Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than precious oil, and the day of death, better than the day of one's birth.
Godt Navn er bedre end ypperlig Salve, Dødsdag bedre end Fødselsdag;
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; inasmuch as that is the end of all men: and let the living lay it to his heart.
bedre at gå til et Sørgehus end at gå til et Gildehus; thi hist er alle Menneskers Ende, og de levende bør tage det til Hjerte
3 Better is vexation than laughing; for through the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Bedre Græmmelse end Latter, thi er Minerne mørke, har Hjertet det godt.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of joy.
De vises Hjerte er i Sørgehuset. Tåbernes Hjerte i Glædeshuset.
5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than that a man should hear the song of fools.
Bedre at høre på Vismands Skænd end at høre på Tåbers Sang.
6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. Also this is vanity.
Som Tjørnekvistes Knitren under Gryden er Tåbers Latter; også det er Tomhed.
7 For [exercising] oppression maketh a wise man mad; and bribery corrupteth the heart.
Thi uredelig Vinding gør Vismand til Dåre, og Stikpenge ødelægger Hjertet.
8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: better is the patient in spirit than the proud in spirit.
En Sags Udgang er bedre end dens Indgang, Tålmod er bedre end Hovmod.
9 Be not rash in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in bosom of fools.
Vær ikke hastig i dit Sind til at græmmes, thi Græmmelse bor i Tåbers Bryst.
10 Thou must not say, How was it that the former days were better than these? for it is not out of wisdom that thou askest concerning this.
Spørg ikke: "Hvoraf kommer det, at de gamle Dage var bedre end vore?" Thi således spørger du ikke med Visdom.
11 Wisdom is better than an inheritance, yea, preferable for those that see the sun;
Bedre er Visdom end Arv, en Fordel for dem, som skuer Solen;
12 For under the shadow of wisdom [a man is equally well as] under the shadow of money; but the superior excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to him that possesseth it.
thi Visdom skygger, som Penge skygger, men Kundskabs Fortrin er dette, at Visdom holder sin Mand i Live.
13 Consider [then] the work of God; for who can make straight what he hath made crooked?
Se på Guds Værk! Hvo kan rette, hvad han har gjort kroget?
14 On the day of prosperity be happy, but on the day of adversity look on: also this hath God made in equal measure with the other, to the end that man should not find the least to censure him.
Vær ved godt Mod på den gode Dag og indse på den onde Dag, at Gud skabte denne såvel som hin, for at Mennesket ikke skal finde noget efter sig.
15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is many a righteous man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is many a wicked man that liveth long in his wickedness.—
Begge Dele så jeg i mine tomme Dage: Der er retfærdige, som omkommer i deres Retfærdighed, og der er gudløse, som lever længe i deres Ondskab.
16 Be not righteous over much; neither show thyself over wise: why wouldst thou destroy thyself?
Vær ikke alt for retfærdig og te dig ikke overvættes viis; hvorfor vil du ødelægge dig selv?
17 Be not wicked over much, and be no fool: why wouldst thou die before thy time?
Vær ikke alt for gudløs og vær ingen Dåre; hvorfor vil du dø i Utide?
18 It is good that thou shouldst take hold of that, and that also from this thou withdraw not thy hand; for he that feareth God will come forth out of them all.
Det bedste er, at du fastholder det ene og ikke slipper det andet; thi den, der frygter Gud, vil undgå begge Farer.
19 Wisdom giveth more strength to the wise than ten rulers which were in the city.
Visdom gør Vismand stærkere end ti Magthavere i Byen.
20 For no man is so righteous upon earth, that he should do always good, and never sin.—
Thi intet Menneske er så retfærdigt på Jorden, at han kun gør gode Gerninger og aldrig synder.
21 Also take no heed unto all the words that are spoken: lest thou hear thy servant cursing thee.
Giv ikke Agt på alle de Ord, Folk siger, at du ikke skal høre din Træl forbande dig;
22 For oftentimes also doth thy own heart know that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.—
thi du ved med dig selv, at også du mange Gange har forbandet andre.
23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
Alt dette ransagede jeg med Visdom; jeg tænkte: "Jeg vil vorde viis." Men Visdom holdt sig langt fra mig;
24 Far is what formerly was so, and what was deep remaineth deep: who can find it out?
Tingenes Grund er langt borte, så dyb, så dyb; hvem kan finde den?
25 Then I turned myself about together with my heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and experience, and to know the wickedness of folly, and the foolishness of madness.
Jeg tog mig for at vende min Hu til Kundskab og Granskning og til at søge efter Visdom og sikker Viden og til at kende, at Gudløshed er Tåbelighed, Dårskab Vanvid.
26 And I find as more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bonds: he that is deemed good before God will escape from her; but the sinner will be caught by her.
Og beskere end Døden fandt jeg Kvinden, thi hun er et Fangegarn; hendes Hjerfe er et Net og hendes Arme Lænker. Den, som er Gud kær, undslipper hende, men Synderen bliver hendes Fange.
27 Behold, this have I found, saith Koheleth, [adding] one to the other, to find experience,
Se, det fandt jeg ud, sagde Prædikeren, ved at lægge det ene til det andet for at drage min Slutning.
28 What my soul constantly sought, but I found it not; one man among a thousand did I find; but a woman among all these did I not find.
Hvad min Sjæl stadig søgte, men ikke fandt, er dette: Een Mand fandt jeg blandt tusind, men en Kvinde fandt jeg ikke i hele Flokken.
29 Lo, this only did I find, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought for many [sinful] devices.
Dog se, det fandt jeg, at Gud har skabt Menneskene, som de bør være; men de har så mange sære Ting for.
