Prædikeren 5
1 Va'r din Fod, naar du gaar til Guds Hus! At komme for at høre er bedre, end at Daarer bringer Slagtoffer, thi de har ikke Forstand til andet end at gøre ondt.
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not understand that they are doing what is wrong.
2 Lad ikke din Mund løbe eller dit Hjerte haste med at udtale et Ord for Guds Aasyn; thi Gud er i Himmelen og du paa Jorden, derfor skal dine Ord være faa.
Do not be too quick to speak with your mouth, and do not let your heart be too quick to bring any matter up before God. God is in heaven, but you are on earth, so let your words be few.
3 Thi meget Slid giver Drømme, og mange Ord giver Daaretale.
If you have too many things to do and worry about, you will probably have bad dreams. The more words you speak, the more foolish things you will probably say.
4 Naar du giver Gud et Løfte, saa tøv ikke med at holde det! Thi der er ingen Glæde ved Daarer. Hvad du lover, skal du holde.
When you make a vow to God, do not delay to do it, for God has no pleasure in fools. Do what you vow you will do.
5 Det er bedre, at du ikke lover, end at du lover uden at holde.
It is better not to make a vow than to make one that you do not carry out.
6 Lad ikke din Mund bringe Skyld over dit Legeme og sig ikke til Guds Sendebud, at det var af Vanvare! Hvorfor skal Gud vredes over din Tale og nedbryde dine Hænders Værk?
Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin. Do not say to the priest's messenger, “That vow was a mistake.” Why make God angry by vowing falsely, provoking God to destroy the work of your hands?
7 Thi af mange Drømme og Ord kommer mange Skuffelser; nej, frygt Gud!
For in many dreams, as in many words, there is meaningless vapor. So fear God.
8 Naar du ser den fattige undertrykt og Lov og Ret krænket paa din Egn, saa undre dig ikke over den Ting; thi paa den høje vogter en højere, og andre endnu højere vogter paa dem begge.
When you see the poor being oppressed and robbed of just and right treatment in your province, do not be astonished as if no one knows, because there are people in power who watch those under them, and there are even higher ones over them.
9 Dog, en Fordel for et Land er det i alt Fald, at der er en Konge over dyrket Jord.
In addition, the produce of the land is for everyone, and the king himself takes produce from the fields.
10 Den, der elsker Sølv, mættes aldrig af Sølv, og den, der elsker Rigdom, mættes aldrig af Vinding. Ogsaa det er Tomhed.
Anyone who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, and anyone who loves wealth always wants more. This, too, is vapor.
11 Jo mere Gods, des flere til at fortære det, og hvad Gavn har Ejeren da deraf, ud over at hans Øjne ser det?
As prosperity increases, so also do the people who consume it. What advantage in wealth is there to the owner except to watch it with his eyes?
12 Sød er Arbejderens Søvn, hvad enten han har lidt eller meget at spise; men den riges Overflod giver ikke ham Lov til at sove.
The sleep of a working man is sweet, whether he eats little or a lot, but the wealth of a rich person does not allow him to sleep well.
13 Der er et slemt Onde, som jeg saa under Solen: Rigdom gemt hen af sin Ejermand til hans Ulykke;
There is an evil that I have seen under the sun: riches hoarded by the owner, resulting in his own misery.
14 gaar Rigdommen tabt ved et Uheld, og han har avlet en Søn, saa bliver der intet til ham.
When the rich man loses his wealth through bad luck, his own son, one whom he has fathered, is left with nothing in his hands.
15 Som han udgik af sin Moders Liv, skal han atter gaa bort, lige saa nøgen som han kom, og ved sin Flid vinder han intet, han kan tage med sig.
As a man comes from his mother's womb, so also he will leave naked. He can take none of the fruits of his labor in his hand.
16 Ogsaa det er et slemt Onde: ganske som han kom, gaar han bort, og hvad Vinding har han saa af, at han gør sig Flid hen i Vejret?
Another evil is that as a person comes, so he goes away. So what profit is there for him who works for the wind?
17 Og dertil kommer et helt Liv i Mørke, Sorg og stor Kvide, Sygdom og Kummer.
During his days he eats with darkness and is greatly distressed with sickness and anger.
18 Se, hvad der efter mit Skøn er godt og smukt, det er at spise og drikke og nyde det gode under al den Flid, man gør sig under Solen, alle de Levedage Gud giver en; thi det er den Del, man har;
Look, what I have seen to be good and suitable is to eat and drink and to enjoy the gain from all our work, as we labor under the sun during the days of this life that God has given us. For this is man's assignment.
19 og hver Gang Gud giver et Menneske Rigdom og Gods og sætter ham i Stand til at nyde det, og tage sin Del og glæde sig under sin Flid, da er det en Guds Gave;
Anyone to whom God has given riches and wealth and the ability to receive his share and rejoice in his work—this is a gift from God.
20 thi da tænker han ikke stort paa sine Levedage, idet Gud lader ham være optaget af sit Hjertes Glæde.
For he does not call to mind very often the days of his life, because God makes him keep busy with the things that he enjoys doing.
