1Kes on nagu tark, ja kes oskab asja seletada? Inimese tarkus valgustab ta nägu ja ta näo karmus muutub.
1Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
2Mina ütlen: Pea kuninga käsku Jumalale antud vande pärast!
2I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.
3Ära tõtta tema palge eest ära, et sa ei satuks halva asja sisse, sest tema teeb kõik, mida ta tahab!
3Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,
4Sest kuninga sõnal on meelevald, ja kes võiks temale öelda: 'Mis sa teed?'
4for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5Käsu täitjale ei sünni kurja, ning targa süda teab aega ja kohut.
5Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure.
6Sest igal asjal on aeg ja kohus. Kuid inimesele on suureks õnnetuseks,
6For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.
7et ta ei tea, mis tuleb, sest kes ütleb temale, missugusel viisil see tuleb?
7For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?
8Ei ole inimene tuule valitseja, et ta tuult võiks peatada, ja kellelgi pole meelevalda surmapäeva üle; sõjast ei ole pääsu ja ülekohus ei päästa seda, kes ülekohut teeb.
8There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.
9Seda kõike ma nägin, kui ma tähele panin kõike tööd, mida tehakse päikese all: on aeg, mil inimene valitseb inimese üle, et temale kurja teha.
9All this have I seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.
10Siis ma nägin, kuidas õelad maeti maha, ja tuldi ning kõnniti pühast paigast välja; aga linnas unustati need, kes olid õigesti teinud. Seegi on tühi töö!
10So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.
11Kui otsust kuriteo kohta kiiresti ei tehta, siis kasvab inimlaste julgus kurja teha.
11Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
12Ehk küll patune teeb sada korda kurja ja pikendab oma päevi, tean ma siiski, et neil, kes Jumalat kardavad, käib käsi hästi, sellepärast et nad tema palet kardavad,
12Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.
13kuna õela käsi ei käi hästi ja tema ei pikenda oma varjusarnaseid päevi, sellepärast et ta Jumala palet ei karda.
13But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow; because he doesn’t fear God.
14Mõttetus on seegi, mis maa peal sünnib, et on õigeid, kelle käsi käib, nagu oleksid nad teinud õelate tegusid, ja et on õelaid, kelle käsi käib, nagu oleksid nad teinud õigete tegusid. Ma ütlen: Seegi on tühi töö!
14There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
15Seepärast ma ülistan rõõmu, sest inimesel ei ole muud paremat päikese all kui süüa ja juua ning rõõmus olla; see saatku teda ta vaevas tema elupäevil, mis Jumal temale annab päikese all!
15Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
16Kui ma pühendasin oma südame sellele, et õppida tarkust ja vaadata tegusid, mis maa peal tehakse päeval ja ööl ilma undki silmi saamata,
16When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (for also there is that neither day nor night sees sleep with his eyes),
17siis ma nägin kõigist Jumala tegudest, et inimene ei suuda mõista, mis sünnib päikese all; kuigi inimene näeb otsides vaeva, ei mõista ta ometi. Jah, isegi kui tark ütleks, et tema teab, ei suudaks ta siiski mõista.
17then I saw all the work of God, that man can’t find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it.