< Prædikeren 8 >

1 Hvo er som den vise? og hvo forstaar Sagens Udtydning? Menneskens Visdom opklarer hans Ansigt, og hans Ansigts Haardhed forandres.
Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.
2 Jeg siger: Agt paa Kongens Mund, og det formedelst Eden til Gud.
Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
3 Vær ikke hastig til at gaa bort fra hans Ansigt, bliv ikke staaende ved en slet Sag; thi han kan gøre alt, hvad han har Lyst til,
Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
4 efterdi Kongens Ord er et Magtsprog; og hvo tør sige til ham: Hvad gør du?
For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Hvo som holder Budet, skal intet ondt forfare, og den vises Hjerte kender Tid og Ret.
Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.
6 Thi for enhver Idræt er der Tid og Ret; thi Menneskets Ulykke hviler svar over ham.
For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
7 Thi han ved ikke, hvad der skal ske: Thi hvo kan tilkendegive ham, hvorledes det skal vorde?
Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?
8 Mennesket har ikke Magt over Aanden til at holde Aanden tilbage og ingen Magt over Dødens Dag og kan i Striden ikke undslippe, og Ugudelighed kan ikke redde sin Ejermand.
As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
9 Alt dette har jeg set, og jeg har lagt Mærke til al den Gerning, som gøres under Solen; der er en Tid, da Mennesket hersker over et Menneske til dettes Ulykke.
All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.
10 Og da saa jeg de ugudelige at begraves og komme hjem og at gaa bort fra den Helliges Sted og at glemmes i Staden efter at have gjort saaledes; ogsaa dette er Forfængelighed.
Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.
11 Efterdi der ikke fældes en Dom, haster Ondskabens Gerning; derfor er Menneskenes Børns Hjerte inden i dem fuldt af at gøre ondt.
When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
12 Lad endog en Synder gøre hundrede Gange ondt og leve længe! thi jeg ved dog, at det skal gaa dem vel, som frygte Gud, og som frygte for hans Ansigt.
Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.
13 Men det skal ikke gaa den ugudelige vel, og han skal ikke leve længe, han skal gaa bort ligesom en Skygge, fordi han ikke frygter for Guds Ansigt.
Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
14 Der er en Forfængelighed, som sker paa Jorden: At der er retfærdige, hvem det rammer efter de ugudeliges Gerning, og at der er ugudelige, hvem det rammer efter de retfærdiges Gerning; jeg sagde, at ogsaa dette er Forfængelighed.
There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.
15 Og jeg prisede Glæden, efterdi et Menneske intet bedre har under Solen end at æde og at drikke og at være glad; og saadant følger ham for hans Arbejde i hans Livsdage, som Gud har givet ham under Solen.
So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
16 Eftersom jeg gav mit Hjerte hen til at forstaa Visdom og til at se den Møje, som man gør sig paa Jorden, at der er den, som hverken Dag eller Nat ser Søvn i sine Øjne:
When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—
17 Da saa jeg al Guds Gerning, at et Menneske ikke kan udfinde den Gerning, som sker under Solen, idet Mennesket arbejder paa at udgranske den uden at kunne finde den; og selv om den vise vilde sige sig at forstaa den, kan han dog ikke finde den.
I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.

< Prædikeren 8 >