Predikerens 7
1 Bedre er et godt navn enn god olje, og bedre dødsdagen enn den dag en blir født.
[Having] a good reputation [MTY] is better than fine perfume, and the day that we die is better than the day that we are born.
2 Bedre er det å gå til sørgehus enn til gjestebudshus, fordi i sørgehuset ender hvert menneskes liv, og den som lever, legger sig det på hjerte.
It is better to go to a house where people are mourning [about someone who has died] than to go to a house where people are feasting, because everyone will die some day, and people who are alive should think seriously [IDM] about that.
3 Bedre er gremmelse enn latter; for mens ansiktet er sørgmodig, er hjertet vel til mote.
It is better to be sad than to be [always] laughing, because being sad can cause us to think more about how we should conduct our lives [IDM].
4 De vises hjerte er i sorgens hus, men dårenes hjerte i gledens hus.
Wise [people] who go to where others are mourning think about [the fact that some day they also will] die, but foolish people [PRS] [do not think about that]; they are always [MTY] laughing.
5 Bedre er det å høre skjenn av en vis enn å høre sang av dårer;
It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
6 for som tornene spraker under gryten, så er det når dåren ler; også dette er tomhet.
By [listening to] foolish people laughing we will not [learn any more than by listening to] the crackling of thorns [being burned] under a pot. Listening to fools is senseless.
7 For urettmessig vinning gjør den vise til dåre, og bestikkelse ødelegger hjertet.
When wise people say to others, “You must pay me a lot of money for me to protect you,” that causes those wise people to become foolish, and [accepting] bribes causes people to become unable to do what is fair/just.
8 Bedre er enden på en ting enn begynnelsen, bedre å være tålmodig enn overmodig.
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 Vær ikke for hastig i din ånd til å vredes; for vreden bor i dårers barm.
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 Si ikke: Hvorav kommer det at de fremfarne dager var bedre enn de som nu er? For det er ikke av visdom du spør om det.
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 Visdom er jevngod med arvegods, ja ennu ypperligere for dem som ser solen;
Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
12 for å være i visdommens skygge er som å være i skyggen av rikdom, men kunnskapens fortrin er at visdommen holder sin eier i live.
We are [sometimes] protected by being wise like we are [sometimes] protected by having a lot of money, but being wise is better [than having a lot of money], [because] being wise prevents us from [doing foolish things that would] cause us to die.
13 Se på Guds verk! For hvem kan gjøre rett det som han har gjort kroket?
Think [carefully about] what God has done. Certainly no one can [RHQ] cause to become straight the things that God has caused to be crooked.
14 På en god dag skal du være ved godt mot, og på en ond dag skal du tenke på at Gud har gjort den og, like så vel som den andre, forat mennesket ikke skal finne noget efter sig.
When things are going well for you, be happy, and when things are not going well for you, remember that God is the one who causes good things to happen and who also causes disasters.
15 Alt dette har jeg sett i mitt tomme liv: Mangen rettferdig går til grunne tross sin rettferdighet, og mangen ugudelig lever lenge tross sin ondskap.
During all the time that I have been alive I have seen a lot of [HYP] things that seem senseless. I have seen righteous people die [while they are still young], and I have seen wicked people remain alive for a very long time in [spite of] their continuing to be wicked.
16 Vær ikke altfor rettferdig og te dig ikke overvettes vis! hvorfor vil du ødelegge dig selv?
[So] do not think that you are very righteous and do not think that you are very wise, [because if you think those things], you will destroy yourself.
17 Vær ikke altfor urettferdig, og vær ikke en dåre! Hvorfor vil du dø før tiden?
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 Det er godt at du holder fast ved det ene, men du skal heller ikke slippe det andre; for den som frykter Gud, finner en utvei av alt dette.
Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
19 Visdommen er et sterkere vern for den vise enn ti mektige menn i en by;
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 for det finnes ikke et rettferdig menneske på jorden, som bare gjør godt og aldri synder.
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 Akt heller ikke på alt det folk sier, ellers kunde du få høre din tjener banne dig!
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 For du vet jo med dig selv at også du mange ganger har bannet andre.
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 Alt dette har jeg prøvd med visdom; Jeg sa: Jeg vil vinne visdom, men den er ennu langt borte fra mig.
I said [to myself] that I would use my wisdom to study all the things [that I have written about], but I was not able to do it successfully.
24 Det som er langt borte og dypt, dypt skjult - hvem kan finne det?
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 Jeg så mig om, og min attrå var å vinne kunnskap og å granske og søke efter visdom og klokskap og å forstå at ugudelighet er dårskap, og at dårskapen er galskap.
But I decided to investigate things and by my wisdom try to understand the reason for everything. I also wanted to understand why people act wickedly and why they act very foolishly.
26 Og jeg fant noget som er bitrere enn døden: kvinnen - hun er et garn og hennes hjerte en snare, og hennes hender er lenker; den som tekkes Gud, slipper fra henne, men synderen blir fanget av henne.
[One thing I learned was that] (allowing a woman to seduce you/having sex with a woman to whom you are not married) is worse than dying. A woman who tries to seduce men is [as dangerous as] a trap [MET]. [If you allow her to put] her arms [around you, it will be as though she will be fastening you with] chains. Women like that will capture sinful men, but men who please God will escape from such women.
27 Se, dette fant jeg ut, sier predikeren, idet jeg la det ene til det andre for å finne hovedsummen.
This is what I have learned: I tried to learn more and more about things to try to find out the reason for everything,
28 Det som jeg stadig har søkt, men ikke har funnet, det er: En mann har jeg funnet blandt tusen, men en kvinne har jeg ikke funnet blandt dem alle.
and I continued to try to learn more, but I could not find [all that I was searching for]. [But] one thing that I found out was that among 1,000 [people] I found one righteous man, but I did not find even one righteous woman.
29 Se, dette er det eneste jeg har funnet ut, at Gud skapte mennesket som det skulde være, men de søker mange kunster.
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
