter det andet, idet jeg vilde finde Fornuftighed,
This is what I have learned: I tried to learn more and more about things to try to find out the reason for everything,
28 hvilken min Sjæl endnu søger, men jeg ikke har fundet; iblandt tusinde fandt jeg een Mand, men fandt ikke en Kvinde iblandt dem alle.
and I continued to try to learn more, but I could not find [all that I was searching for]. [But] one thing that I found out was that among 1,000 [people] I found one righteous man, but I did not find even one righteous woman.
29 Dog se, dette har jeg fundet, at Gud skabte Mennesket ret; men de søge mange Spidsfindigheder.
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
