Ecclesiastes 7
1 Better [is] a name than good perfume, And the day of death than the day of birth.
Godt Navn er bedre end ypperlig Salve, Dødsdag bedre end Fødselsdag;
2 Better to go to a house of mourning, Than to go to a house of banqueting, For that is the end of all men, And the living lays [it] to his heart.
bedre at gaa til et Sørgehus end at gaa til et Gildehus; thi hist er alle Menneskers Ende, og de levende bør tage det til Hjerte.
3 Better [is] sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becomes better.
Bedre Græmmelse end Latter, thi er Minerne mørke, har Hjertet det godt.
4 The heart of the wise [is] in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.
De vises Hjerte er i Sørgehuset. Taabernes Hjerte i Glædeshuset.
5 Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than [for] a man to hear a song of fools,
Bedre at høre paa Vismands Skænd end at høre paa Taabers Sang.
6 For as the noise of thorns under the pot, So [is] the laughter of a fool, even this [is] vanity.
Som Tjørnekvistes Knitren under Gryden er Taabers Latter; ogsaa det er Tomhed.
7 Surely oppression makes the wise mad, And a gift destroys the heart.
Thi uredelig Vinding gør Vismand til Daare, og Stikpenge ødelægger Hjertet.
8 Better [is] the latter end of a thing than its beginning, Better [is] the patient of spirit, than the haughty of spirit.
En Sags Udgang er bedre end dens Indgang, Taalmod er bedre end Hovmod.
9 Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools rests.
Vær ikke hastig i dit Sind til at græmmes, thi Græmmelse bor i Taabers Bryst.
10 Do not say, “What was it, That the former days were better than these?” For you have not asked wisely of this.
Spørg ikke: »Hvoraf kommer det, at de gamle Dage var bedre end vore?« Thi saaledes spørger du ikke med Visdom.
11 Wisdom [is] good with an inheritance, And an advantage [it is] to those beholding the sun.
Bedre er Visdom end Arv, en Fordel for dem, som skuer Solen;
12 For wisdom [is] a defense, money [is] a defense, And the advantage of the knowledge of wisdom [is], She revives her possessors.
thi Visdom skygger, som Penge skygger, men Kundskabs Fortrin er dette, at Visdom holder sin Mand i Live.
13 See the work of God, For who is able to make straight that which He made crooked?
Se paa Guds Værk! Hvo kan rette, hvad han har gjort kroget?
14 In a day of prosperity be in gladness, And in a day of calamity consider: God has also made this alongside of that, To the intent that man does not find anything after him.
Vær ved godt Mod paa den gode Dag og indse paa den onde Dag, at Gud skabte denne saavel som hin, for at Mennesket ikke skal finde noget efter sig.
15 The whole I have considered in the days of my vanity. There is a righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there is a wrongdoer prolonging [himself] in his wrong.
Begge Dele saa jeg i mine tomme Dage: Der er retfærdige, som omkommer i deres Retfærdighed, og der er gudløse, som lever længe i deres Ondskab.
16 Do not be over-righteous, nor show yourself too wise, why are you desolate?
Vær ikke alt for retfærdig og te dig ikke overvættes viis; hvorfor vil du ødelægge dig selv?
17 Do not do much wrong, neither be a fool, why do you die within your time?
Vær ikke alt for gudløs og vær ingen Daare; hvorfor vil du dø i Utide?
18 [It is] good that you lay hold on this, and also, do not withdraw your hand from that, for whoever is fearing God goes out with them all.
Det bedste er, at du fastholder det ene og ikke slipper det andet; thi den, der frygter Gud, vil undgaa begge Farer.
19 The wisdom gives strength to a wise man, more than wealth the rulers who have been in a city.
Visdom gør Vismand stærkere end ti Magthavere i Byen.
20 Because there is not a righteous man on earth that does good and does not sin.
Thi intet Menneske er saa retfærdigt paa Jorden, at han kun gør gode Gerninger og aldrig synder.
21 Also to all the words that they speak do not give your heart, that you do not hear your servant reviling you.
Giv ikke Agt paa alle de Ord, Folk siger, at du ikke skal høre din Træl forbande dig;
22 For many times also has your heart known that you yourself have also reviled others.
thi du ved med dig selv, at ogsaa du mange Gange har forbandet andre.
23 All this I have tried by wisdom; I have said, “I am wise,” and it [is] far from me.
Alt dette ransagede jeg med Visdom; jeg tænkte: »Jeg vil vorde viis.« Men Visdom holdt sig langt fra mig;
24 Far off [is] that which has been, and deep, deep, who finds it?
Tingenes Grund er langt borte, saa dyb, saa dyb; hvem kan finde den?
25 I have turned around, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and the madness of foolishness.
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 Taabelighed, Daarskab Vanvid.
26 And I am finding more bitter than death, the woman whose heart [is] nets and snares, her hands [are] bands; the good before God escapes from her, but the sinner is captured by her.
Og beskere end Døden fandt jeg Kvinden, thi hun er et Fangegarn; hendes Hjerte er et Net og hendes Arme Lænker. Den, som er Gud kær, undslipper hende, men Synderen bliver hendes Fange.
27 See, this I have found, said the Preacher, one to one, to find out the reason
Se, det fandt jeg ud, sagde Prædikeren, ved at lægge det ene til det andet for at drage min Slutning.
28 (that still my soul had sought, and I had not found), One man, a teacher, I have found, and a woman among all these I have not found.
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 See, this alone I have found, that God made man upright, and they have sought out many inventions.
Dog se, det fandt jeg, at Gud har skabt Menneskene, som de bør være; men de har saa mange sære Ting for.
