Ecclesiastes 10
1 Dead flies, cause to stink [and] ferment, the oil of the perfumer, —More costly than wisdom or honour, is a little folly.
Mrtve muhe lekarnarjevemu mazilu povzročijo, da od sebe širi smrdljiv vonj; tako je majhna neumnost tistemu, ki ima sloves zaradi modrosti in časti.
2 The sense of the wise, is on his right hand, —But, the sense of the dullard, on his left:
Srce modrega človeka je pri njegovi desnici, toda bedakovo srce pri njegovi levici.
3 Yea, even by the way, as the foolish man walketh along, his sense faileth him—and he telleth everyone that, foolish, is he!
Da, tudi kadar kdor je bedak, hodi po poti, ga njegova modrost izneverja in vsakemu govori, da je bedak.
4 If, the spirit of a ruler, riseth up against thee, thy place, do not leave, for gentleness, pacifieth such as have greatly erred.
Če vladarjev duh vstane zoper tebe, ne zapusti svojega mesta, kajti ustrežljivost pomirja velike prestopke.
5 Here was a misfortune I had seen under the sun, —a veritable mistake that was going forth from the presence of one who had power:
Je zlo, ki sem ga videl pod soncem, kakor pomota, ki izvira od vladarja:
6 Folly placed in great dignity, —while, the rich, in a low place, took their seat:
neumnost je postavljena na visoko dostojanstvo, bogati pa sedijo na nizkem kraju.
7 I had seen, servants, upon horses, —and, rulers, walking like servants, on the ground.
Videl sem služabnike na konjih, prince pa hoditi kakor služabniki po tleh.
8 He that diggeth a pit, thereinto, may fall, —and, he that breaketh through a hedge, there may bite him a serpent.
Kdor koplje jamo, bo padel vanjo, kdorkoli pa lomi ograjo, ga bo pičila kača.
9 He that removeth stones, may be hurt therewith, —and he that cleaveth wood, may be endangered thereby.
Kdorkoli odstranja kamne, bo z njimi poškodovan in kdor cepi drva, bo s tem izpostavljen nevarnosti.
10 If, blunt, be the iron, and, himself, hath not sharpened, the edge, then, much force, must he apply, —but, an advantage for giving success, is wisdom.
Če je železo topo in ne nabrusi ostrine, potem mora vložiti več moči; toda modrost je koristna, da usmerja.
11 If a serpent will bite, unless he is charmed, then there is nothing better for him that owneth a tongue.
Zagotovo bo kača pičila brez izrekanja uroka in blebetavec ni boljši.
12 The words of a wise man’s mouth, are pleasant, —but, the lips of a dullard, will swallow him up:
Besede iz ust modrega moža so milostljive, toda ustnice bedaka bodo samega sebe pogoltnile.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth, is folly, —but, the latter end of his speech, is mischievous madness.
Začetek besed iz njegovih ust je nespametnost, konec njegovega govora pa je pogubna norost.
14 Yet, a foolish man, multiplieth words, —[though] no man knoweth that which hath been, and, that which shall be after him, who can tell him?
Tudi bedak je poln besed. Človek ne more povedati kaj bo, in kaj bo za njim, kdo mu lahko pove?
15 The toil of dullards, shall weary a man, that he knoweth not how to go into the city.
Trud nespametnih izčrpava vsakogar izmed njih, ker ne ve kako iti do mesta.
16 Alas! for thee, O land, when thy king is a boy, —and, thy rulers, in the morning, do eat:
Gorje tebi, oh dežela, kadar je tvoj kralj otrok in tvoji princi jedo zjutraj!
17 How happy art thou, O land, when thy king is a son of nobles, —and, thy rulers, in season, do eat, for strength, and not for debauchery.
Blagoslovljena si ti, oh dežela, kadar je tvoj kralj sin plemičev in tvoji princi jedo v pravšnjem obdobju, za moč in ne za pijanost!
18 By two lazy arms, the framework sinketh in, —and, by the hanging down of the hands, the house may leak.
Z veliko lenobe zgradba propada in zaradi brezdelja rok kaplja skozi hišo.
19 Merrily people make bread, and, wine, gladdeneth life, —but, money, answereth all things.
Praznovanje je narejeno za smeh in vino dela vesele, toda denar odgovarja vsem stvarem.
20 Even in thy thought, do not revile, the king, nor, within thy bed-chambers, revile thou the rich, —for, a bird of the heavens, might carry the voice, yea, an owner of wings, might tell the matter.
Ne preklinjaj kralja niti v svojih mislih in ne preklinjaj bogatega v svoji spalnici, kajti zračna ptica bo odnesla glas in kar ima peruti, bo povedalo zadevo.
