Pengkhotbah 7
1 Nama harum lebih baik daripada minyak bernilai tinggi; dan hari kematian lebih baik daripada hari jadi.
A good name is better than precious ointments: and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
2 Lebih baik pergi ke rumah duka daripada ke tempat pesta. Sebab kita harus selalu mengenang bahwa maut menunggu setiap orang.
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to the house of feasting: for in that we are put in mind of the end of all, and the living thinketh what is to come.
3 Kesedihan lebih baik daripada tawa. Biar wajah murung, asal hati lega.
Anger is better than laughter: because by the sadness of the countenance the mind of the offender is corrected.
4 Orang bodoh terus mengejar kesenangan; orang arif selalu memikirkan kematian.
The heart of the wise is where there is mourning, and the heart of fools where there is mirth.
5 Lebih baik ditegur oleh orang yang berbudi, daripada dipuji oleh orang yang sukar mengerti.
It is better to be rebuked by a wise man, than to be deceived by the flattery of fools.
6 Tawa orang bodoh tidak berarti, seperti bunyi duri dimakan api.
For as the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, so is the laughter of a fool: now this also is vanity.
7 Jika orang arif menipu, bodohlah tindakannya; jika orang menerima uang suap, rusaklah wataknya.
Oppression troubleth the wise, and shall destroy the strength of his heart.
8 Lebih baik akhir suatu perkara daripada permulaannya; lebih baik bersabar daripada terlalu bangga.
Better is the end of a speech than the beginning. Better is the patient man than the presumptuous.
9 Jangan buru-buru naik pitam; hanya orang bodoh menyimpan dendam.
Be not quickly angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of a fool.
10 Janganlah bertanya, "Mengapa zaman dulu lebih baik daripada zaman sekarang?" Hanya orang dungu yang bertanya begitu.
Say not: What thinkest thou is the cause that former times were better than they are now? for this manner of question is foolish.
11 Orang hidup seharusnya berhikmat; nilai hikmat sama dengan warisan;
Wisdom with riches is more profitable, and bringeth more advantage to them that see the sun.
12 sama pula dengan uang pemberi rasa aman. Apalagi pengetahuan tentang hikmat! Siapa memilikinya akan selamat.
For as wisdom is a defence, so money is a defence: but learning and wisdom excel in this, that they give life to him that possesseth them.
13 Perhatikanlah pekerjaan Allah. Sebab siapa dapat meluruskan apa yang dibengkokkan Allah?
Consider the works of God, that no man can correct whom he hath despised.
14 Jadi, bergembiralah jika engkau sedang mujur. Tetapi kalau engkau ditimpa bencana, jangan lupa bahwa Allah memberikan kedua-duanya. Kita tak tahu apa yang terjadi selanjutnya.
In the good day enjoy good things, and beware beforehand of the evil day: for God hath made both the one and the other, that man may not find against him any just complaint.
15 Hidupku tak ada gunanya, tetapi selama hidupku itu kulihat yang berikut ini: Ada kalanya orang yang baik binasa, walaupun dia saleh. Adakalanya orang yang jahat panjang umurnya, walaupun dia terus berdosa.
These things also I saw in the days of my vanity: A just man perisheth in his justice, and a wicked man liveth a long time in his wickedness.
16 Janganlah terlalu baik dan jangan pula terlalu bijaksana. Apa gunanya bunuh diri?
Be not over just: and be not more wise than is necessary, lest thou become stupid.
17 Jangan juga terlalu jahat atau terlalu dungu. Untuk apa mati sebelum waktunya?
Be not overmuch wicked: and be not foolish, lest thou die before thy time.
18 Hindarilah kedua-duanya tadi. Jika kita takut kepada Allah, pastilah kita berhasil baik.
It is good that thou shouldst hold up the just, yea and from him withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God, neglecteth nothing.
19 Hikmat membuat pemiliknya lebih perkasa daripada sepuluh penguasa di sebuah kota.
Wisdom hath strengthened the wise more than ten princes of the city.
20 Di bumi ini tak ada orang yang sempurna; tak ada yang selalu berbuat baik dan tak pernah berdosa.
For there is no just man upon earth, that doth good, and sinneth not.
21 Jangan suka mendengarkan omongan-omongan, siapa tahu kau sedang dikutuk seorang pelayan.
But do not apply thy heart to all words that are spoken: lest perhaps thou hear thy servant reviling thee.
22 Engkau sendiri pun menyadari bahwa orang lain pernah juga kaukutuki.
For thy conscience knoweth that thou also hast often spoken evil of others.
23 Semua itu kuuji dengan hikmatku. Namun semakin kucari hikmat itu, semakin jauh ia daripadaku.
I have tried all things in wisdom. I have said: I will be wise: and it departed farther from me,
24 Siapa dapat menemukan arti hidup ini? Terlalu dalam untuk dapat dimengerti!
Much more than it was: it is a great depth, who shall find it out?
25 Namun aku tekun belajar dan mencari pengetahuan, supaya mendapat hikmat dan jawaban atas segala pertanyaan. Aku mencoba mengerti bahwa dosa itu kebodohan, dan kejahatan adalah kenekatan.
I have surveyed all things with my mind, to know, and consider, and seek out wisdom and reason: and to know the wickedness of the fool, and the error of the imprudent:
26 Aku mendapati bahwa wanita lebih pahit daripada maut. Cinta wanita seperti jala dan perangkap yang siap menangkap mangsanya. Pelukannya seperti belenggu yang mengikat erat. Orang yang melakukan kehendak Allah terhindar dari jeratnya, tapi orang berdosa pasti akan ditawannya.
And I have found a woman more bitter than death, who is the hunter’s snare, and her heart is a net, and her hands are bands. He that pleaseth God shall escape from her: but he that is a sinner, shall be caught by her.
27 Lihat, kata Sang Pemikir: Semua itu kutemukan, ketika langkah demi langkah kucari jawaban.
Lo this have I found, said Ecclesiastes, weighing one thing after another, that I might find out the account,
28 Masih juga aku mencari jawaban-jawaban lain, namun tidak berhasil. Di antara seribu orang, kudapati seorang laki-laki yang kuhormati. Tetapi di antara mereka tak ada wanita yang dapat kuhargai.
Which yet my soul seeketh, and I have not found it. One man among a thousand I have found, a woman among them all I have not found.
29 Hanya inilah yang kudapat: Allah membuat kita sederhana dan biasa. Tetapi kita sendirilah yang membuat diri kita rumit dan berbelit-belit.
Only this I have found, that God made man right, and he hath entangled himself with an infinity of questions. Who is as the wise man? and who hath known the resolution of the word?
