Predikaren 2
1 Jag sade i mitt hjerta: Nu väl, jag vill lefva väl, och göra mig goda dagar; men si, det var ock fåfängelighet.
[Then] I said to myself, “Okay, I will try to do everything that I enjoy. I will find out whether doing what I enjoy can truly enable me to be happy.” But I found out that doing that was also useless/senseless.
2 Jag sade till löjet: Du äst galet; och till glädjena: Hvad gör du?
[So] I said [to myself], “It is foolish to laugh [all the time], and continually doing what I enjoy does not seem to bring any lasting benefit.”
3 Då tänkte Jag i mitt hjerta att hålla mitt kött ifrå vin, och hålla mitt hjerta till vishet, att jag måtte klok varda, tilldess jag måtte lära, hvad menniskomen nyttigt vore till att göra, så länge de lefva under himmelen.
[So], after thinking a lot about it, I decided to (cheer myself/cause myself to be happy) by drinking [a lot of] wine. [So] while I was still trying to be wise, I decided to do things that [many] people do to be happy during the short time that they are alive on the earth.
4 Jag gjorde stor ting; jag byggde hus, planterade vingårdar;
I did great things: I [caused] houses to be built for myself and vineyards to be planted.
5 Jag gjorde mig örtagårdar och trägårdar, och planterade deruti allehanda fruktsam trä;
I [told my workers] to make gardens and parks. [Then] I [told them to] fill the gardens with many kinds of fruit trees.
6 Jag gjorde mig dammar, till att vattna skogen af de gröna trä;
I [told them to] build reservoirs to store water to irrigate the fruit trees.
7 Jag hade tjenare och tjenarinnor, och tjenstefolk; jag hade större ägodelar i fä och får, än alle de som för mig voro i Jerusalem;
I bought male and female slaves, and babies [who later became my slaves] were born in my palace. I also owned more livestock than any of the previous kings in Jerusalem had owned.
8 Jag församlade mig ock silfver och guld, och en skatt af Konungom och landom; jag beställde mig sångare och sångerskor, och menniskors vällust, allahanda strängaspel;
I also accumulated large amounts of silver and gold [that were paid to me] from the treasures of kings and rulers of provinces. [I hired] men and women to sing for me, and I had many (concubines/slave wives) who gave me [much] pleasure [EUP].
9 Och förkofrade mig öfver alla de som för mig varit hade i Jerusalem; blef ock vishet när mig;
So, I became greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was [very] wise.
10 Och allt det min ögon önskade, lät jag dem få, och förtog mino hjerta ingen glädje, så att det gladdes af allt mitt arbete. Och det höll jag för min del af allt mitt arbete.
I got everything [LIT] that I [SYN] saw and wanted. I did everything [LIT] that I thought would enable me to be happy. All those things that I [SYN] enjoyed were [like] a reward for all my hard work.
11 Men då jag såg på all min verk, som min hand gjort hade, och den mödo, som jag haft hade; si, då var det allt fåfängelighet och jämmer, och intet annat under solene.
[But] then I thought about all the hard work that I [SYN] had done [to get all those things], and none of it seems to bring any lasting benefit [DOU]. It was all [like] chasing the wind.
12 Då vände jag mig till att se vishet ( och klokhet ), galenskap och dårskap; ty hvilken är den menniska, som det göra kan efter Konungenom, den henne gjort hafver?
Then I started to think about being wise, and [also about] being foolish [DOU]. [I said to myself, “I certainly do not think that] [RHQ] the next king will be able to do anything better than I can.”
13 Då såg jag, att visheten öfvergick dårskapen, såsom ljuset mörkret;
And I thought, “Surely it is better to be wise than to be foolish, like light is better than darkness,
14 Så att den vise hafver sin ögon i hufvudet, men de dårar gå i mörkret; och märkte dock, att dem ena går som dem andra.
[because] wise people [walk in the daylight and] [IDM] can see where they are going, but foolish people walk in the darkness [and cannot see where they are going].” But I [also] realized that both wise people and foolish people eventually die.
15 Då tänkte jag i mitt hjerta: Medan dem galnom går såsom mig, hvarföre hafver jag då farit efter vishet? Då tänkte jag i mitt hjerta, att sådant är ock fåfängelighet.
So I said to myself, “I am very wise, but I will [die at the end of my life], like foolish people do. So (how has it benefited me to be very wise?/it certainly has not benefited me to be very wise [RHQ]). I do not understand why [people consider that] it is valuable to be wise.
16 Ty man tänker icke på den visa evinnerliga, såsom icke heller på den galna; och de tillkommande dagar förgäta allt; och såsom den vise dör, så ock den galne.
Wise people and foolish people all die. And after we die, we will all eventually be forgotten [DOU].”
17 Derföre leddes mig lefva; ty det behagade mig illa allt det under solene sker, att det så allstings fåfängeligit och mödosamt är.
So I hated being alive, because everything that we do here on the earth [MTY] distresses me. It all seems to be useless [like] chasing the wind.
18 Och mig leddes vid allt mitt arbete som jag under solene hade, att jag måste lefva det ene mennisko, som efter mig komma skulle;
I [also began to] hate all the hard work that I had done, because [when I die], everything [that I have acquired] will belong to the next king.
19 Ty ho vet, om han skall varda vis eller galen; och skall dock råda öfver allt mitt arbete, det jag hafver visliga gjort under solen. Det är ock fåfängelighet.
And (who/no one) knows [RHQ] whether he will be wise or whether he will be foolish. But even if he is foolish, he will acquire all the things that I worked very hard and wisely to get.
20 Derföre vände jag mig, att mitt hjerta skulle aflåta af allo arbete, som jag gjorde under solene.
I thought about all the hard work that I had done. [It seemed useless], and I became depressed/discouraged.
21 Ty en menniska, som sitt arbete med vishet, förnuft och skickelighet gjort hafver, det måste hon låta enom androm till arfs, den deruppå intet arbetat hafver; det är ock fåfängelighet, och en stor olycka.
Some people work wisely and skillfully, using the things that they have learned. But [when they die], they leave everything, and someone who has not worked hard acquires those things. And that also [seemed to] be senseless and caused me to be discouraged.
22 Ty hvad får menniskan af allt sitt arbete, och hjertans bekymmer, hon hafver under solene;
So, it seems that people do not [RHQ] get much for all the hard work that they do and for worrying.
23 Utan sveda, grämelse och sorg, i alla sina lifsdagar; så att ock hennes hjerta icke kan hafva ro om nattena? Det är ock fåfängelighet.
Every day the work that they do causes them to experience pain and to be worried. And during the night, their minds are not able to rest. That also is very frustrating.
24 Är då nu menniskone icke bättre äta och dricka, och göra sine själ goda dagar i sitt arbete? Men det såg jag ock, att det kommer af Guds hand.
[So I decided that] the best thing that we can do is to enjoy what we eat and drink, and [also] enjoy our work. And I realized that those things are what God intends for us.
25 Ty ho hafver gladare ätit, och kräseligare lefvat, än jag?
There is absolutely no one [RHQ] who is able to enjoy those things if God does not give those things to him.
26 Ty den menniska, som honom täck är, gifver han vishet, förnuft och glädje; men syndarenom gifver han olycko, att han församlar och lägger tillhopa, och det varder dock dem gifvet, som Gudi täck är; ty är det ock icke annat än jämmer.
God enables those who please him to be wise, to know [many things], and to enjoy [many things]. But if sinful people work hard and become rich, God [can] take their money away from them and give it to those who please him. But that also is something that is difficult for me to understand. [Their working hard seems] useless, [like] chasing the wind.
