Ecclesiastes 5
1 Keep thy foot when thou go to the house of God, for to draw near to hear is better than to give the sacrifice of fools. For they know not that they do evil.
Va'r din Fod, naar du gaar til Guds Hus! At komme for at høre er bedre, end at Daarer bringer Slagtoffer, thi de har ikke Forstand til andet end at gøre ondt.
2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God. For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth. Therefore let thy words be few.
Lad ikke din Mund løbe eller dit Hjerte haste med at udtale et Ord for Guds Aasyn; thi Gud er i Himmelen og du paa Jorden, derfor skal dine Ord være faa.
3 For a dream comes with a multitude of business, and a fool's voice with a multitude of words.
Thi meget Slid giver Drømme, og mange Ord giver Daaretale.
4 When thou vow a vow to God, defer not to pay it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay that which thou vow.
Naar du giver Gud et Løfte, saa tøv ikke med at holde det! Thi der er ingen Glæde ved Daarer. Hvad du lover, skal du holde.
5 Better is it that thou should not vow, than that thou should vow and not pay.
Det er bedre, at du ikke lover, end at du lover uden at holde.
6 Do not allow thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, nor say thou before the agent, that is was an error. Why should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?
Lad ikke din Mund bringe Skyld over dit Legeme og sig ikke til Guds Sendebud, at det var af Vanvare! Hvorfor skal Gud vredes over din Tale og nedbryde dine Hænders Værk?
7 For in the multitude of dreams there are vanities, and in many words. But fear thou God.
Thi af mange Drømme og Ord kommer mange Skuffelser; nej, frygt Gud!
8 If thou see the oppression of a poor man, and the violent wresting of justice and righteousness in a province, marvel not at the matter. For a man higher than the high is observing, and there are higher men than they.
Naar du ser den fattige undertrykt og Lov og Ret krænket paa din Egn, saa undre dig ikke over den Ting; thi paa den høje vogter en højere, og andre endnu højere vogter paa dem begge.
9 Moreover the abundance of the land is for all. The king himself is served by the field.
Dog, en Fordel for et Land er det i alt Fald, at der er en Konge over dyrket Jord.
10 He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.
Den, der elsker Sølv, mættes aldrig af Sølv, og den, der elsker Rigdom, mættes aldrig af Vinding. Ogsaa det er Tomhed.
11 When goods increase, they are increased who eat them. And what advantage is there to the owner of it, except the beholding of them with his eyes?
Jo mere Gods, des flere til at fortære det, og hvad Gavn har Ejeren da deraf, ud over at hans Øjne ser det?
12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the fullness of the rich will not allow him to sleep.
Sød er Arbejderens Søvn, hvad enten han har lidt eller meget at spise; men den riges Overflod giver ikke ham Lov til at sove.
13 There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches were kept by the owner of it to his hurt.
Der er et slemt Onde, som jeg saa under Solen: Rigdom gemt hen af sin Ejermand til hans Ulykke;
14 And those riches perish in a bad venture. And if he has begotten a son, there is nothing in his hand.
gaar Rigdommen tabt ved et Uheld, og han har avlet en Søn, saa bliver der intet til ham.
15 As he came forth from his mother's womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.
Som han udgik af sin Moders Liv, skal han atter gaa bort, lige saa nøgen som han kom, og ved sin Flid vinder han intet, han kan tage med sig.
16 And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he that he labored for the wind?
Ogsaa det er et slemt Onde: ganske som han kom, gaar han bort, og hvad Vinding har han saa af, at han gør sig Flid hen i Vejret?
17 All his days also he eats in gloom, and he is greatly troubled, and has depression and anger.
Og dertil kommer et helt Liv i Mørke, Sorg og stor Kvide, Sygdom og Kummer.
18 Behold, that which I have seen to be good and to be fitting is for a man to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor in which he labors under the sun all the days of his life which God has given him, for this is his portion.
Se, hvad der efter mit Skøn er godt og smukt, det er at spise og drikke og nyde det gode under al den Flid, man gør sig under Solen, alle de Levedage Gud giver en; thi det er den Del, man har;
19 Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor-this is the gift of God.
og hver Gang Gud giver et Menneske Rigdom og Gods og sætter ham i Stand til at nyde det, og tage sin Del og glæde sig under sin Flid, da er det en Guds Gave;
20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life, because God answers him in the joy of his heart.
thi da tænker han ikke stort paa sine Levedage, idet Gud lader ham være optaget af sit Hjertes Glæde.
