Ecclesiastes 1
1 Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
Ord af Prædikeren, Davids Søn, Konge i Jerusalem.
2 “Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
Endeløs Tomhed, sagde Prædikeren, endeløs Tomhed, alt er Tomhed!
3 What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
Hvad Vinding har Mennesket af al den Flid, han gør sig under Solen?
4 People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
Slægt gaar, og Slægt kommer, men Jorden staar til evig Tid.
5 The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
Sol staar op, og Sol gaar ned og haster igen til sin Opgangs Sted.
6 The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
Vinden gaar mod Syd og drejer mod Nord, den drejer atter og atter og vender tilbage til samme Kredsløb.
7 Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
Alle Bække løber i Havet, men Havet bliver ikke fuldt; det Sted, til hvilket Bækkene løber, did bliver de ved at løbe.
8 Everything just keeps on going. You can't say all there is to say. You can't see all there is to see. You can't hear all there is to hear.
Alting slider sig træt; Mand hører ikke op med at tale, Øjet bliver ikke mæt af at se, Øret ej fuldt af at høre.
9 Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
Det, der kommer, er det, der var, det, der sker, er det, der skete; der er slet intet nyt under Solen.
10 There's nothing anyone can point to and say, “Look! Here's something new.” In fact it's been around for ages, long before our time.
Kommer der noget, om hvilket man siger: »Se, her er da noget nyt!« det har dog for længst været til i Tiderne forud for os.
11 The problem is we don't remember people from the past, and people in the future won't remember those who came before them.
Ej mindes de svundne Slægter, og de ny, som kommer engang, skal ej heller mindes af dem, som kommer senere hen.
12 I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
Jeg, Prædikeren, var Konge over Israel i Jerusalem.
13 I decided to focus my mind to explore, using wisdom, everything that happens here on earth. This is a tough assignment that God has given people to keep them busy!
Jeg vendte min Hu til at ransage og med Visdom udgranske alt, hvad der sker under Himmelen; det er et ondt Slid, som Gud har givet Menneskens Børn at slide med.
14 I examined everything people do here on earth, and discovered that it's all so temporary—trying to understand it is like trying to pin down the wind!
Jeg saa alt, hvad der sker under Solen, og se, det er alt sammen Tomhed og Jag efter Vind.
15 You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
Kroget kan ej blive lige, og halvt kan ej blive helt.
16 I thought to myself, “I've become very wise, wiser than all the kings of Jerusalem before me. My mind has gained a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”
Jeg tænkte ved mig selv: »Se, jeg har vundet større og rigere Visdom end alle de, der før mig var over Jerusalem, og mit Hjerte har skuet Visdom og Kundskab i Fylde.«
17 So I decided to use my mind to learn everything about wisdom, and madness and foolishness as well. But I found out that this is as hard as trying to catch hold of the wind.
Jeg vendte min Hu til at fatte, hvad der er Visdom og Kundskab, og hvad der er Daarskab og Taabelighed; jeg skønnede, at ogsaa det er Jag efter Vind.
18 For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
Thi megen Visdom megen Græmmelse, øget Kundskab øget Smerte.
