Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who is like the wise? and who knoweth [as well] the explanation of a thing? a man's wisdom enlighteneth his face, and the boldness of his face will be lessened.
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 which regardeth the oath [to him taken] by God.
Zato velim: slušaj kraljevu zapovijed zbog Božje zakletve.
3 Be not hasty to go out of his presence; engage not in an evil thing; for whatsoever pleaseth him, can he do;
Ne nagli da je prekršiš: ne budi tvrdoglav kad razlog nije dobar, jer on čini kako mu odgovara.
4 Because the word of a king is powerful; 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 will experience no evil thing: and a wise man's heart knoweth both time and the just consequence.
Tko se drži zapovijedi, ne poznaje nevolju, i mudrac zna za vrijeme i sud.
6 Because for every pursuit there is a time and a just consequence; for the evil of man [resteth] heavily upon him.
Jer postoji vrijeme i sud za sve, i čovjeka veoma tereti nedjelo njegovo
7 For he knoweth not that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?
jer on ne zna što će biti; a tko mu može kazati kad će što biti?
8 No man hath control over the spirit to detain the spirit; and there is no control over the day of death; and there is no representation in that war; and wickedness will not deliver those that practise 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, and directed my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time when one man ruleth over another to his own injury.
Sve ovo vidjeh pazeći na sve što se čini pod suncem, kad čovjek vlada nad čovjekom na njegovu nesreću.
10 Then also did I see the wicked buried, who had gone to their rest; but those who had acted correctly had to go away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city. Also this 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 the punishment against evil deeds is not executed speedily, therefore is the heart of the sons of men filled up in them to do evil.
Kad nema brze osude za zlo djelo, ljudsko je srce sklono činiti zlo.
12 But let a sinner do evil a hundred times, and [God] withhold long his punishment from him; still do I truly know for certain that it will be well with those that fear God, because they are afraid of 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 And that it will not be well with the wicked, and that he will not endure many days, like the shadow; because he is not afraid of 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 in accordance with the deeds of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, to whom it happeneth in accordance with the deeds 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 Therefore do I praise joyfulness, that there is nothing better for man under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful; for this will adhere to him in his toil, during 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 employment that is done upon the earth, how even neither by day nor by night sleep is seen in the eyes of some men:
Poslije svih napora da dokučim mudrost, pokušah spoznati što se radi na zemlji. Uistinu, čovjek ne nalazi spokojstva ni danju ni noću.
17 Then did I see [in] the whole work of God, that a man is not able to find out the work that is done under the sun; inasmuch as though a man were to toil to seek for it, he would yet not find it; and even if the wise were to think to know it, he would yet 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.
