< Predikerens 3 >

1 Alt hev si stund, og kvart tiltak under himmelen hev si tid:
There is a right/correct time for everything, a time for everything that we do in this world.
2 Fødast hev si tid, og døy hev si tid; planta hev si tid, og riva upp det som er planta hev si tid;
There is a time to be born, and there is a time to die. There is a time to plant [seeds], and there is a time to harvest crops.
3 drepa hev si tid, og lækja hev si tid; riva ned hev si tid, og byggja upp hev si tid;
There is a time to kill [people], and there is a time to heal [people]. There is a time to tear things down, and there is a time to build things.
4 gråta hev si tid, og læ hev si tid; syrgja hev si tid, og dansa hev si tid;
There is a time to cry, and there is a time to laugh. There is a time to mourn, and there is a time to dance [joyfully].
5 kasta stein hev si tid, og sanka stein hev si tid; fangtak hev si tid, og halda seg frå fangtak hev si tid;
There is a time to throw away stones [from a field], and there is a time to gather stones [to build walls/houses]. There is a time to embrace [people], and there is a time to not embrace [people].
6 leita hev si tid, og missa hev si tid; gøyma hev si tid, og kasta burt hev si tid;
There is a time to search for things, and there is a time to stop searching for things. There is a time to keep/save things, and there is a time to throw things away.
7 riva sund hev si tid, og sauma i hop hev si tid; tegja hev si tid, og tala hev si tid;
There is a time to tear [our old clothes], and there is a time to mend [clothes]. There is a time to say nothing, and there is a time when we should speak.
8 elska hev si tid, og hata hev si tid; ufred hev si tid, og fred hev si tid.
There is a time when we should love [things that people do], and there is a time when we should hate [things that people do]. There is a time for war, and there is a time for peace.
9 Kva vinning fær då den som gjer noko av den møda han hev med det?
(What do people gain from all the work that they do?/It seems that people gain very little from all the work that they do [RHQ]).
10 Eg såg på det strævet som Gud hev gjeve mannsborni å stræva med.
I have seen the work that God has given people to do.
11 Alt hev han laga fagert til si tid, ja, æva hev han lagt i hjarta deira, men so at menneskja ikkje kann finna ut frå upphav til endes det verk som Gud hev gjort.
God has appointed a time that is right/correct for everything to happen. He has [also] caused people to realize that there are things that will endure forever. But in spite of that, no one can completely understand everything that God has done, from the time that he starts doing things until he finishes them.
12 Då skyna eg at dei ikkje hev noko betre enn å gleda seg og goda seg so lenge livet varer.
I know that the best [LIT] thing for us people to do is to rejoice and to do good things [all] during the time that we are alive.
13 Men det å eta og drikka og njota livet midt i all møda, det og ei Guds gåva for kvar mann.
And I also know that everyone should eat and drink, and enjoy the work that they do. Those are things that God gives to us.
14 Eg skyna at alt det Gud gjer, det varer æveleg, ikkje kann ein leggja noko til, og ikkje kann ein taka noko ifrå; og det hev Gud gjort so, av di me skal ottast honom.
I [also] know that what God does endures forever. No one can add to what God does, and no one can take away from the things that God does. God does those things in order that people would revere him.
15 Det som hender, hev vore til fyrr, og det som kjem til å henda, hev og vore til fyrr; Gud leitar upp att det framfarne.
Things that exist now have already existed previously, and things that will happen in the future have already happened previously; God causes the same things to happen many times.
16 Framleides såg eg under soli: I domstolen, der sat uretten, og på rettferd-staden, der var uretten.
Furthermore, I saw that on this earth [MTY], even in the courts where we expect judges to make right decisions about what people had done, they did many wicked [DOU] things.
17 Då sagde eg med meg sjølv: «Den rettferdige og den urettferdige skal Gud døma; for hjå han er det sett ei tid for kvart tiltak og for kvart verk.»
[So] I said to myself [SYN], “God will judge [both] righteous [people] and wicked [people]; there is a time [for him to do that], because there is a time for him to do everything.”
18 Eg sagde med meg sjølv: «Det er for mannsborni skuld, for Gud vil prova deim, so dei kann sjå at dei i seg sjølve ikkje er anna enn dyr.
And regarding humans, I [also] said to myself, “God is testing us, to show us that [in one way] people are no different than animals,
19 For lagnaden åt mannsborni er som lagnaden åt dyri, ja, same lagnaden fær dei; som den eine døyr, so døyr den andre, og ei ånd hev dei alle; menneskja hev ingen fyremun framfor dyri, for alt er fåfengt.
because what happens to people happens to animals. Animals die, and people die. We all must breathe [to remain alive]. [With regard to that], people have no advantage over animals, so I have a difficult time understanding that.
20 Alle gjeng til ein stad, alle er komne av moldi, og alle skal attende til moldi.
[People and animals] all die and are buried. We are all made of soil, and [when we die], our corpses become soil again.
21 Kven veit um åndi åt menneski stig uppetter, og um åndi åt dyri fer ned til jordi?»
No one knows [RHQ] for sure that when we die, our souls/spirits go up to heaven and the souls/spirits of animals go down to the place where the dead are.”
22 So skyna eg at ingen ting er betre enn at mannen er glad i arbeidet sitt, for det er hans lut. For kven kann føra honom so langt, at han ser inn i det som skal koma etter honom?
So I concluded that the best thing for [us] people to do is to be happy about the work that we do, because that is what God has given to us. I say that because no one of us [RHQ] knows what happens to us after we die.

< Predikerens 3 >