Propovednik 12
1 Ali opominji se tvorca svojega u mladosti svojoj prije nego doðu dani zli i prispiju godine, za koje æeš reæi: nijesu mi mile;
Remember your Creator while you are young, before days of trouble come and you grow old, saying, “I'm not enjoying life anymore.”
2 Prije nego pomrkne sunce i vidjelo i mjesec i zvijezde, i opet doðu oblaci iza dažda,
Before the light fades—sun, moon, and stars—and rain clouds return to darken the skies.
3 Kad æe drktati stražari kuæni i pognuti se junaci, i stati mlinarice, što ih je malo, i potamnjeti koji gledaju kroz prozore,
Before the guards of the house tremble and the strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because there are only a few left, and the ones looking through the windows only see dimly,
4 I kad æe se zatvoriti vrata s ulice, i oslabiti zveka od mljevenja, i kad æe se ustajati na ptièji glas i prestati sve pjevaèice,
and the doors to the street are shut. Before the sound of the grinding mill grows low, and you wake up early when the birds are singing, but you can hardly hear them.
5 I visokoga mjesta kad æe se bojati i strašiti se na putu, kad æe badem ucvjetati i skakavac otežati i želja proæi, jer èovjek ide u kuæu svoju vjeènu, i pokajnice æe hoditi po ulicama;
Before you develop a fear of heights and worry about going out on the streets; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper crawls along, and desire fails, for everyone has to go to their eternal home as the mourners go up and down the street.
6 Prije nego se prekine uže srebrno, èaša se zlatna razbije i raspe se vijedro na izvoru i slomi se toèak na studencu,
Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken; before the water jug is smashed at the spring, or the pulley is broken at the well.
7 I vrati se prah u zemlju, kako je bio, a duh se vrati k Bogu, koji ga je dao.
Then the dust returns to the earth from which it came, and the breath of life returns to God who gave it.
8 Taština nad taštinama, veli propovjednik, sve je taština.
“Everything passes! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
9 A ne samo mudar bijaše propovjednik, nego još i narod uèaše mudrosti, i motreæi i istražujuæi složi mnogo prièa.
Not only was the Teacher a wise man, he also taught what he knew to others. He thought about many proverbs, studying them and arranging them.
10 Staraše se propovjednik da naðe ugodne rijeèi, i napisa što je pravo, rijeèi istine.
The Teacher looked for the best way to explain things, writing truthfully and honestly.
11 Rijeèi su mudrijeh ljudi kao žalci i kao klini udareni; rijeèi onijeh koji ih složiše dao je jedan pastir.
The words of the wise are like cattle prods. Their collected sayings are like nails driven home, given by one shepherd.
12 I tako, sine moj, èuvaj se onoga što je preko ovoga, jer nema kraja sastavljanju mnogih knjiga, i mnogo èitanje umor je tijelu.
In addition, my student, take care, for there's no end to book writing, and too much study wears you out.
13 Glavno je svemu što si èuo: Boga se boj, i zapovijesti njegove drži, jer to je sve èovjeku.
To sum up now that everything has been discussed: Respect God by keeping his commandments, for that's what everyone should do.
14 Jer æe svako djelo Bog iznijeti na sud i svaku tajnu, bila dobra ili zla.
God is going to judge us for everything we do, including what we do secretly, whether good or bad.
