Ecclesiastes 10
1 Dead flies cause a perfumer's perfume To send forth a stink; The precious by reason of wisdom — By reason of honour — 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 heart of the wise [is] at his right hand, And the heart of a fool at his left.
Srce modrega človeka je pri njegovi desnici, toda bedakovo srce pri njegovi levici.
3 And also, when he that is a fool Is walking in the way, his heart is lacking, And he hath said to every one, 'He [is] a fool.'
Da, tudi kadar kdor je bedak, hodi po poti, ga njegova modrost izneverja in vsakemu govori, da je bedak.
4 If the spirit of the ruler go up against thee, Thy place leave not, For yielding quieteth great sinners.
Če vladarjev duh vstane zoper tebe, ne zapusti svojega mesta, kajti ustrežljivost pomirja velike prestopke.
5 There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error that goeth out from the ruler,
Je zlo, ki sem ga videl pod soncem, kakor pomota, ki izvira od vladarja:
6 He hath set the fool in many high places, And the rich in a low place do sit.
neumnost je postavljena na visoko dostojanstvo, bogati pa sedijo na nizkem kraju.
7 I have seen servants on horses, And princes walking as servants on the earth.
Videl sem služabnike na konjih, prince pa hoditi kakor služabniki po tleh.
8 Whoso is digging a pit falleth into it, And whoso is breaking a hedge, a serpent biteth him.
Kdor koplje jamo, bo padel vanjo, kdorkoli pa lomi ograjo, ga bo pičila kača.
9 Whoso is removing stones is grieved by them, Whoso is cleaving trees endangered by them.
Kdorkoli odstranja kamne, bo z njimi poškodovan in kdor cepi drva, bo s tem izpostavljen nevarnosti.
10 If the iron hath been blunt, And he the face hath not sharpened, Then doth he increase strength, And wisdom [is] advantageous to make right.
Če je železo topo in ne nabrusi ostrine, potem mora vložiti več moči; toda modrost je koristna, da usmerja.
11 If the serpent biteth without enchantment, Then there is no advantage to a master of the tongue.
Zagotovo bo kača pičila brez izrekanja uroka in blebetavec ni boljši.
12 Words of the mouth of the wise [are] gracious, And the lips of a fool 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, And the latter end of his mouth [Is] mischievous madness.
Začetek besed iz njegovih ust je nespametnost, konec njegovega govora pa je pogubna norost.
14 And the fool multiplieth words: 'Man knoweth not that which is, And that which is after him, who doth declare to him?'
Tudi bedak je poln besed. Človek ne more povedati kaj bo, in kaj bo za njim, kdo mu lahko pove?
15 The labour of the foolish wearieth him, In that he hath not known to go unto the city.
Trud nespametnih izčrpava vsakogar izmed njih, ker ne ve kako iti do mesta.
16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king [is] a youth, And thy princes do eat in the morning.
Gorje tebi, oh dežela, kadar je tvoj kralj otrok in tvoji princi jedo zjutraj!
17 Happy art thou, O land, When thy king [is] a son of freemen, And thy princes do eat in due season, For might, and not for drunkenness.
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 slothfulness is the wall brought low, And by idleness of the hands doth the house drop.
Z veliko lenobe zgradba propada in zaradi brezdelja rok kaplja skozi hišo.
19 For mirth they are making a feast, And wine maketh life joyful, And the silver answereth with all.
Praznovanje je narejeno za smeh in vino dela vesele, toda denar odgovarja vsem stvarem.
20 Even in thy mind a king revile not, And in the inner parts of thy bed-chamber Revile not the rich: For a fowl of the heavens causeth the voice to go, And a possessor of wings declareth the word.
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.
