Ecclesiastes 4
1 And I turned about, and beheld all the oppressed that are made so under the sun: and, behold, there are the tears of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and from the hand of their oppressors they suffer violence; and they have no comforter.
Opet stadoh promatrati sva nasilja koja se čine pod suncem, i gle, suze potlačenih, i nikog nema da ih utre; i nasilje iz tlačiteljske ruke, a zaštitnika niotkuda.
2 Thereupon praised I the dead that are already dead, more than the living who are still alive;
Zato sretnima smatram mrtve koji su već pomrli; sretniji su od živih što još žive.
3 And as happier than both of them, him who hath not yet come into being, who hath not seen the evil-doing that is done under the sun.—
A od obojih je sretniji onaj koji još nije postao, koji nije vidio zlih djela što se čine pod suncem.
4 Again, I beheld all the toil, and all the energy in doing, that it is [from] the envy of one man of his neighbor. Also this is vanity and a torture of the spirit.
Nadalje iskusih da svaki napor i svaki uspjeh pribavlja čovjeku zavist njegova bližnjeg. I to je ispraznost i pusta tlapnja.
5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.
Bezumnik prekriži ruke i izjeda sebe.
6 Better is a handful of quiet, than both the hands full of toil and torture of spirit.
Bolja je puna šaka u miru nego obje pregršti mučna rada i puste tlapnje.
7 Then I turned about, and I saw a vanity under the sun.
I još jednu opazih ispraznost pod suncem:
8 There is one alone, and he hath not a companion; yea, he hath neither son nor brother: yet is there no end to all his toil; his eye also is not satisfied with riches. Yet for whom do I toil, and deprive my soul of good? Also this is vanity, yea, it is a bad employment.
Čovjek potpun samac - bez sina, bez brata, i opet nema kraja njegovu trudu; oči mu se ne mogu nasititi blaga; a ne misli: za koga se mučim i uskraćujem dobro sebi? I to je ispraznost i zla briga.
9 Two are better than one; because they will have a good reward for their toil.
Bolje je dvojici nego jednome, jer imaju bolju plaću za svoj trud.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to the single one that falleth; for he hath no companion to lift him up.
Padne li jedan, drugi će ga podići; a teško jednomu! Ako padne, nema nikoga da ga podigne.
11 Also, if two lie together, then will they become warm; but how can one person alone become warm?
Pa ako se i spava udvoje, toplije je; a kako će se samac zagrijati?
12 And if a man could overpower him, the single one, two would stand up against him: and a threefold cord cannot quickly be torn asunder.
I ako tko udari na jednoga, dvojica će mu se oprijeti; i trostruko se uže ne kida brzo.
13 Better is a poor and a wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth not how to be admonished any more.
Bolji je mladić siromašan a mudar nego kralj star a lud, koji više ne zna za savjet.
14 For out of the prison cometh the one to reign: whereas also in his kingdom the other becometh poor.
Jer mladić može izići iz tamnice i postati kraljem, iako se rodio kao prosjak u svom kraljevstvu.
15 I have seen all the living who walk under the sun, being with the second child that is to stand up in his stead.
Opazih kako svi koji žive i hode pod suncem pristaju uz mladića, uz nastupnika koji ga naslijedi.
16 There was no end to all the people, [belonging] to all that have been before them: they also that come after will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a torture of the spirit.—
On stupa na čelo bezbrojnih podanika i kasniji se naraštaji ne mogahu zbog njega radovati. I to je zacijelo ispraznost i pusta tlapnja.
