Prædikeren 7
1 Godt Navn er bedre end ypperlig Salve, Dødsdag bedre end Fødselsdag;
A good name is better than oil of great price, and the day of death than the day of birth.
2 bedre at gaa til et Sørgehus end at gaa til et Gildehus; thi hist er alle Menneskers Ende, og de levende bør tage det til Hjerte.
It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts.
3 Bedre Græmmelse end Latter, thi er Minerne mørke, har Hjertet det godt.
Sorrow is better than joy; when the face is sad the mind gets better.
4 De vises Hjerte er i Sørgehuset. Taabernes Hjerte i Glædeshuset.
The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy.
5 Bedre at høre paa Vismands Skænd end at høre paa Taabers Sang.
It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.
6 Som Tjørnekvistes Knitren under Gryden er Taabers Latter; ogsaa det er Tomhed.
Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose.
7 Thi uredelig Vinding gør Vismand til Daare, og Stikpenge ødelægger Hjertet.
The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
8 En Sags Udgang er bedre end dens Indgang, Taalmod er bedre end Hovmod.
The end of a thing is better than its start, and a gentle spirit is better than pride.
9 Vær ikke hastig i dit Sind til at græmmes, thi Græmmelse bor i Taabers Bryst.
Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish.
10 Spørg ikke: »Hvoraf kommer det, at de gamle Dage var bedre end vore?« Thi saaledes spørger du ikke med Visdom.
Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.
11 Bedre er Visdom end Arv, en Fordel for dem, som skuer Solen;
Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun.
12 thi Visdom skygger, som Penge skygger, men Kundskabs Fortrin er dette, at Visdom holder sin Mand i Live.
Wisdom keeps a man from danger even as money does; but the value of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its owner.
13 Se paa Guds Værk! Hvo kan rette, hvad han har gjort kroget?
Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent?
14 Vær ved godt Mod paa den gode Dag og indse paa den onde Dag, at Gud skabte denne saavel som hin, for at Mennesket ikke skal finde noget efter sig.
In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.
15 Begge Dele saa jeg i mine tomme Dage: Der er retfærdige, som omkommer i deres Retfærdighed, og der er gudløse, som lever længe i deres Ondskab.
These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.
16 Vær ikke alt for retfærdig og te dig ikke overvættes viis; hvorfor vil du ødelægge dig selv?
Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you?
17 Vær ikke alt for gudløs og vær ingen Daare; hvorfor vil du dø i Utide?
Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time?
18 Det bedste er, at du fastholder det ene og ikke slipper det andet; thi den, der frygter Gud, vil undgaa begge Farer.
It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.
19 Visdom gør Vismand stærkere end ti Magthavere i Byen.
Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers in a town.
20 Thi intet Menneske er saa retfærdigt paa Jorden, at han kun gør gode Gerninger og aldrig synder.
There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.
21 Giv ikke Agt paa alle de Ord, Folk siger, at du ikke skal høre din Træl forbande dig;
Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.
22 thi du ved med dig selv, at ogsaa du mange Gange har forbandet andre.
Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.
23 Alt dette ransagede jeg med Visdom; jeg tænkte: »Jeg vil vorde viis.« Men Visdom holdt sig langt fra mig;
All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.
24 Tingenes Grund er langt borte, saa dyb, saa dyb; hvem kan finde den?
Far off is true existence, and very deep; who may have knowledge of it?
25 Jeg tog mig for at vende min Hu til Kundskab og Granskning og til at søge efter Visdom og sikker Viden og til at kende, at Gudløshed er Taabelighed, Daarskab Vanvid.
I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.
26 Og beskere end Døden fandt jeg Kvinden, thi hun er et Fangegarn; hendes Hjerte er et Net og hendes Arme Lænker. Den, som er Gud kær, undslipper hende, men Synderen bliver hendes Fange.
And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.
27 Se, det fandt jeg ud, sagde Prædikeren, ved at lægge det ene til det andet for at drage min Slutning.
Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,
28 Hvad min Sjæl stadig søgte, men ikke fandt, er dette: Een Mand fandt jeg blandt tusind, men en Kvinde fandt jeg ikke i hele Flokken.
For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen.
29 Dog se, det fandt jeg, at Gud har skabt Menneskene, som de bør være; men de har saa mange sære Ting for.
This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.
