Ecclesiastes 12
1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”
Spomni se torej svojega Stvarnika v dneh svoje mladosti, ko niso prišli zli dnevi niti se niso približala leta, ko boš rekel: »V njih nimam veselja, «
2 before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain,
dokler sonce ali svetloba ali luna ali zvezde ne bodo otemnele niti se oblaki vrnili za dežjem,
3 on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly,
na dan, ko bodo čuvaji hiše trepetali in se bodo močni možje sklonili in mlinarji odnehajo, ker jih je malo in tisti, ki gledajo skozi okna, postanejo zatemnjeni
4 when the doors to the street are shut and the sound of the mill fades away, when one rises at the sound of a bird and all the daughters of song grow faint,
in bodo vrata po ulicah zaprta, ko je glas mletja nizek in bo vstal ob ptičjem glasu in bodo ponižane vse hčere petja;
5 when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels— for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets.
tudi ko jih bo strah tega, kar je visoko in bodo strahovi na poti in bo mandljevec cvetel in bo kobilica breme in bo hrepenenje izneverilo; ker človek odhaja k svojemu dolgemu domu in žalovalci gredo po ulicah,
6 Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well,
ali preden se srebrna vrvica odveže ali zlomi zlata skledica ali lončen vrč razbije ob studencu ali zlomi kolo pri vodnem zbiralniku.
7 before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Potem se bo prah vrnil k zemlji, kakor je bil; in duh se bo vrnil k Bogu, ki ga je dal.
8 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!”
»Ničevost ničevosti, « pravi pridigar, »vse je ničevost.«
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.
In poleg tega, ker je bil pridigar moder, še vedno uči ljudstvo spoznanja. Da, pazil je, poiskal in uredil mnogo pregovorov.
10 The Teacher searched to find delightful sayings and to record accurate words of truth.
Pridigar je iskal, da odkrije sprejemljive besede in to, kar je bilo napisano, je bilo iskreno, celó besede resnice.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the anthologies of the masters are like firmly embedded nails driven by a single Shepherd.
Besede modrih so kakor palice z bodicami in kakor žeblji, pritrjeni s pomočjo gospodarjev zborov, ki so izročeni od enega pastirja.
12 And by these, my son, be further warned: There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.
Nadalje, moj sin, bodi opomnjen s temi. Pisanju mnogih knjig ni konca in mnogo učenja je utrujenost telesu.
13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
Prisluhnimo zaključku celotne zadeve: »Boj se Boga in se drži njegovih zapovedi, kajti to je vsa človekova dolžnost.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
Kajti Bog bo vsako delo privedel na sodbo, z vsako skrivno stvarjo, bodisi je ta dobra, bodisi je ta slaba.«
