Ecclesiastes, 8

1. The wisdom of a man shines in his countenance, and even the expression of a most powerful man will change.

1. Tko je kao mudrac? Tko još umije tumaèiti stvari? Mudrost èovjeku razvedruje lice i mijenja njegov namršteni lik.

2. I heed the mouth of the king, and the commandment of an oath to God.

2. Zato velim: slušaj kraljevu zapovijed zbog Božje zakletve.

3. You should not hastily withdraw from his presence, nor should you remain in an evil work. For all that pleases him, he will do.

3. Ne nagli da je prekršiš: ne budi tvrdoglav kad razlog nije dobar, jer on èini kako mu odgovara.

4. And his word is filled with authority. Neither is anyone able to say to him: “Why are you acting this way?”

4. Jer kraljeva je rijeè najjaèa, i tko ga smije pitati: "Što èiniš?"

5. Whoever keeps the commandment will not experience evil. The heart of a wise man understands the time to respond.

5. Tko se drži zapovijedi, ne poznaje nevolju, i mudrac zna za vrijeme i sud.

6. For every matter, there is a time and an opportunity, as well as many difficulties, for man.

6. Jer postoji vrijeme i sud za sve, i èovjeka veoma tereti nedjelo njegovo

7. For he is ignorant of the past, and he is able to know nothing of the future by means of a messenger.

7. jer on ne zna što æe biti; a tko mu može kazati kad æe što biti?

8. It is not in the power of a man to prohibit the spirit, nor does he have authority over the day of death, nor is he permitted to rest when war breaks out, and neither will impiety save the impious.

8. Vjetar nitko ne može svladati, niti gospodariti nad danom smrtnim, niti ima odgode u ratu; niti opaèina izbavlja onoga koji je èini.

9. I have considered all these things, and I have applied my heart to all the works which are being done under the sun. Sometimes one man rules over another to his own harm.

9. Sve ovo vidjeh pazeæi na sve što se èini pod suncem, kad èovjek vlada nad èovjekom na njegovu nesreæu.

10. I have seen the impious buried. These same, while they were still living, were in the holy place, and they were praised in the city as workers of justice. But this, too, is emptiness.

10. Dalje vidjeh kako opake nose na groblje, i ljudi iz svetog mjesta izlaze da ih slave zbog toga što su tako èinili. I to je ispraznost.

11. For the sons of men perpetrate evils without any fear, because judgment is not pronounced quickly against the evil.

11. Kad nema brze osude za zlo djelo, ljudsko je srce sklono èiniti zlo.

12. But although a sinner may do evil of himself one hundred times, and by patience still endure, I realize that it will be well with those who fear God, who revere his face.

12. I grešnik koji èini zlo i sto puta, dugo živi. Ja ipak znam da æe biti sretni oni koji se boje Boga jer ga se boje.

13. So, may it not go well with the impious, and may his days not be prolonged. And let those who do not fear the face of the Lord pass away like a shadow.

13. Ali opak èovjek neæe biti sretan i neæe produljivati svoje dane ni kao sjena jer se ne boji Boga.

14. There is also another vanity, which is done upon the earth. There are the just, to whom evils happen, as though they had done the works of the impious. And there are the impious, who are very secure, as though they possess the deeds of the just. But this, too, I judge to be a very great vanity.

14. Ali je na zemlji ispraznost te pravednike stiže sudbina opakih, a opake sudbina pravednika. Velim: i to je ispraznost.

15. And so, I praised rejoicing, because there was no good for a man under the sun, except to eat and drink, and to be cheerful, and because he may take nothing with him from his labor in the days of his life, which God has given to him under the sun.

15. Zato slavim veselje, jer nema èovjeku sreæe pod suncem nego u jelu, pilu i nasladi. I to neka ga prati u njegovoj muci za života koji mu Bog dade pod suncem.

16. And I applied my heart, so that I might know wisdom, and so that I might understand a disturbance that turns upon the earth: it is a man, who takes no sleep with his eyes, day and night.

16. Poslije svih napora da dokuèim mudrost, pokušah spoznati što se radi na zemlji. Uistinu, èovjek ne nalazi spokojstva ni danju ni noæu.

17. And I understood that man is able to find no explanation for all those works of God which are done under the sun. And so, the more that he labors to seek, so much the less does he find. Yes, even if a wise man were to claim that he knows, he would not be able to discover it.

17. Promatram cjelokupno djelo Božje: i odista - nitko ne može dokuèiti ono što se zbiva pod suncem. Jer ma koliko se èovjek trudio da otkrije, nikad ne može otkriti. Pa ni mudrac to ne može otkriti, iako misli da zna.