Prædikeren 1
1 Ord af Prædikeren, Davids Søn, Konge i Jerusalem.
Words of a preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Endeløs Tomhed, sagde Prædikeren, endeløs Tomhed, alt er Tomhed!
Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities: the whole [is] vanity.
3 Hvad Vinding har Mennesket af al den Flid, han gør sig under Solen?
What advantage [is] to man by all his labor that he labors at under the sun?
4 Slægt går, og Slægt kommer, men Jorden står til evig Tid.
A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth is standing for all time.
5 Sol står op, og Sol går ned og haster igen til sin Opgangs Sted.
Also, the sun has risen, and the sun has gone in, and to its place panting it is rising there.
6 Vinden går mod Syd og drejer mod Nord, den drejer atter og atter og vender tilbage til samme Kredsløb.
Going to the south, and turning around to the north, turning around, turning around, the wind is going, and by its circuits the wind has returned.
7 Alle Bække løber i Havet, men Havet bliver ikke fuldt; det Sted, til hvilket Bækkene løber, did bliver de ved at løbe.
All the streams are going to the sea, and the sea is not full; to a place to where the streams are going, there they are turning back to go.
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.
All these things are wearying; a man is not able to speak, the eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor is the ear filled from hearing.
9 Det, der kommer, er det, der var, det, der sker, er det, der skete; der er slet intet nyt under Solen.
What [is] that which has been? It [is] that which is, and what [is] that which has been done? It [is] that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.
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 is a thing of which [one] says: “See this, it [is] new!” Already it has been in the ages that were before us!
11 Ej mindes de svundne Slægter, og de ny, som kommer engang, skal ej heller mindes af dem, som kommer senere hen.
There is not a remembrance of former [generations]; and also of the latter that are, there is no remembrance of them with those that are at the last.
12 Jeg, Prædikeren, var Konge over Israel i Jerusalem.
I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in 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.
And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that has been done under the heavens. It [is] a sad travail God has given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.
14 Jeg så alt, hvad der sker under Solen, og se, det er alt sammen Tomhed og Jag efter Vind.
I have seen all the works that have been done under the sun, and behold, the whole [is] vanity and distress of spirit!
15 Kroget kan ej blive lige, og halvt kan ej blive helt.
A crooked thing [one] is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered.
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 spoke with my heart, saying, “I, behold, have magnified and added wisdom above everyone who has been before me at Jerusalem, and my heart has seen wisdom and knowledge abundantly.
17 Jeg vendte min Hu til at fatte, hvad der er Visdom og Kundskab, og hvad der er Dårskab og Tåbelighed; jeg skønnede, at også det er Jag efter Vind.
And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this [is] distress of spirit;
18 Thi megen Visdom megen Græmmelse, øget Kundskab øget Smerte.
for in abundance of wisdom [is] abundance of sadness, and he who adds knowledge adds pain.”
