Predikerens 5
1 Agta foten din når du gjeng til Guds hus! Det er betre at ein held seg nær og høyrer enn at dårar ber fram slagtoffer; for dei gjer vondt av di dei ikkje veit.
When you enter God’s temple, you should be sure to listen carefully. Doing that is better than offering sacrifices to God [and then not obeying him], which is foolish.
2 Ver ikkje bråfus med munnen din, og lat ikkje hjarta forhasta seg med å bera fram noko ord for Gud! For Gud er i himmelen og du på jordi, lat difor ordi dine vera få!
Think carefully before you speak [MTY] or before you promise God that you will do something [IDM]. [Do not forget that] God is in heaven [and he is all-powerful] and you are here on the earth, so think carefully before you [make any promises to God].
3 For draumar kjem av mykje mas, og dåresvall av mange ord.
If you are continually thinking [and worrying] about things, you will have bad dreams about them and not rest [well]. And the more you talk, the more likely it will be that you will say things that are foolish.
4 Lovar du Gud noko, so dryg ikkje med å halda det, for han likar ikkje dårar. Haldt det du lovar!
When you solemnly promise God that you will do something, do not be foolish by delaying in doing it, because God is not pleased with foolish people. Do [all] the things that you promise God that you will do.
5 Det er betre at du inkje lovar enn at du lovar og ikkje held det.
It is better to not promise [anything] than to promise to do something, and [then] not doing it.
6 Lat ikkje munnen føra skuld yver kroppen, og seg ikkje til sendebodet: «Eg forrende meg!» Kvifor skal Gud harmast på det du segjer og tyna det som henderne dine gjer.
Do not sin by promising to do something and then not doing it. And [when you promise God to do something and do not do it], do not say to God’s priest that it was a mistake for you to promise to do that. If you do that, God will certainly [RHQ] become very angry with you, and he will take from you everything that you [SYN] have worked to acquire.
7 For med mange draumar fylgjer mykje fåfengd, og like eins med mange ord. Nei, du skal ottast Gud.
Promising to do something and not doing it is like [SIM] a dream that has no value; instead, revere God [by doing what you promised him that you would do].
8 Um du ser at fatigmannen ligg under trykk, og at dei ranar rett og rettferd i landet, so undrast ikkje på den ting! For den eine høgsette lurer på den andre, og dei hev høgsette yver seg.
Do not be surprised if you see poor [people] being (oppressed/treated cruelly) [by powerful/influential people], or if you see judges making unjust decisions throughout the land. [That happens] because the people who do that are supervised [and cheated by] more important officials [DOU],
9 Det er i alle høve ein fyremun for eit land: Ein konge som fremjar jordbruk.
and even the king forces the people to give him some of the crops that they harvest.
10 Den som elskar pengar, vert ikkje mett av pengar, og den som elskar rikdom, fær ingi vinning. Det er fåfengd det og.
Everyone who tries to [get as much] money as they can will never think that they have enough. They will never be satisfied with the money that they have. That also is senseless.
11 Di meir gods, di fleire til å tæra på det. Kva gagn hev eigaren av det anna enn augnesyn?
The more money that we have, the more people want us to spend our money to buy things for them. So people who have a lot of money do not [RHQ] benefit from it; they see [MTY] it when they get it, but it soon (disappears/is completely spent).
12 Søt er svevnen for arbeidsmannen, anten han et lite eller mykje; men rikmannen fær ikkje sova for mette.
Those who work hard sleep peacefully [at night], even if they do not have much food to eat. But rich [people] do not sleep well, because [they worry] about their money.
13 Det finst noko syrgjeleg leidt som eg hev set under soli: Rikdom som eigaren hev spart upp til si eigi ulukka.
I have seen [another] terrible thing that happens here on the earth [MTY]: People save [up all] their money and become rich, [but] they are not helped by saving a lot of money,
14 Misser han denne rikdomen i eit uhende, og han hev fenge ein son, so eig han ingen ting.
[because] something happens that causes their money to be gone, and when they die, there is no money for their children to get/inherit.
15 Slik som han kom ut or morslivet, skal han ganga burt att, so naken som han kom, og for strævet sitt fær han ingen ting som han kunde taka med seg.
When we are born, we do not bring anything with us, and when we die, we take nothing with us from all that we have earned by our working hard.
16 Det og er syrgjeleg leidt: Just slik som han kom, skal han ganga burt; kva vinning hev han då av det at han strævar burt i vind og vær?
That also seems senseless. People bring nothing [into the world when they are born], and they leave [this world] taking nothing with them. They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit [MET].
17 Attpå tærer han sitt heile sitt liv i myrker, og stor harm lyt han dragast med, og so hans sjukdom og sinne!
[Furthermore, rich people] are always miserable [MET] and sad, and depressed/discouraged and often sick and (resentful/thinking that what has happened to them is unfair).
18 Høyr no kva eg hev funne godt og fagert: At ein et og drikk og nyt det som godt er i all den møda som han mødest med under soli alle dei livedagar som Gud gjev honom; for det er hans lut.
So, the best thing for people to do here on the earth during the few years that God allows them to be alive is to eat and drink and to enjoy their work, because those are the things that God has given to them.
19 Og so tidt Gud gjev ein mann rikdom og skattar og attpå gjer honom før til å njota godt av det og taka sin lut og gleda seg i møda si, so er det ei gåva frå Gud.
If people are rich and have a lot of possessions, and are able to (enjoy/be happy with) the things that they have and to enjoy their work, those things are [also] gifts from God.
20 For då tenkjer han ikkje so mykje på livedagarne sine, av di Gud gjev honom nok å gjera med hjartegleda hans.
Those people do not worry much about [everything that has happened] during the time that they have been alive, because God enables them to be happy doing everything that they do.
