Prædikeren 1
1 Ord af Prædikeren, Davids Søn, Konge i Jerusalem.
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 Endeløs Tomhed, sagde Prædikeren, endeløs Tomhed, alt er Tomhed!
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 Hvad Vinding har Mennesket af al den Flid, han gør sig under Solen?
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 Slægt gaar, og Slægt kommer, men Jorden staar til evig Tid.
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 Sol staar op, og Sol gaar ned og haster igen til sin Opgangs Sted.
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
6 Vinden gaar mod Syd og drejer mod Nord, den drejer atter og atter og vender tilbage til samme Kredsløb.
The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
7 Alle Bække løber i Havet, men Havet bliver ikke fuldt; det Sted, til hvilket Bækkene løber, did bliver de ved at løbe.
Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
8 Alting slider sig træt; Mand hører ikke op med at tale, Øjet bliver ikke mæt af at se, Øret ej fuldt af at høre.
Everything just keeps on going. You can't say all there is to say. You can't see all there is to see. You can't hear all there is to hear.
9 Det, der kommer, er det, der var, det, der sker, er det, der skete; der er slet intet nyt under Solen.
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
10 Kommer der noget, om hvilket man siger: »Se, her er da noget nyt!« det har dog for længst været til i Tiderne forud for os.
There's nothing anyone can point to and say, “Look! Here's something new.” In fact it's been around for ages, long before our time.
11 Ej mindes de svundne Slægter, og de ny, som kommer engang, skal ej heller mindes af dem, som kommer senere hen.
The problem is we don't remember people from the past, and people in the future won't remember those who came before them.
12 Jeg, Prædikeren, var Konge over Israel i Jerusalem.
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
13 Jeg vendte min Hu til at ransage og med Visdom udgranske alt, hvad der sker under Himmelen; det er et ondt Slid, som Gud har givet Menneskens Børn at slide med.
I decided to focus my mind to explore, using wisdom, everything that happens here on earth. This is a tough assignment that God has given people to keep them busy!
14 Jeg saa alt, hvad der sker under Solen, og se, det er alt sammen Tomhed og Jag efter Vind.
I examined everything people do here on earth, and discovered that it's all so temporary—trying to understand it is like trying to pin down the wind!
15 Kroget kan ej blive lige, og halvt kan ej blive helt.
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
16 Jeg tænkte ved mig selv: »Se, jeg har vundet større og rigere Visdom end alle de, der før mig var over Jerusalem, og mit Hjerte har skuet Visdom og Kundskab i Fylde.«
I thought to myself, “I've become very wise, wiser than all the kings of Jerusalem before me. My mind has gained a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 Jeg vendte min Hu til at fatte, hvad der er Visdom og Kundskab, og hvad der er Daarskab og Taabelighed; jeg skønnede, at ogsaa det er Jag efter Vind.
So I decided to use my mind to learn everything about wisdom, and madness and foolishness as well. But I found out that this is as hard as trying to catch hold of the wind.
18 Thi megen Visdom megen Græmmelse, øget Kundskab øget Smerte.
For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
