Ecclesiastes 12
1 But remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youthful vigor, while the evil days are not yet come, nor those years draw nigh of which thou wilt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Tænk Paa din Skaber i Ungdommens Dage, førend de onde Dage kommer og Aarene nærmer sig, om hvilke du vil sige: »I dem har jeg ikke Behag!«
2 While the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are not yet darkened, and the clouds return not again after the rain;
før Sol og Lys og Maane og Stjerner hylles i Mørke og der atter kommer Skyer efter Regn,
3 On the day when the watchmen of the house will tremble and the men of might will bend themselves, and the grinders stand idle, because they are become few, and those be darkened that look through the windows;
Tiden, da Husets Vogtere bæver, de stærke Mænd bliver krumme, da Møllepigerne svigter, fordi de er faa, og de bliver mørke, som kigger ved Gluggerne,
4 And when the two doors on the streets will be locked, while the sound of the mill becometh dull, and man riseth up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;
da begge Gadedørene lukkes, mens Møllen gaar med dæmpet Lyd, da man staar op ved Spurvenes Kvidder og alle Sangens Døtre hvisker,
5 Also when men will be afraid of every elevation, and are terrified on every way, and the almond-tree will refuse [its blossom], and the locust will drag itself slowly along, and the desire will gainsay compliance; because man goeth to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets;
da man ogsaa ængstes for Bakker, og Rædsler lurer paa Vejen, da Mandeltræet blomstrer; Græshoppen slappes og Kapersbærret svigter, nu Mennesket gaar til sin evige Bolig og Sørgetoget gaar gennem Gaden,
6 While the silver cord is not yet torn loose, and the golden bowl is not crushed, and the pitcher is not broken at the fountain, and the wheel is not crushed at the cistern;
førend Sølvsnoren brister og Guldskaalen brydes itu, før Krukken slaas i Stykker ved Kilden og det søndrede Hjul falder ned i Brønden
7 When the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return unto God who gave it.—
og Støvet vender tilbage til Jorden som før og Aanden til Gud, som gav den.
8 Vanity of vanities, saith Koheleth: all is vanity.—
Endeløs Tomhed, sagde Prædikeren, alt er Tomhed.
9 And in addition to this that Koheleth was wise, he continually also taught the people knowledge, and he probed, and searched out, and composed many proverbs.
Endnu skal siges, at Prædikeren var viis; han gav ogsaa Folket Kundskab; han granskede og ransagede og formede mange Ordsprog.
10 Koheleth sought to find out acceptable words, and that which would be written down uprightly, even words of truth.
Prædikeren søgte at finde Fyndord og optegnede sanddru Lære, Sandhedsord.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails fastened [are the words of] the men of the assemblies, which are given by one shepherd.
Som Pigkæppe er de vises Ord, som inddrevne Søm, der sidder tæt; de er givet af en og samme Hyrde.
12 But more than all these, my son, take warning for thyself: the making of many books would have no end; and much preaching is a weariness of the flesh.
Endnu skal siges: Min Søn, var dig! Der er ingen Ende paa, som der skrives Bøger, og megen Gransken trætter Legemet.
13 The end of the matter is, let us hear the whole: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole [duty of] man.
Enden paa Sagen, naar alt er hørt, er: Frygt Gud og hold hans Bud! Thi det bør hvert Menneske gøre.
14 For every deed will God bring into the judgment concerning every thing that hath been hidden, whether it be good, or whether it be bad.
Thi hver en Gerning bringer Gud for Retten, naar han dømmer alt, hvad der er skjult, være sig godt eller ondt.
