Ecclesiastes 12
1 While you are still young, keep thinking about [God], who created you. Do that before [you are old] and you experience many troubles, during the years when you say “I no [longer] enjoy being alive.”
Gedenke an deinen Schöpfer in deiner Jugend, ehe denn die bösen Tage kommen und die Jahre herzutreten, da du wirst sagen: Sie gefallen mir nicht;
2 [When you become old], the light from the sun and moon and stars will [seem] dim [to you], and [it will seem that the rain] clouds [always] return [quickly] after it rains.
ehe denn die Sonne und das Licht, Mond und Sterne finster werden und Wolken wieder kommen nach dem Regen;
3 Then your [arms that you use to protect] [MET] your bodies will shake/tremble, and your [legs that support] [MET] your bodies will become weak. Many of your [teeth that you use to] grind/chew [your food] will fall out, and your [eyes that you use to] look out of windows will not see clearly.
zur Zeit, wenn die Hüter im Hause zittern, und sich krümmen die Starken, und müßig stehen die Müller, weil ihrer so wenig geworden sind, und finster werden, die durch die Fenster sehen,
4 Your [ears] [MET] will not hear the noise in the streets, and you will not be able to hear clearly the sound of people grinding grain with millstones. You will be awakened in the morning by hearing the birds singing/chirping, [but] you will not be able to hear well the songs that (the birds/people) sing.
und die Türen an der Gasse geschlossen werden, daß die Stimme der Mühle leise wird, und man erwacht, wenn der Vogel singt, und gedämpft sind alle Töchter des Gesangs;
5 You will be afraid to be in high places and afraid of dangers on the roads that you walk on. [Your hair] will become [white like] [MET] the flowers of almond trees. [When you try to walk], you will drag yourself along like [MET] grasshoppers, and you will no longer desire [to have sex]. Then you will [die and] go to your eternal home, and people who will mourn for you will be in the streets.
wenn man auch vor Höhen sich fürchtet und sich scheut auf dem Wege; wenn der Mandelbaum blüht, und die Heuschrecke beladen wird, und alle Lust vergeht (denn der Mensch fährt hin, da er ewig bleibt, und die Klageleute gehen umher auf der Gasse);
6 [Think much about God now, because] soon our lives will end, [like] [MET] silver chains or golden bowls that break easily, or like pitchers/jugs that are broken at the water fountain, or like broken pulleys at a well.
ehe denn der silberne Strick wegkomme, und die goldene Schale zerbreche, und der Eimer zerfalle an der Quelle, und das Rad zerbrochen werde am Born.
7 Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.
Denn der Staub muß wieder zu der Erde kommen, wie er gewesen ist, und der Geist wieder zu Gott, der ihn gegeben hat.
8 [So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.
Es ist alles ganz eitel, sprach der Prediger, ganz eitel.
9 I was considered to be a very wise man, and I taught the people many things. I assembled/collected and wrote down many proverbs, and I carefully thought about and studied them.
Derselbe Prediger war nicht allein weise, sondern lehrte auch das Volk gute Lehre und merkte und forschte und stellte viel Sprüche.
10 I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.
Er suchte, daß er fände angenehme Worte, und schrieb recht die Worte der Wahrheit.
11 The things that [I and other] wise people say [teach people what they should do]; they are like [SIM] (goads/sharp sticks that people use to strike animals to direct where they should go). They are like [SIM] nails that stick out of pieces of wood. They are given to us by [God, who is like] [MET] our shepherd.
Die Worte der Weisen sind Stacheln und Nägel; sie sind geschrieben durch die Meister der Versammlungen und von einem Hirten gegeben.
12 [So], my son, pay careful attention to what I have written, and choose carefully what you read that others have written, [because] writing proverbs/books is endless, and [trying to] study them all will cause you to become exhausted.
Hüte dich, mein Sohn, vor andern mehr; denn viel Büchermachens ist kein Ende, und viel studieren macht den Leib müde.
13 [Now] you have heard all [that I have told you], and here is the conclusion: Revere God, and obey his commandments, because those commandments summarize everything that people should do.
Laßt uns die Hauptsumme alle Lehre hören: Fürchte Gott und halte seine Gebote; denn das gehört allen Menschen zu.
14 And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.
Denn Gott wird alle Werke vor Gericht bringen, alles, was verborgen ist, es sei gut oder böse.
