Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
Alangkah senangnya orang bijaksana. Ia tahu jawaban atas segala perkara. Hikmat membuat dia tersenyum gembira, sehingga wajahnya cerah senantiasa.
2 I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.
Patuhlah jika raja memberi perintah, dan jangan membuat janji gegabah kepada Allah.
3 Do not be hasty to go out of his presence. Do not persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,
Raja dapat bertindak semaunya, kalau ia tak berkenan, lebih baik jauhi dia.
4 for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
Raja bertindak dengan wibawa; tak ada yang berani membantahnya!
5 Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure.
Orang yang taat kepadanya, akan aman dan sentosa; orang arif tahu kapan dan bagaimana mentaati raja.
6 For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.
Bagi segala sesuatu ada waktu dan caranya sendiri, tetapi sedikit sekali yang kita fahami!
7 For he does not know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?
Tidak seorang pun tahu nasib apa yang menanti, dan tak ada yang dapat mengatakan apa yang akan terjadi.
8 There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.
Tak seorang pun dapat menahan atau menunda kematiannya. Itu perjuangan yang tak dapat dielakkannya, tak dapat ia luput daripadanya, walaupun dengan muslihat dan tipu daya.
9 All this I have seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.
Semua ini kulihat ketika kuperhatikan segala kejadian di dunia. Ada kalanya manusia memakai kuasanya untuk mencelakakan sesamanya.
10 So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.
Pernah kulihat orang jahat mati dan dikuburkan. Tetapi waktu orang-orang pulang dari penguburannya, mereka memuji dia di kota tempat ia melakukan kejahatan. Jadi, itu pun sia-sia.
11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
Mengapa begitu mudah orang melakukan kejahatan? Karena hukuman tidak segera diberikan.
12 Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.
Meskipun seratus kejahatan dilakukan seorang berdosa, ia tetap hidup bahkan panjang umurnya. Konon, siapa taat kepada Allah, pasti hidupnya serba mudah.
13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.
Sebaliknya, orang jahat mendapat banyak kesukaran. Hidupnya cepat berlalu seperti bayangan. Ia akan mati pada usia muda karena ia tidak taat kepada Tuhannya.
14 There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
Namun semua itu omong kosong belaka. Lihat saja apa yang terjadi di dunia: Ada orang saleh yang dihukum bagai pendurhaka, ada penjahat yang diganjar bagai orang saleh. Jadi, itu pun sia-sia.
15 Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat, to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
Kesimpulanku ialah bahwa orang harus bergembira. Karena dalam hidupnya di dunia tak ada kesenangan lain baginya kecuali makan, minum dan bersukaria. Itu saja yang dapat dinikmati di tengah jerih payahnya, selama hidup yang diberikan Allah kepadanya.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (even though eyes see no sleep day or night),
Ketika aku berusaha mendapat hikmat, dan kuperhatikan segala kejadian di dunia ini, maka sadarlah aku bahwa meskipun kita bersusah payah siang malam tanpa beristirahat,
17 then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he will not find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he will not be able to find it.
kita tak mampu mengerti tindakan Allah. Bagaimanapun kita berusaha, tak mungkin kita memahaminya. Orang arif mengaku bahwa ia tahu, tetapi sebenarnya ia tidak tahu.
