Ecclesiastes 8
1 [I will tell you about] those who are truly wise [RHQ] with the result that they can explain why everything happens. Being wise enables people to be happy [MTY] and enables them to smile.
Alangkah senangnya orang bijaksana. Ia tahu jawaban atas segala perkara. Hikmat membuat dia tersenyum gembira, sehingga wajahnya cerah senantiasa.
2 You solemnly promised God that you would obey what the king commands, so do that.
Patuhlah jika raja memberi perintah, dan jangan membuat janji gegabah kepada Allah.
3 Do not quickly disobey the king. And do not join those who want to rebel against him, because the king will do what he wants to do.
Raja dapat bertindak semaunya, kalau ia tak berkenan, lebih baik jauhi dia.
4 We need to obey what the king says more than we need to obey what anyone else says; no one can say to the king, “(Why are you doing that?/You should not be doing that.) [RHQ]”
Raja bertindak dengan wibawa; tak ada yang berani membantahnya!
5 If you obey what the king commands, he will not harm you. [So] be wise, and know the correct/right time to do things and the right way to do them.
Orang yang taat kepadanya, akan aman dan sentosa; orang arif tahu kapan dan bagaimana mentaati raja.
6 Although people experience many troubles/difficulties, there is a right/correct time to do things, and there is a right/correct way [to do them].
Bagi segala sesuatu ada waktu dan caranya sendiri, tetapi sedikit sekali yang kita fahami!
7 No one knows what will happen in the future, so there is no one [RHQ] who can tell us what is going to happen.
Tidak seorang pun tahu nasib apa yang menanti, dan tak ada yang dapat mengatakan apa yang akan terjadi.
8 We cannot control the wind, and we cannot control when we will die. Soldiers are not permitted to go home during a battle, and evil people will not be saved by [doing what is] evil.
Tak seorang pun dapat menahan atau menunda kematiannya. Itu perjuangan yang tak dapat dielakkannya, tak dapat ia luput daripadanya, walaupun dengan muslihat dan tipu daya.
9 I thought about all those things, and I thought about all [HYP] the other things that happen on this earth. I saw that [sometimes] people cause those whom they control to suffer.
Semua ini kulihat ketika kuperhatikan segala kejadian di dunia. Ada kalanya manusia memakai kuasanya untuk mencelakakan sesamanya.
10 I also saw that [sometimes] after evil [people] die, they are highly honored at their funerals by the people in the cities where they had done [evil] deeds. It seemed to be difficult to understand why that happens.
Pernah kulihat orang jahat mati dan dikuburkan. Tetapi waktu orang-orang pulang dari penguburannya, mereka memuji dia di kota tempat ia melakukan kejahatan. Jadi, itu pun sia-sia.
11 If evil people are not immediately punished, it causes [other] people [SYN] to [also] want to do evil things.
Mengapa begitu mudah orang melakukan kejahatan? Karena hukuman tidak segera diberikan.
12 But even if sinful people commit 100 crimes, and [even if they] live for a long time, I know that things will go better for those who greatly respect and revere God.
Meskipun seratus kejahatan dilakukan seorang berdosa, ia tetap hidup bahkan panjang umurnya. Konon, siapa taat kepada Allah, pasti hidupnya serba mudah.
13 [I also know] that things will not go well go for those who are evil, because they do not revere God. Shadows [do not last a long time]. Similarly [SIM], evil people will not live a long time.
Sebaliknya, orang jahat mendapat banyak kesukaran. Hidupnya cepat berlalu seperti bayangan. Ia akan mati pada usia muda karena ia tidak taat kepada Tuhannya.
14 Another thing that [sometimes] happens on this earth is that bad things happen to righteous people, and good things happen to evil people. It is difficult to understand why that happens.
Namun semua itu omong kosong belaka. Lihat saja apa yang terjadi di dunia: Ada orang saleh yang dihukum bagai pendurhaka, ada penjahat yang diganjar bagai orang saleh. Jadi, itu pun sia-sia.
15 [So] I decided that I would recommend that people be happy while they are alive, because the best thing that people can do here on this earth is to eat and drink and be happy. Enjoying doing those things will help people while they do their work, all the time that God has given to them to remain alive here on the earth.
Kesimpulanku ialah bahwa orang harus bergembira. Karena dalam hidupnya di dunia tak ada kesenangan lain baginya kecuali makan, minum dan bersukaria. Itu saja yang dapat dinikmati di tengah jerih payahnya, selama hidup yang diberikan Allah kepadanya.
16 I thought about being wise and about people who work very hard, working day and night and not taking time to sleep.
Ketika aku berusaha mendapat hikmat, dan kuperhatikan segala kejadian di dunia ini, maka sadarlah aku bahwa meskipun kita bersusah payah siang malam tanpa beristirahat,
17 Then I thought about everything [HYP] that God has done, and I realized that no one can understand everything that happens here on this earth. Truly, people are not able to fully understand everything [that God understands], even if they try hard to do that. Even if wise people claim that they understand it all, they cannot.
kita tak mampu mengerti tindakan Allah. Bagaimanapun kita berusaha, tak mungkin kita memahaminya. Orang arif mengaku bahwa ia tahu, tetapi sebenarnya ia tidak tahu.
