Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
Godt Navn er bedre end ypperlig Salve, Dødsdag bedre end Fødselsdag;
2 It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to 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 a sad countenance is good for the heart.
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 pleasure.
De vises Hjerte er i Sørgehuset. Taabernes Hjerte i Glædeshuset.
5 It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
Bedre at høre paa Vismands Skænd end at høre paa Taabers Sang.
6 For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
Som Tjørnekvistes Knitren under Gryden er Taabers Latter; ogsaa det er Tomhed.
7 Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
Thi uredelig Vinding gør Vismand til Daare, og Stikpenge ødelægger Hjertet.
8 The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
En Sags Udgang er bedre end dens Indgang, Taalmod er bedre end Hovmod.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
Vær ikke hastig i dit Sind til at græmmes, thi Græmmelse bor i Taabers Bryst.
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
Spørg ikke: »Hvoraf kommer det, at de gamle Dage var bedre end vore?« Thi saaledes spørger du ikke med Visdom.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
Bedre er Visdom end Arv, en Fordel for dem, som skuer Solen;
12 For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
thi Visdom skygger, som Penge skygger, men Kundskabs Fortrin er dette, at Visdom holder sin Mand i Live.
13 Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
Se paa Guds Værk! Hvo kan rette, hvad han har gjort kroget?
14 In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come 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 In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
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 Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
Vær ikke alt for retfærdig og te dig ikke overvættes viis; hvorfor vil du ødelægge dig selv?
17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
Vær ikke alt for gudløs og vær ingen Daare; hvorfor vil du dø i Utide?
18 It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.
Det bedste er, at du fastholder det ene og ikke slipper det andet; thi den, der frygter Gud, vil undgaa begge Farer.
19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
Visdom gør Vismand stærkere end ti Magthavere i Byen.
20 Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
Thi intet Menneske er saa retfærdigt paa Jorden, at han kun gør gode Gerninger og aldrig synder.
21 Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
Giv ikke Agt paa alle de Ord, Folk siger, at du ikke skal høre din Træl forbande dig;
22 For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
thi du ved med dig selv, at ogsaa du mange Gange har forbandet andre.
23 All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
Alt dette ransagede jeg med Visdom; jeg tænkte: »Jeg vil vorde viis.« Men Visdom holdt sig langt fra mig;
24 What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
Tingenes Grund er langt borte, saa dyb, saa dyb; hvem kan finde den?
25 I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of 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 who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.
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,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
Se, det fandt jeg ud, sagde Prædikeren, ved at lægge det ene til det andet for at drage min Slutning.
28 While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such 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 Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
Dog se, det fandt jeg, at Gud har skabt Menneskene, som de bør være; men de har saa mange sære Ting for.
