Prædikeren 8
1 Hvo er som den vise, og hvo ved at tyde en Ting? Visdom faar et Menneskes Aasyn til at lyse, og Aasynets Haardhed mildnes.
[I will tell you about] those who are truly wise [RHQ] with the result that they can explain why everything happens. Being wise enables people to be happy [MTY] and enables them to smile.
2 Hold en Konges Bud! Men drejer det sig om en Gudsed, saa forhast dig ikke.
You solemnly promised God that you would obey what the king commands, so do that.
3 Gaa bort fra hans Aasyn og bliv ikke staaende, naar Sagen staar slet; thi han kan gøre alt, hvad han vil.
Do not quickly disobey the king. And do not join those who want to rebel against him, because the king will do what he wants to do.
4 Thi en Konges Ord er Magtsprog, og hvo kan sige til ham: »Hvad gør du?«
We need to obey what the king says more than we need to obey what anyone else says; no one can say to the king, “(Why are you doing that?/You should not be doing that.) [RHQ]”
5 Den, som holder Budet, skal ikke mærke til noget ondt, og Dommens Tid skal den vises Hjerte kende.
If you obey what the king commands, he will not harm you. [So] be wise, and know the correct/right time to do things and the right way to do them.
6 Thi enhver Ting har sin Tid og sin Dom, men det er et tyngende Onde for Mennesket,
Although people experience many troubles/difficulties, there is a right/correct time to do things, and there is a right/correct way [to do them].
7 at han ikke ved, hvad der vil ske; thi hvo kan sige ham hvorledes Fremtiden bliver?
No one knows what will happen in the future, so there is no one [RHQ] who can tell us what is going to happen.
8 Som intet Menneske er Herre over Vinden, saa han kan spærre den inde, er ingen Herre over Dødens Dag; Krig kan man ikke unddrage sig, og Gudløshed frier ikke sin Mand.
We cannot control the wind, and we cannot control when we will die. Soldiers are not permitted to go home during a battle, and evil people will not be saved by [doing what is] evil.
9 Alt dette saa jeg, idet jeg rettede min Tanke paa hver en Idræt, som øves under Solen: Der er Tider, da det ene Menneske hersker over det andet til hans Ulykke.
I thought about all those things, and I thought about all [HYP] the other things that happen on this earth. I saw that [sometimes] people cause those whom they control to suffer.
10 Ligeledes saa jeg gudløse stedes til Hvile, medens de, som gjorde det rette, maatte gaa bort fra det hellige Sted og glemtes i Byen. Ogsaa det er Tomhed.
I also saw that [sometimes] after evil [people] die, they are highly honored at their funerals by the people in the cities where they had done [evil] deeds. It seemed to be difficult to understand why that happens.
11 Fordi den onde Gerning ikke i Hast rammes af Dommen faar Menneskenes Hjerte Mod til at gøre det onde,
If evil people are not immediately punished, it causes [other] people [SYN] to [also] want to do evil things.
12 eftersom Synderen gør det onde fra første Færd og dog lever længe; men ogsaa ved jeg, at det skal gaa dem godt, som frygter Gud, fordi de frygter for hans Aasyn,
But even if sinful people commit 100 crimes, and [even if they] live for a long time, I know that things will go better for those who greatly respect and revere God.
13 og at det ikke skal gaa de gudløse godt, og at deres Levetid ikke skal længes som Skyggen, fordi de ikke frygter for Guds Aasyn.
[I also know] that things will not go well go for those who are evil, because they do not revere God. Shadows [do not last a long time]. Similarly [SIM], evil people will not live a long time.
14 Der er en Tomhed, som forekommer paa Jorden: at der findes retfærdige, hvem det gaar, som om de havde gjort de gudløses Gerninger, og gudløse, hvem det gaar som om de havde gjort de retfærdiges Gerninger. Jeg sagde: Ogsaa det er Tomhed.
Another thing that [sometimes] happens on this earth is that bad things happen to righteous people, and good things happen to evil people. It is difficult to understand why that happens.
15 Og jeg priste Glæden, fordi Mennesket ikke har andet Gode under Solen end at spise og drikke og være glad, og at dette ledsager ham under hans Flid i de Levedage, Gud giver ham under Solen.
[So] I decided that I would recommend that people be happy while they are alive, because the best thing that people can do here on this earth is to eat and drink and be happy. Enjoying doing those things will help people while they do their work, all the time that God has given to them to remain alive here on the earth.
16 Hver Gang jeg vendte min Hu til at nemme Visdom og granske det Slid, som gaar for sig paa Jorden — thi hverken Dag eller Nat faar man Søvn i Øjnene —
I thought about being wise and about people who work very hard, working day and night and not taking time to sleep.
17 da indsaa jeg, at det er saaledes med alt Guds Værk, at Mennesket ikke kan udgrunde det, som sker under Solen; thi trods al den Flid, et Menneske gør sig med at søge, kan han ikke udgrunde det; og selv om den vise mener at kende det, kan han ikke udgrunde det.
Then I thought about everything [HYP] that God has done, and I realized that no one can understand everything that happens here on this earth. Truly, people are not able to fully understand everything [that God understands], even if they try hard to do that. Even if wise people claim that they understand it all, they cannot.
