Prediker 12
1 Denk aan uw Schepper in de dagen van uw jeugd, Eer de kwade dagen komen, En de jaren, waarvan gij zegt: Zij bevallen mij niet.
While you are still young, keep thinking about [God], who created you. Do that before [you are old] and you experience many troubles, during the years when you say “I no [longer] enjoy being alive.”
2 Eer verduisterd worden De zon en het licht, De maan en de sterren; En de éne bui op de andere volgt.
[When you become old], the light from the sun and moon and stars will [seem] dim [to you], and [it will seem that the rain] clouds [always] return [quickly] after it rains.
3 Eer de bewakers van het huis beginnen te beven, De gespierde mannen verkrommen; Zij, die malen, gaan staken, omdat hun getal is verminderd, Zij, die door de vensters schouwen, versuffen.
Then your [arms that you use to protect] [MET] your bodies will shake/tremble, and your [legs that support] [MET] your bodies will become weak. Many of your [teeth that you use to] grind/chew [your food] will fall out, and your [eyes that you use to] look out of windows will not see clearly.
4 Eer de vleugels van de straatdeur zich sluiten, En het geknars van de molen verzwakt, Het geluid van de vogel vermindert, En alle zangen verstommen.
Your [ears] [MET] will not hear the noise in the streets, and you will not be able to hear clearly the sound of people grinding grain with millstones. You will be awakened in the morning by hearing the birds singing/chirping, [but] you will not be able to hear well the songs that (the birds/people) sing.
5 Eer men opziet tegen iedere hoogte, En men bang is op straat; De amandel niet meer smaakt, de sprinkhaan te zwaar ligt, En het kapperkruid niet meer bekomt. Eer men op weg is naar zijn eeuwige woning, En de klagers al rondgaan op straat;
You will be afraid to be in high places and afraid of dangers on the roads that you walk on. [Your hair] will become [white like] [MET] the flowers of almond trees. [When you try to walk], you will drag yourself along like [MET] grasshoppers, and you will no longer desire [to have sex]. Then you will [die and] go to your eternal home, and people who will mourn for you will be in the streets.
6 De zilveren snoer wordt verbroken, En de gouden lamp naar beneden komt. Eer de kruik bij de bron wordt stuk gebroken, En het rad kapot slaat boven de put;
[Think much about God now, because] soon our lives will end, [like] [MET] silver chains or golden bowls that break easily, or like pitchers/jugs that are broken at the water fountain, or like broken pulleys at a well.
7 Het stof naar de aarde gaat, waar het vandaan kwam, En de levensgeest terugkeert naar God, die hem gaf.
Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.
8 Ijdelheid der ijdelheden, zegt de Prediker, Alles is ijdel!
[So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.
9 De Prediker was niet alleen een wijs man voor zichzelf, Hij leerde ook wijsheid aan zijn volk; Veel spreuken heeft hij gewikt, overdacht en gedicht.
I was considered to be a very wise man, and I taught the people many things. I assembled/collected and wrote down many proverbs, and I carefully thought about and studied them.
10 De Prediker wist puntige gezegden te vinden, En rake spreuken op schrift te stellen.
I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.
11 Want als prikkels zijn de woorden der wijzen, Als krammen in de muur, waaraan men alles kan ophangen; Door één en denzelfden Leidsman zijn zij gegeven!
The things that [I and other] wise people say [teach people what they should do]; they are like [SIM] (goads/sharp sticks that people use to strike animals to direct where they should go). They are like [SIM] nails that stick out of pieces of wood. They are given to us by [God, who is like] [MET] our shepherd.
12 Tenslotte, mijn zoon, wees voorzichtig: Men kan boeken schrijven zonder eind, Maar veel studeren vermoeit het vlees.
[So], my son, pay careful attention to what I have written, and choose carefully what you read that others have written, [because] writing proverbs/books is endless, and [trying to] study them all will cause you to become exhausted.
13 Alles wel overwogen, is dit de conclusie: Vrees God en onderhoud zijn geboden; Want dat is eerst de hele mens.
[Now] you have heard all [that I have told you], and here is the conclusion: Revere God, and obey his commandments, because those commandments summarize everything that people should do.
14 Van ieder werk, al is het nog zo verborgen, Zal God oordelen, of het goed was of kwaad!
And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.
