Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than precious oil, and the day of death, than the day of birth.
Godt Navn er bedre end ypperlig Salve, Dødsdag bedre end Fødselsdag;
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. For that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart.
bedre at gaa til et Sørgehus end at gaa til et Gildehus; thi hist er alle Menneskers Ende, og de levende bør tage det til Hjerte.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad.
Bedre Græmmelse end Latter, thi er Minerne mørke, har Hjertet det godt.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
De vises Hjerte er i Sørgehuset. Taabernes Hjerte i Glædeshuset.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of a wise man, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
Bedre at høre paa Vismands Skænd end at høre paa Taabers Sang.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.
Som Tjørnekvistes Knitren under Gryden er Taabers Latter; ogsaa det er Tomhed.
7 Surely oppression makes the wise man foolish, and a bribe destroys the understanding.
Thi uredelig Vinding gør Vismand til Daare, og Stikpenge ødelægger Hjertet.
8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning of it. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
En Sags Udgang er bedre end dens Indgang, Taalmod er bedre end Hovmod.
9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.
Vær ikke hastig i dit Sind til at græmmes, thi Græmmelse bor i Taabers Bryst.
10 Say thou not, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? For thou do not inquire wisely concerning this.
Spørg ikke: »Hvoraf kommer det, at de gamle Dage var bedre end vore?« Thi saaledes spørger du ikke med Visdom.
11 Wisdom is as good as an inheritance, yea, it is more excellent for those who see the sun.
Bedre er Visdom end Arv, en Fordel for dem, som skuer Solen;
12 For wisdom is a defense, even as money is a defense. But the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
thi Visdom skygger, som Penge skygger, men Kundskabs Fortrin er dette, at Visdom holder sin Mand i Live.
13 Consider the work of God. For who can make that straight, which he has made crooked?
Se paa Guds Værk! Hvo kan rette, hvad han har gjort kroget?
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider. Yea, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything after him.
Vær ved godt Mod paa den gode Dag og indse paa den onde Dag, at Gud skabte denne saavel som hin, for at Mennesket ikke skal finde noget efter sig.
15 All this I have seen in my days of vanity. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evil-doing.
Begge Dele saa jeg i mine tomme Dage: Der er retfærdige, som omkommer i deres Retfærdighed, og der er gudløse, som lever længe i deres Ondskab.
16 Be not over-righteous, nor show thyself too wise. Why should thou destroy thyself?
Vær ikke alt for retfærdig og te dig ikke overvættes viis; hvorfor vil du ødelægge dig selv?
17 Do not much wrong, nor be thou a fool. Why should thou die before thy time?
Vær ikke alt for gudløs og vær ingen Daare; hvorfor vil du dø i Utide?
18 It is good that thou should take hold of this, yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand. For he who fears God shall come forth from them all.
Det bedste er, at du fastholder det ene og ikke slipper det andet; thi den, der frygter Gud, vil undgaa begge Farer.
19 Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a city.
Visdom gør Vismand stærkere end ti Magthavere i Byen.
20 Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth that does good, and sins not.
Thi intet Menneske er saa retfærdigt paa Jorden, at han kun gør gode Gerninger og aldrig synder.
21 Also do not take heed to all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy servant curse thee.
Giv ikke Agt paa alle de Ord, Folk siger, at du ikke skal høre din Træl forbande dig;
22 For many times also thine own heart knows that thou thyself likewise have cursed others.
thi du ved med dig selv, at ogsaa du mange Gange har forbandet andre.
23 All this I have proved in wisdom. I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.
Alt dette ransagede jeg med Visdom; jeg tænkte: »Jeg vil vorde viis.« Men Visdom holdt sig langt fra mig;
24 That which is, is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it out?
Tingenes Grund er langt borte, saa dyb, saa dyb; hvem kan finde den?
25 I turned about, and my heart was set to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to know that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness.
Jeg tog mig for at vende min Hu til Kundskab og Granskning og til at søge efter Visdom og sikker Viden og til at kende, at Gudløshed er Taabelighed, Daarskab Vanvid.
26 And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are chains. He who pleases God shall escape from her, but the sinner shall be taken by her.
Og beskere end Døden fandt jeg Kvinden, thi hun er et Fangegarn; hendes Hjerte er et Net og hendes Arme Lænker. Den, som er Gud kær, undslipper hende, men Synderen bliver hendes Fange.
27 Behold, I have found this, says the Preacher, laying one thing to another, to find out the account,
Se, det fandt jeg ud, sagde Prædikeren, ved at lægge det ene til det andet for at drage min Slutning.
28 which my soul still seeks, but I have not found: among a thousand I have found one man, but among all those I have not found a woman.
Hvad min Sjæl stadig søgte, men ikke fandt, er dette: Een Mand fandt jeg blandt tusind, men en Kvinde fandt jeg ikke i hele Flokken.
29 Behold, this only I have found: That God made man upright, but they have sought out many contrivances.
Dog se, det fandt jeg, at Gud har skabt Menneskene, som de bør være; men de har saa mange sære Ting for.
