< Ecclesiastes 3 >

1 To everything—a season, and a time to every delight under the heavens:
Alt har sin Stund og hver en Ting under Himmelen sin Tid:
2 A time to bring forth, And a time to die. A time to plant, And a time to eradicate the planted.
Tid til at fødes og Tid til at dø, Tid til at plante og Tid til at rydde,
3 A time to slay, And a time to heal, A time to break down, And a time to build up.
Tid til at dræbe og Tid til at læge, Tid til at nedrive og Tid til at opbygge,
4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh. A time to mourn, And a time to skip.
Tid til at græde og Tid til at le, Tid til at sørge og Tid til at danse,
5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to heap up stones. A time to embrace, And a time to be far from embracing.
Tid til at kaste Sten, og Tid til at sanke Sten, Tid til at favne og Tid til ikke at favne,
6 A time to seek, And a time to destroy. A time to keep, And a time to cast away.
Tid til at søge og Tid til at miste, Tid til at gemme og Tid til at bortkaste,
7 A time to tear, And a time to sew. A time to be silent, And a time to speak.
Tid til at flænge og Tid til at sy, Tid til at tie og Tid til at tale,
8 A time to love, And a time to hate. A time of war, And a time of peace.
Tid til at elske og Tid til at hade, Tid til Krig og Tid til Fred.
9 What advantage does the doer have in that which he is laboring at?
Hvad Løn for sin Flid har da den, der arbejder?
10 I have seen the travail that God has given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.
Jeg saa det Slid, som Gud har givet Menneskens Børn at slide med.
11 The whole He has made beautiful in its season; also, that knowledge He has put in their heart without which man does not find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end.
Alt har han skabt smukt til rette Tid; ogsaa Evigheden har han lagt i deres Hjerte, dog saaledes at Menneskene hverken fatter det første eller det sidste af, hvad Gud har virket.
12 I have known that there is no good for them except to rejoice and to do good during their life,
Jeg skønnede, at der ikke gives noget andet Gode for dem end at glæde sig og have det godt, saa længe de lever.
13 indeed, even every man who eats and has drunk and seen good by all his labor, it [is] a gift of God.
Dog ogsaa det at spise og drikke og nyde det gode under al sin Flid er for hvert Menneske en Guds Gave.
14 I have known that all that God does is for all time, to it nothing is to be added, and from it nothing is to be withdrawn; and God has worked that they fear before Him.
Jeg skønnede, at alt, hvad Gud virker, bliver evindelig, uden at noget kan føjes til eller tages fra; og saaledes har Gud gjort det, for at man skal frygte for hans Aasyn.
15 What is that which has been? Already it is, and that which [is] to be has already been, and God requires that which is pursued.
Hvad der sker, var allerede, og hvad der skal ske, har allerede været; Gud leder det svundne op.
16 And again, I have seen under the sun the place of judgment—there [is] the wicked; and the place of righteousness—there [is] the wicked.
Fremdeles saa jeg under Solen, at Gudløshed var paa Rettens Sted og Gudløshed paa Retfærds Sted.
17 I said in my heart, “The righteous and the wicked God judges, for a time [is] to every matter and for every work there.”
Jeg sagde ved mig selv: »Den retfærdige og den gudløse dømmer Gud; thi for hver en Ting og hver en Idræt har han fastsat en Tid.«
18 I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves [are] beasts.
Jeg sagde ved mig selv: »Det er for Menneskenes Skyld, for at Gud kan prøve dem, og for at de selv kan se, at de er Dyr.«
19 For an event [is to] the sons of man, and an event [is to] the beasts, even one event [is] to them; as the death of this, so [is] the death of that; and one spirit [is] to all, and the advantage of man above the beast is nothing, for the whole [is] vanity.
Thi Menneskers og Dyrs Skæbne er ens; som den ene dør, dør den anden, og en og samme Aand har de alle; Mennesket har intet forud for Dyrene, thi alt er Tomhed.
20 The whole are going to one place, the whole have been from the dust, and the whole are turning back to the dust.
Alle gaar sammesteds hen, alle blev til af Muld, og alle vender tilbage til Mulden.
21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of man that is going up on high, and the spirit of the beast that is going down below to the earth?
Hvo ved, om Menneskenes Aand stiger opad, og om Dyrenes Aand farer nedad til Jorden?
22 And I have seen that there is nothing better than that man rejoice in his works, for it [is] his portion; for who brings him to look on that which is after him?
Saaledes indsaa jeg, at intet er bedre for Mennesket end at glæde sig ved sin Gerning, thi det er hans Del; thi hvo kan bringe ham saa vidt, at han kan se, hvad der kommer efter hans Død?

< Ecclesiastes 3 >