Ecclesiastes, 7

1. Why is it necessary for a man to seek things that are greater than himself, when he does not know what is advantageous for himself in his life, during the number of the days of his sojourn, and while time passes by like a shadow? Or who will be able to tell him what will be in the future after him under the sun?

1. Bolji je dobar glas nego skupocjeno ulje, i smrtni dan nego dan roðenja.

2. A good name is better than precious ointments, and a day of death is better than a day of birth.

2. Bolje je iæi u kuæu gdje je žalost nego u kuæu gdje je gozba, jer ondje je kraj svakoga èovjeka, i tko je živ, nek' primi k srcu!

3. It is better to go to a house of mourning, than to a house of feasting. For in the former, we are admonished about the end of all things, so that the living consider what may be in the future.

3. Bolji je jad nego smijeh, jer pod žalosnim licem srce je radosno.

4. Anger is better than laughter. For through the sadness of the countenance, the soul of one who offends may be corrected.

4. Srce je mudrih ljudi u kuæi žalosti, a srce bezumnih u kuæi veselja.

5. The heart of the wise is a place of mourning, and the heart of the foolish is a place of rejoicing.

5. Bolje je poslušati ukor mudra èovjeka negoli slušati hvalospjev luðaka.

6. It is better to be corrected by a wise man, than to be deceived by the false praise of the foolish.

6. Jer kao prasak trnja ispod kotla, takav je smijeh luðaka, i to je ispraznost.

7. For, like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, so is the laughter of the foolish. But this, too, is emptiness.

7. Jer smijeh od mudraca èini luðaka i veselje kvari srce.

8. A false accusation troubles the wise man and saps the strength of his heart.

8. Bolji je svršetak stvari nego njezin poèetak i bolja je strpljivost od oholosti.

9. The end of a speech is better than the beginning. Patience is better than arrogance.

9. Ne nagli u srdžbu, jer srdžba poèiva u srcu luðaka.

10. Do not be quickly moved to anger. For anger resides in the sinews of the foolish.

10. Ne pitaj zašto su negdašnja vremena bila bolja od ovih, jer to nije mudro pitanje.

11. You should not say: “What do you think is the reason that the former times were better than they are now?” For this type of question is foolish.

11. Mudrost je dragocjena baština i probitak onima na koje sunce sja.

12. Wisdom with riches is more useful and more advantageous, for those who see the sun.

12. Jer kao što je novac zaštita, tako je i mudrost; a prednost je mudrosti u tome što izbavlja onoga tko je ima.

13. For as wisdom protects, so also does money protect. But learning and wisdom have this much more: that they grant life to one who possesses them.

13. Pogledaj djela Božja; tko može ispraviti što je on iskrivio?

14. Consider the works of God, that no one is able to correct whomever he has despised.

14. U sretan dan uživaj sreæu, a u zao dan razmišljaj: Bog je stvorio jedno kao i drugo - da èovjek ne otkrije ništa od svoje buduænosti.

15. In good times, enjoy good things, but beware of an evil time. For just as God has establish the one, so also the other, in order that man may not find any just complaint against him.

15. Svašta vidjeh u svojemu ništavnom životu: pravednik propada unatoè svojoj pravednosti, a bezbožnik i dalje živi unatoè svojoj bezbožnosti.

16. I also saw this, in the days of my vanity: a just man perishing in his justice, and an impious man living a long time in his malice.

16. Ne budi prepravedan i ne budi premudar; zašto da se uništavaš?

17. Do not try to be overly just, and do not try to be more wise than is necessary, lest you become stupid.

17. Ne budi preopak i ne budi lud; zašto bi umro prije vremena?

18. Do not act with great impiety, and do not choose to be foolish, lest you die before your time.

18. Dobro je da držiš jedno, ali ni drugo ne puštaj iz ruke, jer tko se boji Boga, izbavlja se od svega.

19. It is good for you to support a just man. Furthermore, you should not withdraw your hand from him, for whoever fears God, neglects nothing.

19. Mudrost mudraca veæu moæ daje gradu nego deset moguænika.

20. Wisdom has strengthened the wise more than ten princes of a city.

20. Na zemlji nema pravednika koji, èineæi dobro, ne bi nikad sagriješio.

21. But there is no just man on earth, who does good and does not sin.

21. I još jedno: nemoj se obazirati na govorkanje; èut æeš možda da te sluga tvoj proklinjao;

22. So then, do not attach your heart to every word that is spoken, lest perhaps you may hear your servant speaking ill of you.

22. a zna tvoje srce kako si i ti èesto druge proklinjao.

23. For your conscience knows that you, too, have repeatedly spoken evil of others.

23. Sve sam to mudrošæu iskušao. Mislio sam da sam mudar, ali mi je mudrost bila nedokuèiva.

24. I have tested everything in wisdom. I have said: “I will be wise.” And wisdom withdrew farther from me,

24. Ono što jest, daleko je i duboko, tako duboko - tko da i pronaðe?

25. so much more than it was before. Wisdom is very profound, so who shall reveal her?

25. I još jednom pokušah istražiti i shvatiti mudrost i smisao, da spoznam opaèinu kao ludost, a ludost kao bezumlje.

26. I have examined all things in my soul, so that I may know, and consider, and seek out wisdom and reason, and so that I may recognize the impiety of the foolish, and the error of the imprudent.

26. Otkrih da ima nešto gorèe od smrti - žena, ona je zamka, srce joj je mreža, a ruke okovi; tko je Bogu drag, izmièe joj, a grešnik je njezin sužanj.

27. And I have discovered a woman more bitter than death: she who is like the snare of a hunter, and whose heart is like a net, and whose hands are like chains. Whoever pleases God shall flee from her. But whoever is a sinner shall be seized by her.

27. Eto, to sam sve u svemu otkrio, veli Propovjednik.

28. Behold, Ecclesiastes said, I have discovered these things, one after another, in order that I might discover the explanation

28. I još sam tražio, ali bez uspjeha. Naðoh èovjeka - jednog od tisuæu, a žene ne naðoh meðu svima nijedne.

29. which my soul still seeks and has not found. One man among a thousand, I have found; a woman among them all, I have not found.

29. Otkrih ovo: Bog stvori èovjeka jednostavnim, a on snuje nebrojene spletke.

30. This alone have I discovered: that God made man righteous, and yet he has adulterated himself with innumerable questions. Who is so great as the wise? And who has understood the meaning of the word?

30.