Propovednik 7
1 Bolje je ime nego dobro ulje, i dan smrtni nego dan u koji se ko rodi.
A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
2 Bolje je iæi u kuæu gdje je žalost nego iæi u kuæu gdje je gozba, jer je ondje kraj svakoga èovjeka, i ko je živ, slaže u srce svoje.
It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.
3 Bolja je žalost nego smijeh, jer kad je lice neveselo, srce postaje bolje.
Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
4 Srce je mudrijeh ljudi u kuæi gdje je žalost, a srce bezumnijeh u kuæi gdje je veselje.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 Bolje je slušati karanje mudroga nego da ko sluša pjesmu bezumnijeh.
It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Jer kao što prašti trnje pod loncem, taki je smijeh bezumnikov; i to je taština.
For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
7 Nasilje obezumljuje mudroga, i poklon izopaèuje srce.
Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 Bolji je kraj stvari nego poèetak joj; bolji je ko je strpljiva duha negoli ko je ponosita duha.
The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
9 Ne budi nagao u duhu svom na gnjev, jer gnjev poèiva u njedrima bezumnijeh.
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
10 Ne govori: šta je to, te su preðašnji dani bili bolji od ovijeh? jer ne bi bilo mudro da za to pitaš.
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
11 Dobra je mudrost s imanjem, i korisna je onima koji vide sunce.
Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
12 Jer je mudrost zaklon, i novci su zaklon; ali je pretežnije znanje mudrosti tijem što daje život onome ko je ima.
For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
13 Pogledaj djelo Božije; jer ko može ispraviti što on iskrivi?
Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
14 U dobro vrijeme uživaj dobro, a u zlo vrijeme gledaj, jer je Bog stvorio jedno prema drugom zato da èovjek ne zna šta æe biti.
In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.
15 Svašta vidjeh za vremena taštine svoje: pravednika koji propada u pravdi svojoj, i bezbožnika koji dugo živi u svojoj zloæi.
In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
16 Ne budi suviše pravedan ni suviše mudar; zašto bi sebe upropastio?
Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Ne budi suviše bezbožan ni lud; zašto bi umro prije vremena?
Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
18 Dobro je da držiš jedno a drugo da ne puštaš iz ruke; jer ko se boji Boga izbaviæe se od svega.
It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.
19 Mudrost krijepi èovjeka više nego deset knezova koji su u gradu.
Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
20 Doista nema èovjeka pravedna na zemlji koji tvori dobro i ne griješi.
Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
21 Ne uzimaj na um svašta što se govori, ako bi i slugu svojega èuo gdje te psuje;
Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
22 Jer srce tvoje zna da si i ti više puta psovao druge.
For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 Sve to ogledah mudrošæu i rekoh: biæu mudar; ali mudrost bješe daleko od mene.
All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
24 Što je tako daleko i vrlo duboko, ko æe naæi?
What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
25 Okretoh se srcem svojim da poznam i izvidim i iznaðem mudrost i razum, i da poznam bezbožnost ludosti i ludost bezumlja.
I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.
26 I naðoh da je grèa od smrti žena kojoj je srce mreža i pruglo, kojoj su ruke okovi; ko je mio Bogu, saèuvaæe se od nje, a grješnika æe uhvatiti ona.
And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.
27 Gle, to naðoh, veli propovjednik, jedno prema drugom, tražeæi da razumijem.
“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
28 Još traži duša moja, ali ne naðoh. Èovjeka jednoga u tisuæi naðoh, ali žene meðu svjema ne naðoh.
While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.
29 Samo, gle, ovo naðoh: da je Bog stvorio èovjeka dobra; a oni traže svakojake pomisli.
Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
