Prædikeren 7
1 Godt Navn er bedre end ypperlig Salve, Dødsdag bedre end Fødselsdag;
Better [is] a name than good perfume, 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.
Better to go unto a house of mourning, Than to go unto a house of banqueting, For that is the end of all men, And the living layeth [it] unto his heart.
3 Bedre Græmmelse end Latter, thi er Minerne mørke, har Hjertet det godt.
Better [is] sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becometh better.
4 De vises Hjerte er i Sørgehuset. Taabernes Hjerte i Glædeshuset.
The heart of the wise [is] in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.
5 Bedre at høre paa Vismands Skænd end at høre paa Taabers Sang.
Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than [for] a man to hear a song of fools,
6 Som Tjørnekvistes Knitren under Gryden er Taabers Latter; ogsaa det er Tomhed.
For as the noise of thorns under the pot, So [is] the laughter of a fool, even this [is] vanity.
7 Thi uredelig Vinding gør Vismand til Daare, og Stikpenge ødelægger Hjertet.
Surely oppression maketh the wise mad, And a gift destroyeth the heart.
8 En Sags Udgang er bedre end dens Indgang, Taalmod er bedre end Hovmod.
Better [is] the latter end of a thing than its beginning, Better [is] the patient of spirit, than the haughty of spirit.
9 Vær ikke hastig i dit Sind til at græmmes, thi Græmmelse bor i Taabers Bryst.
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools resteth.
10 Spørg ikke: »Hvoraf kommer det, at de gamle Dage var bedre end vore?« Thi saaledes spørger du ikke med Visdom.
Say not thou, 'What was it, That the former days were better than these?' For thou hast not asked wisely of this.
11 Bedre er Visdom end Arv, en Fordel for dem, som skuer Solen;
Wisdom [is] good with an inheritance, And an advantage [it is] to those beholding the sun.
12 thi Visdom skygger, som Penge skygger, men Kundskabs Fortrin er dette, at Visdom holder sin Mand i Live.
For wisdom [is] a defense, money [is] a defence, And the advantage of the knowledge of wisdom [is], She reviveth her possessors.
13 Se paa Guds Værk! Hvo kan rette, hvad han har gjort kroget?
See the work of God, For who is able to make straight that which He made crooked?
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 a day of prosperity be in gladness, And in a day of evil consider. Also this over-against that hath God made, To the intent that man doth not find anything 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.
The whole I have considered in the days of my vanity. There is a righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there is a wrong-doer prolonging [himself] in his wrong.
16 Vær ikke alt for retfærdig og te dig ikke overvættes viis; hvorfor vil du ødelægge dig selv?
Be not over-righteous, nor show thyself too wise, why art thou desolate?
17 Vær ikke alt for gudløs og vær ingen Daare; hvorfor vil du dø i Utide?
Do not much wrong, neither be thou a fool, why dost thou die within thy 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 that thou dost lay hold on this, and also, from that withdrawest not thy hand, for whoso is fearing God goeth out with them all.
19 Visdom gør Vismand stærkere end ti Magthavere i Byen.
The wisdom giveth strength to a wise man, more than wealth the rulers who have been in a city.
20 Thi intet Menneske er saa retfærdigt paa Jorden, at han kun gør gode Gerninger og aldrig synder.
Because there is not a righteous man on earth that doth good and sinneth not.
21 Giv ikke Agt paa alle de Ord, Folk siger, at du ikke skal høre din Træl forbande dig;
Also to all the words that they speak give not thy heart, that thou hear not thy servant reviling thee.
22 thi du ved med dig selv, at ogsaa du mange Gange har forbandet andre.
For many times also hath thy heart known that thou thyself also hast reviled others.
23 Alt dette ransagede jeg med Visdom; jeg tænkte: »Jeg vil vorde viis.« Men Visdom holdt sig langt fra mig;
All this I have tried by wisdom; I have said, 'I am wise,' and it [is] far from me.
24 Tingenes Grund er langt borte, saa dyb, saa dyb; hvem kan finde den?
Far off [is] that which hath been, and deep, deep, who doth find 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 have turned round, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and of foolishness the madness.
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 am finding more bitter than death, the woman whose heart [is] nets and snares, her hands [are] bands; the good before God escapeth from her, but the sinner is captured by her.
27 Se, det fandt jeg ud, sagde Prædikeren, ved at lægge det ene til det andet for at drage min Slutning.
See, this I have found, said the Preacher, one to one, to find out the reason
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.
(that still my soul had sought, and I had not found), One man, a teacher, I have found, and a woman among all these I have not found.
29 Dog se, det fandt jeg, at Gud har skabt Menneskene, som de bør være; men de har saa mange sære Ting for.
See, this alone I have found, that God made man upright, and they — they have sought out many devices.
