Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face is changed.
Tko je kao mudrac? Tko još umije tumačiti stvari? Mudrost čovjeku razvedruje lice i mijenja njegov namršteni lik.
2 I counsel thee: keep the king's command, and that in regard of the oath of God.
Zato velim: slušaj kraljevu zapovijed zbog Božje zakletve.
3 Be not hasty to go out of his presence; stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
Ne nagli da je prekršiš: ne budi tvrdoglav kad razlog nije dobar, jer on čini kako mu odgovara.
4 Forasmuch as the king's word hath power; and who may say unto him: 'What doest thou?'
Jer kraljeva je riječ najjača, i tko ga smije pitati: “Što činiš?”
5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; and a wise man's heart discerneth time and judgment.
Tko se drži zapovijedi, ne poznaje nevolju, i mudrac zna za vrijeme i sud.
6 For to every matter there is a time and judgment; for the evil of man is great upon him.
Jer postoji vrijeme i sud za sve, i čovjeka veoma tereti nedjelo njegovo
7 For he knoweth not that which shall be; for even when it cometh to pass, who shall declare it unto him?
jer on ne zna što će biti; a tko mu može kazati kad će što biti?
8 There is no man that hath power over the wind to retain the wind; neither hath he power over the day of death; and there is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it.
Vjetar nitko ne može svladati, niti gospodariti nad danom smrtnim, niti ima odgode u ratu; niti opačina izbavlja onoga koji je čini.
9 All this have I seen, even applied my heart thereto, whatever the work that is done under the sun; what time one man had power over another to his hurt.
Sve ovo vidjeh pazeći na sve što se čini pod suncem, kad čovjek vlada nad čovjekom na njegovu nesreću.
10 And so I saw the wicked buried, and they entered into their rest; but they that had done right went away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city; this also is vanity.
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 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil;
Kad nema brze osude za zlo djelo, ljudsko je srce sklono činiti zlo.
12 because a sinner doeth evil a hundred times, and prolongeth his days — though yet I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, that fear before Him;
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 but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he feareth not before God.
Ali opak čovjek neće biti sretan i neće produljivati svoje dane ni kao sjena jer se ne boji Boga.
14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth: that there are righteous men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous — I said that this also is vanity.
Ali je na zemlji ispraznost te pravednike stiže sudbina opakih, a opake sudbina pravednika. Velim: i to je ispraznost.
15 So I commended mirth, that a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry, and that this should accompany him in his labour all the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.
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 heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth — for neither day nor night do men see sleep with their eyes —
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 beheld all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun; because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further, though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find 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.
