Pengkhotbah 7
1 Nama harum lebih baik daripada minyak bernilai tinggi; dan hari kematian lebih baik daripada hari jadi.
Better [is] a name than good perfume, And the day of death than the day of birth.
2 Lebih baik pergi ke rumah duka daripada ke tempat pesta. Sebab kita harus selalu mengenang bahwa maut menunggu setiap orang.
Better to go to a house of mourning, Than to go to a house of banqueting, For that is the end of all men, And the living lays [it] to his heart.
3 Kesedihan lebih baik daripada tawa. Biar wajah murung, asal hati lega.
Better [is] sorrow than laughter, For by the sadness of the face the heart becomes better.
4 Orang bodoh terus mengejar kesenangan; orang arif selalu memikirkan kematian.
The heart of the wise [is] in a house of mourning, And the heart of fools in a house of mirth.
5 Lebih baik ditegur oleh orang yang berbudi, daripada dipuji oleh orang yang sukar mengerti.
Better to hear a rebuke of a wise man, Than [for] a man to hear a song of fools,
6 Tawa orang bodoh tidak berarti, seperti bunyi duri dimakan api.
For as the noise of thorns under the pot, So [is] the laughter of a fool, even this [is] vanity.
7 Jika orang arif menipu, bodohlah tindakannya; jika orang menerima uang suap, rusaklah wataknya.
Surely oppression makes the wise mad, And a gift destroys the heart.
8 Lebih baik akhir suatu perkara daripada permulaannya; lebih baik bersabar daripada terlalu bangga.
Better [is] the latter end of a thing than its beginning, Better [is] the patient of spirit, than the haughty of spirit.
9 Jangan buru-buru naik pitam; hanya orang bodoh menyimpan dendam.
Do not be hasty in your spirit to be angry, For anger in the bosom of fools rests.
10 Janganlah bertanya, "Mengapa zaman dulu lebih baik daripada zaman sekarang?" Hanya orang dungu yang bertanya begitu.
Do not say, “What was it, That the former days were better than these?” For you have not asked wisely of this.
11 Orang hidup seharusnya berhikmat; nilai hikmat sama dengan warisan;
Wisdom [is] good with an inheritance, And an advantage [it is] to those beholding the sun.
12 sama pula dengan uang pemberi rasa aman. Apalagi pengetahuan tentang hikmat! Siapa memilikinya akan selamat.
For wisdom [is] a defense, money [is] a defense, And the advantage of the knowledge of wisdom [is], She revives her possessors.
13 Perhatikanlah pekerjaan Allah. Sebab siapa dapat meluruskan apa yang dibengkokkan Allah?
See the work of God, For who is able to make straight that which He made crooked?
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 a day of prosperity be in gladness, And in a day of calamity consider: God has also made this alongside of that, To the intent that man does not find anything after him.
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.
The whole I have considered in the days of my vanity. There is a righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there is a wrongdoer prolonging [himself] in his wrong.
16 Janganlah terlalu baik dan jangan pula terlalu bijaksana. Apa gunanya bunuh diri?
Do not be over-righteous, nor show yourself too wise, why are you desolate?
17 Jangan juga terlalu jahat atau terlalu dungu. Untuk apa mati sebelum waktunya?
Do not do much wrong, neither be a fool, why do you die within your time?
18 Hindarilah kedua-duanya tadi. Jika kita takut kepada Allah, pastilah kita berhasil baik.
[It is] good that you lay hold on this, and also, do not withdraw your hand from that, for whoever is fearing God goes out with them all.
19 Hikmat membuat pemiliknya lebih perkasa daripada sepuluh penguasa di sebuah kota.
The wisdom gives strength to a wise man, more than wealth the rulers who have been in a city.
20 Di bumi ini tak ada orang yang sempurna; tak ada yang selalu berbuat baik dan tak pernah berdosa.
Because there is not a righteous man on earth that does good and does not sin.
21 Jangan suka mendengarkan omongan-omongan, siapa tahu kau sedang dikutuk seorang pelayan.
Also to all the words that they speak do not give your heart, that you do not hear your servant reviling you.
22 Engkau sendiri pun menyadari bahwa orang lain pernah juga kaukutuki.
For many times also has your heart known that you yourself have also reviled others.
23 Semua itu kuuji dengan hikmatku. Namun semakin kucari hikmat itu, semakin jauh ia daripadaku.
All this I have tried by wisdom; I have said, “I am wise,” and it [is] far from me.
24 Siapa dapat menemukan arti hidup ini? Terlalu dalam untuk dapat dimengerti!
Far off [is] that which has been, and deep, deep, who finds it?
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 turned around, also my heart, to know and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and reason, and to know the wrong of folly, and the madness of foolishness.
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 am finding more bitter than death, the woman whose heart [is] nets and snares, her hands [are] bands; the good before God escapes from her, but the sinner is captured by her.
27 Lihat, kata Sang Pemikir: Semua itu kutemukan, ketika langkah demi langkah kucari jawaban.
See, this I have found, said the Preacher, one to one, to find out the reason
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.
(that still my soul had sought, and I had not found), One man, a teacher, I have found, and a woman among all these 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.
See, this alone I have found, that God made man upright, and they have sought out many inventions.
