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 as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
2 Jeg siger: Agt paa Kongens Mund, og det formedelst Eden til Gud.
I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of 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,
Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
4 efterdi Kongens Ord er et Magtsprog; og hvo tør sige til ham: Hvad gør du?
Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
5 Hvo som holder Budet, skal intet ondt forfare, og den vises Hjerte kender Tid og Ret.
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.
6 Thi for enhver Idræt er der Tid og Ret; thi Menneskets Ulykke hviler svar over ham.
Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
7 Thi han ved ikke, hvad der skal ske: Thi hvo kan tilkendegive ham, hvorledes det skal vorde?
For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
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.
There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to 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 have I seen, and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.
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.
And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
11 Efterdi der ikke fældes en Dom, haster Ondskabens Gerning; derfor er Menneskenes Børns Hjerte inden i dem fuldt af at gøre ondt.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do 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.
Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:
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.
But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
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 vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
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.
Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth 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 mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes: )
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.
Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.
