Prædikeren 6
1 Der er et Onde, jeg saa under Solen, og som tynger Menneskene haardt:
I have seen something [else here] on this earth that troubles people.
2 Naar Gud giver en Mand Rigdom og Gods og Ære, saa han intet savner af, hvad han ønsker, og Gud ikke sætter ham i Stand til at nyde det, men en fremmed nyder det, da er dette Tomhed og en slem Lidelse.
God enables some people to get a lot of money and possessions and to be honored; they have everything [LIT] that they want. But God [sometimes] does not allow them to continue to enjoy those things. Someone else gets them and enjoys them. That seems senseless and unfair.
3 Om en Mand avler hundrede Børn og lever mange Aar, saa hans Levetid bliver lang, men hans Sjæl ikke mættes af Goder, saa siger jeg dog, at et utidigt Foster er bedre faren end han;
Someone might have 100 children and live for many years. But if he is not able to enjoy the things that he has acquired, and if he is not buried [properly after he dies], [I say that] a child that is dead when it is born is more fortunate.
4 thi at det kommer, er Tomhed, og det gaar bort i Mørke, og i Mørke dølges dets Navn;
That dead baby’s birth is meaningless; it does not even have a name. It goes directly to the place where there is only darkness.
5 og det har hverken set eller kendt Sol; det faar end ikke en Grav; det hviler bedre end han.
It does not [live to] see the sun or know anything. But it finds more rest than rich people do [who are alive].
6 Om han saa levede to Gange tusind Aar, men ikke skuede Lykke — mon ikke alle farer sammesteds hen?
Even if people could live for 2,000 years, if they do not enjoy the things that God gives to them, [it would have been better for them never to have been born]. [All people who live a long time] certainly [RHQ] all go to the same place— [to the grave].
7 Al Menneskets Flid tjener hans Mund, og dog stilles hans Sult aldrig.
People work hard to [earn enough money to buy] food to eat [MTY], but [often] they never get enough to eat.
8 Thi hvad har den vise forud for Taaben, hvad baader det den arme, der ved at vandre for de levendes Øjne?
So it seems that [RHQ] wise people do not receive more lasting benefits than foolish people do. And it seems that [RHQ] poor people do not benefit from knowing how to conduct their lives.
9 Bedre at se med sine Øjne end higende Attraa. Ogsaa det er Tomhed og Jag efter Vind.
It is better to enjoy the things that we already have [MTY] than to constantly want more things; continually wanting more things is [senseless], [like] the wind.
10 Hvad der bliver til er for længst nævnet ved Navn, og det vides i Forvejen, hvad et Menneske bliver til; det kan ikke gaa i Rette med ham, der er den stærkeste.
All the things that exist [on the earth] have been given names. And everyone knows what people are like, [so] it is useless to argue with someone (OR, with God) who is stronger than we are.
11 Thi jo flere Ord der bruges, des større bliver Tomheden, og hvad gavner de Mennesket?
The more [that we] talk, the more [often we say things that are] senseless, so it certainly does not [RHQ] benefit us to talk a lot.
12 Thi hvo ved, hvad der baader et Menneske i Livet, det Tal af tomme Levedage han henlever som en Skygge? Thi hvo kan sige et Menneske, hvad der skal ske under Solen efter hans Død?
We live for only a short time; we disappear like [SIM] a shadow disappears [in the sunlight]. No one [RHQ] knows what is best for us while we are alive, and no one [RHQ] knows what will happen to us after we die [EUP].
