Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who can compare to the truly wise? Who knows how to interpret things? If you have wisdom your face lights up, and your stern look is softened.
Tko je kao mudrac? Tko još umije tumačiti stvari? Mudrost čovjeku razvedruje lice i mijenja njegov namršteni lik.
2 My advice is to do what the king says, since that's what you promised God.
Zato velim: slušaj kraljevu zapovijed zbog Božje zakletve.
3 Don't be quick to walk out on the king without thinking what you're doing, and don't get involved with those who plot against him, for the king can do what he pleases.
Ne nagli da je prekršiš: ne budi tvrdoglav kad razlog nije dobar, jer on čini kako mu odgovara.
4 The king's orders have supreme authority—who is going to question him, saying, “What are you doing?”
Jer kraljeva je riječ najjača, i tko ga smije pitati: “Što činiš?”
5 Those who follow his commands will not be involved in doing evil. Wise people think, recognizing there's a right time, and a right way.
Tko se drži zapovijedi, ne poznaje nevolju, i mudrac zna za vrijeme i sud.
6 For there's a right time and a right way for everything, even when things are going badly for you.
Jer postoji vrijeme i sud za sve, i čovjeka veoma tereti nedjelo njegovo
7 No one knows what's going to happen, so who can say what the future holds?
jer on ne zna što će biti; a tko mu može kazati kad će što biti?
8 No one can hold onto the breath of life; no one can prevent the day when they die. There's no way of escaping that battle, and the wicked won't be saved by their wickedness!
Vjetar nitko ne može svladati, niti gospodariti nad danom smrtnim, niti ima odgode u ratu; niti opačina izbavlja onoga koji je čini.
9 I examined all these things, and thought about all that happens here on earth, and the damage that's caused when people dominate others.
Sve ovo vidjeh pazeći na sve što se čini pod suncem, kad čovjek vlada nad čovjekom na njegovu nesreću.
10 Yes, I have seen wicked people buried with great honor. They used to go to the holy place, and were praised in the very city where they did their evil. This is hard to understand!
Dalje vidjeh kako opake nose na groblje, i ljudi iz svetog mjesta izlaze da ih slave zbog toga što su tako činili. I to je ispraznost.
11 When people are not punished quickly for their crimes they are even more determined to do wrong.
Kad nema brze osude za zlo djelo, ljudsko je srce sklono činiti zlo.
12 Even though a sinner may do wrong a hundred times, and live a long life, I'm convinced that those who do what God says will be better off.
I grešnik koji čini zlo i sto puta, dugo živi. Ja ipak znam da će biti sretni oni koji se boje Boga jer ga se boje.
13 In fact, the wicked will not live long, passing like a shadow, because they refuse to follow God.
Ali opak čovjek neće biti sretan i neće produljivati svoje dane ni kao sjena jer se ne boji Boga.
14 Another thing that is hard to understand is this: good people are treated as the wicked should be, and the wicked are treated as good people should be. As I say, this is difficult to comprehend!
Ali je na zemlji ispraznost te pravednike stiže sudbina opakih, a opake sudbina pravednika. Velim: i to je ispraznost.
15 So I recommend enjoying life. There's nothing better for us here on earth than to eat and drink and be happy. Such an attitude will go with us as we work, and as we live our lives that God gives us here on earth.
Zato slavim veselje, jer nema čovjeku sreće pod suncem nego u jelu, pilu i nasladi. I to neka ga prati u njegovoj muci za života koji mu Bog dade pod suncem.
16 When I applied my mind to discovering wisdom and observing everything people do here on earth, I couldn't get any sleep, day or night.
Poslije svih napora da dokučim mudrost, pokušah spoznati što se radi na zemlji. Uistinu, čovjek ne nalazi spokojstva ni danju ni noću.
17 Then I studied everything God does, and I realized that no one can fully understand what happens here. However, hard they try, however wise they claim to be, they can't really comprehend it.
Promatram cjelokupno djelo Božje: i odista - nitko ne može dokučiti ono što se zbiva pod suncem. Jer ma koliko se čovjek trudio da otkrije, nikad ne može otkriti. Pa ni mudrac to ne može otkriti, iako misli da zna.
