Pengkhotbah 8
1 Alangkah senangnya orang bijaksana. Ia tahu jawaban atas segala perkara. Hikmat membuat dia tersenyum gembira, sehingga wajahnya cerah senantiasa.
Who is like the wise? and who knoweth [as well] the explanation of a thing? a man's wisdom enlighteneth his face, and the boldness of his face will be lessened.
2 Patuhlah jika raja memberi perintah, dan jangan membuat janji gegabah kepada Allah.
I [counsel thee], Keep the king's command, and that which regardeth the oath [to him taken] by God.
3 Raja dapat bertindak semaunya, kalau ia tak berkenan, lebih baik jauhi dia.
Be not hasty to go out of his presence; engage not in an evil thing; for whatsoever pleaseth him, can he do;
4 Raja bertindak dengan wibawa; tak ada yang berani membantahnya!
Because the word of a king is powerful; and who may say unto him, What doest thou?—
5 Orang yang taat kepadanya, akan aman dan sentosa; orang arif tahu kapan dan bagaimana mentaati raja.
Whoso keepeth the commandment will experience no evil thing: and a wise man's heart knoweth both time and the just consequence.
6 Bagi segala sesuatu ada waktu dan caranya sendiri, tetapi sedikit sekali yang kita fahami!
Because for every pursuit there is a time and a just consequence; for the evil of man [resteth] heavily upon him.
7 Tidak seorang pun tahu nasib apa yang menanti, dan tak ada yang dapat mengatakan apa yang akan terjadi.
For he knoweth not that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?
8 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.
No man hath control over the spirit to detain the spirit; and there is no control over the day of death; and there is no representation in that war; and wickedness will not deliver those that practise it.
9 Semua ini kulihat ketika kuperhatikan segala kejadian di dunia. Ada kalanya manusia memakai kuasanya untuk mencelakakan sesamanya.
All this have I seen, and directed my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time when one man ruleth over another to his own injury.
10 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.
Then also did I see the wicked buried, who had gone to their rest; but those who had acted correctly had to go away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city. Also this is vanity.
11 Mengapa begitu mudah orang melakukan kejahatan? Karena hukuman tidak segera diberikan.
Because the punishment against evil deeds is not executed speedily, therefore is the heart of the sons of men filled up in them to do evil.
12 Meskipun seratus kejahatan dilakukan seorang berdosa, ia tetap hidup bahkan panjang umurnya. Konon, siapa taat kepada Allah, pasti hidupnya serba mudah.
But let a sinner do evil a hundred times, and [God] withhold long his punishment from him; still do I truly know for certain that it will be well with those that fear God, because they are afraid of him;
13 Sebaliknya, orang jahat mendapat banyak kesukaran. Hidupnya cepat berlalu seperti bayangan. Ia akan mati pada usia muda karena ia tidak taat kepada Tuhannya.
And that it will not be well with the wicked, and that he will not endure many days, like the shadow; because he is not afraid of God.
14 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.
There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men, unto whom it happeneth in accordance with the deeds of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, to whom it happeneth in accordance with the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
15 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.
Therefore do I praise joyfulness, that there is nothing better for man under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful; for this will adhere to him in his toil, during the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.—
16 Ketika aku berusaha mendapat hikmat, dan kuperhatikan segala kejadian di dunia ini, maka sadarlah aku bahwa meskipun kita bersusah payah siang malam tanpa beristirahat,
When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the employment that is done upon the earth, how even neither by day nor by night sleep is seen in the eyes of some men:
17 kita tak mampu mengerti tindakan Allah. Bagaimanapun kita berusaha, tak mungkin kita memahaminya. Orang arif mengaku bahwa ia tahu, tetapi sebenarnya ia tidak tahu.
Then did I see [in] the whole work of God, that a man is not able to find out the work that is done under the sun; inasmuch as though a man were to toil to seek for it, he would yet not find it; and even if the wise were to think to know it, he would yet not be able to find it.
