Prædikeren 9
1 Thi alt dette har jeg lagt mig paa Hjerte, og det for at udgrunde det alt sammen, at de retfærdige og de vise og deres Gerninger ere i Guds Haand; om det er Kærlighed eller Had, ved intet Menneske; alt ligger for deres Ansigt.
I thought about all those things, and I concluded that God controls [what happens to] everyone, even those who are wise and those who are righteous. No one knows whether [others] will love them or whether they will hate them.
2 Alt er ens for alle; det samme hændes den retfærdige og den ugudelige, den gode og den rene og den urene, og den, som ofrer, og den, der ikke ofrer; som den gode, saa gaar det Synderen, den, som sværger, gaar det som den, der frygter for Ed.
[But we know that some time in the future] we will all die; it does not matter whether we act righteously or wickedly, whether we are good or whether we are bad, whether we are acceptable for [worshiping God] or whether [we have done things to cause us to be] unacceptable; it does not matter if we offer sacrifices [to God] or if we do not; it does not matter if we do what we have promised God that we will do or if we do not; [we all die]. The same thing will happen to good people and to sinful people, to those who solemnly promise [to do things for God] and to those who are afraid to make such promises.
3 Ondt iblandt alt det, som sker under Solen, er dette: At det samme hændes alle; og tillige er Menneskens Børns Hjerte fuldt af Ondskab, og der er Daarskaber i deres Hjerte, saa længe de leve, og derefter fare de til de døde.
It seems wrong that the same thing happens to everyone on this earth: Everyone dies [EUP]. Furthermore, people’s inner beings are full of evil. People do foolish things while they are alive, and then they die and join those who are already dead.
4 Thi hvo er den, som kan undtages? om alle dem, som leve, er der Haab; thi en levende Hund er bedre end en Løve, som er død;
While we are alive, we confidently expect [that good things will happen to us]. [We despise] dogs, but it is better to be a dog that is alive than to be a [majestic] lion that is dead.
5 thi de levende vide, at de skulle dø; men de døde vide ikke noget, og de have ingen Løn ydermere; men deres Ihukommelse er glemt.
We who are alive know that [some day] we will die, but dead people do not know anything. Dead people do not receive any more rewards, and people soon forget them.
6 Baade deres Kærlighed og deres Had og deres Avind er forlængst forsvunden, og de have i al Evighed ingen Del ydermere i alt det, som sker under Solen.
[While they were alive], they loved [some people], they hated [some people], they envied [some people], but that all ends when they die. They will never again be a part of anything that happens here on the earth.
7 Gak hen, æd dit Brød med Glæde og drik din Vin med et godt Mod; thi Gud har forlængst Behag i dine Gerninger.
[So I say], be joyful [DOU] while you eat your food and drink your wine, because that is what God wants you to do.
8 Lad dine Klæder altid være hvide, og lad Olie ikke fattes paa dit Hoved!
Wear nice [MTY] clothes and make your face look nice.
9 Nyd Livet med en Hustru, som du elsker, alle dine Forfængeligheds Levedage, som Gud har givet dig under Solen, alle dine Forfængeligheds Dage; thi det er din Del af Livet og af dit Arbejde, som du arbejder med under Solen.
Enjoy living with your wife whom you love, all during the time that God has given to you to be alive here on this earth. And even though it is difficult to understand why many things happen, enjoy doing the work that you do here on this earth.
10 Alt hvad din Haand formaar at gøre med din Kraft, gør det; thi der er hverken Gerning eller Tanke eller Kundskab eller Visdom i Dødsriget, hvor du farer hen. (Sheol h7585)
Whatever you are able to do, do it with all your energy, because [some time you will die], and in the place of the dead where you are going, no one works or plans to do anything or knows anything or is wise. (Sheol h7585)
11 Jeg vendte tilbage og saa under Solen, at Løbet ikke er i de lettes Magt, og Krigen ikke i de vældiges, og ej heller Brødet i de vises, og ej heller Rigdommen i de forstandiges, og ej heller Gunst i de kløgtiges; thi Tid og Hændelse ramme dem alle.
I have seen something else here on the earth: The person who runs fastest does not [always] win the race, the strongest soldiers do not [always] win the battle, the wisest people do not [always] have food, the smartest people do not [always] become rich, and people who have studied a lot are not [always] (honored/treated very specially) by others; we cannot [always] control what things will happen to us and where they will happen.
12 Thi Mennesket ved heller ikke sin Tid, saa lidt som Fiskene, der fanges i det slemme Garn, og saa lidt som Fuglene, der fanges i Snaren; som disse, saa blive Menneskens Børn besnærede til Ulykkens Tid, eftersom den falder hastelig over dem.
No one knows when he will die [EUP]; fish are cruelly caught in a net, and birds are caught in snares/traps; similarly [SIM], people experience disasters at times when they do not expect them to happen.
13 Ogsaa dette saa jeg som Visdom under Solen, og den syntes mig stor:
Once I saw something that a wise man did that impressed me.
14 Der var en liden Stad og faa Folk i den; og der kom en mægtig Konge imod den og omringede den og byggede store Belejringsværker om den;
There was a small town, where only a few people lived. The army of a great king came to that town and surrounded it. They built dirt ramps up against the walls in order to climb up and attack the town.
15 og han fandt derudi en fattig, viis Mand, og denne reddede Staden ved sin Visdom; men intet Menneske kom denne fattige Mand i Hu.
In that town there was a man who was poor but very wise. Because of doing what that man [suggested], the town was saved; but people [soon] forgot about him.
16 Da sagde jeg: Visdom er bedre end Styrke; men den fattiges Visdom er foragtet, og hans Ord blive ikke hørte.
So I realized that although being wise is better than being strong, if you are poor, no one will appreciate what you do, and people will soon forget what you said.
17 De vises Ord, hørte i Ro, ere bedre end Herskerens Skrig iblandt Daarer.
Speaking quietly what is [very] wise is [much] more sensible than a king shouting to foolish people.
18 Bedre er Visdom end Stridsvaaben; og een Synder kan fordærve meget godt.
Being wise is more useful than [a lot of] weapons; but if you do one foolish thing, [it is possible that] because of doing that, you will ruin all the good things that you have done.
