Ecclesiastes 4
1 And I have turned, and I see all the oppressions that are done under the sun, and behold, the tear of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and at the hand of their oppressors [is] power, and they have no comforter.
Fremdeles saa jeg al den Undertrykkelse, som sker under Solen; jeg saa de undertryktes Taarer og ingen trøstede dem; de led Vold af deres Undertrykkeres Haand, og ingen trøstede dem.
2 And I am praising the dead who have already died above the living who are yet alive.
Da priste jeg de døde, som allerede er døde, lykkeligere end de levende, som endnu er i Live;
3 And better than both of them [is] he who has not yet been, in that he has not seen the evil work that has been done under the sun.
men lykkeligere end begge den, som slet ikke er til, som ikke har set det onde, der sker under Solen.
4 And I have seen all the labor, and all the benefit of the work, because for it a man is the envy of his neighbor. Even this [is] vanity and distress of spirit.
Og jeg saa, at al Flid og alt dygtigt Arbejde udspringer af den enes Misundelse mod den anden. Ogsaa det er Tomhed og Jag efter Vind.
5 The fool is clasping his hands, and eating his own flesh:
Daaren lægger Hænderne i Skødet og æder sig selv op.
6 “Better [is] a handful [with] quietness, than two handfuls [with] labor and distress of spirit.”
Bedre en Haandfuld Hvile end Hænderne fulde af Flid og Jag efter Vind.
7 And I have turned, and I see a vain thing under the sun:
Og mere Tomhed saa jeg under Solen.
8 There is one, and there is not a second; even son or brother he has not, and there is no end to all his labor! His eye also is not satisfied with riches, and [he does not say], “For whom am I laboring and bereaving my soul of good?” This also is vanity, it is a sad travail.
Mangen staar alene og har ikke nogen ved sin Side, hverken Søn eller Broder, og dog er der ingen Ende paa al hans Flid og hans Øje bliver ikke mæt af Rigdom. Men, for hvis Skyld gør jeg mig Flid og nægter mig enhver Nydelse? Ogsaa det, er Tomhed og ondt Slid.
9 The two [are] better than the one, in that they have a good reward by their labor.
To er bedre faren end een, thi de faar god Løn for deres Flid;
10 For if they fall, the one raises up his companion, but woe to the one who falls and there is not a second to raise him up!
hvis den ene falder, kan den anden rejse sin Fælle op. Men ve den ensomme! Thi falder han, er der ingen til at rejse ham op.
11 Also, if two lie down, then they have heat, but how has one heat?
Og naar to ligger sammen, bliver de varme; men hvorledes kan den ensomme blive varm?
12 And if the one strengthens himself, the two stand against him; and the threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Og naar nogen kan overvælde den ensomme, saa kan to staa sig imod ham; tretvundet Snor brister ikke i Hast.
13 Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who has not known to be warned anymore.
Bedre faren er en fattig Yngling, som er viis, end en gammel Konge, som er en Taabe og ikke mere har Forstand til at lade sig raade.
14 For from a house of prisoners he has come out to reign, for even in his own kingdom he has been poor.
Thi hin gik ud af Fængselet for at blive Konge, skønt han var født i Fattigdom under den andens Regering.
15 I have seen all the living, who are walking under the sun, with the second youth who stands in his place;
Jeg saa alle, som levede og færdedes under Solen, stille sig ved den Ynglings Side, som skulde træde i Kongens Sted;
16 there is no end to all the people, to all who were before them; also, the latter do not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and distress of spirit.
der var ikke Tal paa alle de Mennesker, han stod i Spidsen for; men heller ikke over ham glæder de senere Slægter sig; nej, ogsaa det er Tomhed og Jag efter Vind.
