Pridigar 7
1 Dobro ime je boljše kakor dragoceno mazilo in dan smrti [je boljši] kakor dan rojstva nekoga.
A good name is better than fine perfume; and the day of death better than the day of one’s birth.
2 Bolje je iti v hišo žalujočega, kakor iti v hišo pojedine, kajti to je konec vseh ljudi; in živi si bodo to položili k srcu.
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men, and the living should take this to heart.
3 Bridkost je boljša kot smeh, kajti z žalostjo obličja je srce postalo boljše.
Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made good.
4 Srce modrega je v hiši žalovanja, toda srce bedakov je v hiši veselja.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
5 Bolje je poslušati oštevanje modrega, kakor za človeka poslušati pesem bedakov.
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools.
6 Kajti kakor je prasketanje trnja pod loncem, tak je smeh bedaka. Tudi to je ničevost.
For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.
7 Zatiranje modrega zagotovo dela besnega in podkupnina uničuje srce.
Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.
8 Boljši je konec stvari kakor njen začetek, in potrpežljivi v duhu je boljši kakor ponosni v duhu.
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
9 V svojem duhu ne bodi nagel, da bi bil jezen, kajti jeza počiva v naročju bedakov.
Don’t be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.
10 Ne reci: »Kaj je razlog, da so bili prejšnji dnevi boljši kakor tile?« Kajti glede tega nisi modro poizvedel.
Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not ask wisely about this.
11 Modrost je dobra z dediščino; in z njo je korist tistim, ki gledajo sonce.
Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. Yes, it is more excellent for those who see the sun.
12 Kajti modrost je obramba in denar je obramba, toda odličnost spoznanja je, da modrost daje življenje tem, ki jo imajo.
For wisdom is a defense, even as money is a defense; but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
13 Preudari Gospodovo delo, kajti kdo lahko izravna to, kar je on skrivil?
Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight which he has made crooked?
14 Na dan uspevanja bodi radosten, toda na dan nadloge preudari; tudi Bog je postavil enega nasproti drugemu, z namenom, da človek ne bi ničesar našel za njim.
In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; yes, God has made the one side by side with the other, to the end that man should not find out anything after him.
15 Vse stvari sem videl v dneh svoje ničevosti. Je pravičen človek, ki propada v svoji pravičnosti in je zloben človek, ki v svoji zlobnosti podaljšuje svoje življenje.
All this I have seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in his evildoing.
16 Ne bodi preko mere pravičen niti se ne delaj preveč modrega. Zakaj bi samega sebe uničil?
Don’t be overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
17 Ne bodi preveč zloben niti ne bodi nespameten. Zakaj bi umrl pred svojim časom?
Don’t be too wicked, neither be foolish. Why should you die before your time?
18 Dobro je, da bi to zgrabil, da, tudi pred tem ne umikaj svoje roke, kajti kdor se boji Boga, bo izmed vseh prišel naprej.
It is good that you should take hold of this. Yes, also don’t withdraw your hand from that; for he who fears God will come out of them all.
19 Modrost krepi modrega bolj kakor deset silnih mož, ki so v mestu.
Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.
20 Kajti na zemlji ni pravičnega človeka, ki dela dobro in ne greši.
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and doesn’t sin.
21 Prav tako se ne oziraj na vse besede, ki so izgovorjene, da ne bi slišal svojega služabnika [kako] te preklinja,
Also don’t take heed to all words that are spoken, lest you hear your servant curse you;
22 kajti pogosto tudi tvoje lastno srce ve, da si ti sam podobno preklinjal druge.
for often your own heart knows that you yourself have likewise cursed others.
23 Vse to sem preizkusil z modrostjo. Rekel sem: »Moder bom, « toda to je bilo daleč od mene.
All this I have proved in wisdom. I said, “I will be wise;” but it was far from me.
24 To, kar je daleč proč in presegajoče globoko, kdo to lahko spozna?
That which is, is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it out?
25 Svoje srce sem posvetil védenju in preiskovanju in iskanju modrosti in razlogu za stvari in da spoznam zlobnost neumnosti, celo nespametnost in norost.
I turned around, and my heart sought to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity, and that foolishness is madness.
26 Našel sem grenkejše kakor smrt, žensko, čigar srce so pasti in mreže in njene roke kakor trakovi. Kdorkoli ugaja Bogu, bo zbežal pred njo, toda grešnik bo vzet po njej.
I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.
27 »Glej, to sem našel, « pravi pridigar, naštevajoč enega za drugim, da spozna razlog.
“Behold, I have found this,” says Kohelet, “to one another, to find an explanation
28 Kar vendar moja duša išče, toda ne najdem. Našel sem enega med tisočimi, toda ženske med vsemi tistimi nisem našel.
which my soul still seeks, but I have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all those.
29 Glej, samo to sem našel, da je Bog človeka naredil poštenega, toda oni so iskali mnoge domiselnosti.
Behold, I have only found this: that God made mankind upright; but they search for many inventions.”
