Ecclesiastes 10
1 Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the ointment. Wisdom and glory is more precious than a small and shortlived folly.
Mrtve muhe lekarnarjevemu mazilu povzročijo, da od sebe širi smrdljiv vonj; tako je majhna neumnost tistemu, ki ima sloves zaradi modrosti in časti.
2 The heart of a wise man is in his right hand, and the heart of a fool is in his left hand.
Srce modrega človeka je pri njegovi desnici, toda bedakovo srce pri njegovi levici.
3 Yea, and the fool when he walketh in the way, whereas be himself is a fool, esteemeth all men fools.
Da, tudi kadar kdor je bedak, hodi po poti, ga njegova modrost izneverja in vsakemu govori, da je bedak.
4 If the spirit of him that hath power, ascend upon thee, leave not thy place: because care will make the greatest sins to cease.
Če vladarjev duh vstane zoper tebe, ne zapusti svojega mesta, kajti ustrežljivost pomirja velike prestopke.
5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were by an error proceeding from the face of the prince:
Je zlo, ki sem ga videl pod soncem, kakor pomota, ki izvira od vladarja:
6 A fool set in high dignity, and the rich sitting beneath.
neumnost je postavljena na visoko dostojanstvo, bogati pa sedijo na nizkem kraju.
7 I have seen servants upon horses: and princes walking on the ground as servants.
Videl sem služabnike na konjih, prince pa hoditi kakor služabniki po tleh.
8 He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it: and he that breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
Kdor koplje jamo, bo padel vanjo, kdorkoli pa lomi ograjo, ga bo pičila kača.
9 He that removeth stones, shall be hurt by them: and he that cutteth trees, shall be wounded by them.
Kdorkoli odstranja kamne, bo z njimi poškodovan in kdor cepi drva, bo s tem izpostavljen nevarnosti.
10 If the iron be blunt, and be not as before, but be made blunt, with much labour it shall be sharpened: and after industry shall follow wisdom.
Če je železo topo in ne nabrusi ostrine, potem mora vložiti več moči; toda modrost je koristna, da usmerja.
11 If a serpent bite in silence, he is nothing better that backbiteth secretly.
Zagotovo bo kača pičila brez izrekanja uroka in blebetavec ni boljši.
12 The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace: but the lips of a fool shall throw him down headlong.
Besede iz ust modrega moža so milostljive, toda ustnice bedaka bodo samega sebe pogoltnile.
13 The beginning of his words is folly, and the end of his talk is a mischievous error.
Začetek besed iz njegovih ust je nespametnost, konec njegovega govora pa je pogubna norost.
14 A fool multiplieth words. A man cannot tell what hath been before him: and what shall be after him, who can tell him?
Tudi bedak je poln besed. Človek ne more povedati kaj bo, in kaj bo za njim, kdo mu lahko pove?
15 The labour of fools shall afflict them that know not bow to go to the city.
Trud nespametnih izčrpava vsakogar izmed njih, ker ne ve kako iti do mesta.
16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and when the princes eat in the morning.
Gorje tebi, oh dežela, kadar je tvoj kralj otrok in tvoji princi jedo zjutraj!
17 Blessed is the land, whose king is noble, and whose princes eat in due season for refreshment, and not for riotousness.
Blagoslovljena si ti, oh dežela, kadar je tvoj kralj sin plemičev in tvoji princi jedo v pravšnjem obdobju, za moč in ne za pijanost!
18 By slothfulness a building shall be brought down, and through the weakness of hands, the house shall drop through.
Z veliko lenobe zgradba propada in zaradi brezdelja rok kaplja skozi hišo.
19 For laughter they make bread, and wine that the living may feast: and all things obey money.
Praznovanje je narejeno za smeh in vino dela vesele, toda denar odgovarja vsem stvarem.
20 Detract not the king, no not in thy thought; and speak not evil of the rich man in thy private chamber: because even the birds of the air will carry thy voice, and he that hath wings will tell what thou hast said.
Ne preklinjaj kralja niti v svojih mislih in ne preklinjaj bogatega v svoji spalnici, kajti zračna ptica bo odnesla glas in kar ima peruti, bo povedalo zadevo.
