Ecclesiastes 7
1 A [good] name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's 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: in that that is the end of all men, and the living taketh it 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 Vexation is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
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 in the house of mirth.
De vises Hjerte er i Sørgehuset. Taabernes Hjerte i Glædeshuset.
5 It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise, than 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 maketh a wise man mad, and a gift destroyeth the heart.
Thi uredelig Vinding gør Vismand til Daare, og Stikpenge ødelægger Hjertet.
8 Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; better is a patient spirit than a proud spirit.
En Sags Udgang er bedre end dens Indgang, Taalmod er bedre end Hovmod.
9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be vexed; for vexation resteth in the bosom of fools.
Vær ikke hastig i dit Sind til at græmmes, thi Græmmelse bor i Taabers Bryst.
10 Say not, How is it that the former days were better than these? for thou dost 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, and profitable to them that see the sun.
Bedre er Visdom end Arv, en Fordel for dem, som skuer Solen;
12 For wisdom is a defence [as] money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, [that] wisdom maketh them that possess it to live.
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 straight what he hath made crooked?
Se paa Guds Værk! Hvo kan rette, hvad han har gjort kroget?
14 In the day of prosperity enjoy good, and in the day of adversity consider: God hath also set the one beside the other, to the end that man should find out nothing [of what shall be] 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] have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a righteous [man] that perisheth by his righteousness, and there is a wicked [man] that prolongeth [his days] by 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 Be not righteous overmuch; neither make thyself overwise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
Vær ikke alt for retfærdig og te dig ikke overvættes viis; hvorfor vil du ødelægge dig selv?
17 Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest 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 shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from that withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God cometh 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 strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty [men] 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 doeth good and sinneth not.
Thi intet Menneske er saa retfærdigt paa Jorden, at han kun gør gode Gerninger og aldrig synder.
21 Also give not heed unto 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 also thine own heart knoweth that oftentimes thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
thi du ved med dig selv, at ogsaa du mange Gange har forbandet andre.
23 All this have I tried by 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 Whatever hath been, is far off, and exceeding deep: who will find it out?
Tingenes Grund er langt borte, saa dyb, saa dyb; hvem kan finde den?
25 I turned, I and my heart, to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom and reason, and to know wickedness to be folly, and foolishness to be 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 found more bitter than death the woman whose heart is nets and snares, [and] whose hands are bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be caught 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 See this which I have found, saith the Preacher, [searching] one by one to find out the reason;
Se, det fandt jeg ud, sagde Prædikeren, ved at lægge det ene til det andet for at drage min Slutning.
28 which my soul yet seeketh, and I have not found: one man among a thousand have I found, but a woman among all those have I not found.
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 see this which I have found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices.
Dog se, det fandt jeg, at Gud har skabt Menneskene, som de bør være; men de har saa mange sære Ting for.
