¹A good name is better than fine perfume; and the day of death better than the day of one’s birth.

¹Godt Navn er bedre end ypperlig Salve, Dødsdag bedre end Fødselsdag;

²It 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.

²bedre at gå til et Sørgehus end at gå til et Gildehus; thi hist er alle Menneskers Ende, og de levende bør tage det til Hjerte

³Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the face the heart is made good.

³Bedre Græmmelse end Latter, thi er Minerne mørke, har Hjertet det godt.

⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

⁴De vises Hjerte er i Sørgehuset. Tåbernes Hjerte i Glædeshuset.

⁵It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

⁵Bedre at høre på Vismands Skænd end at høre på Tåbers Sang.

⁶For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.

⁶Som Tjørnekvistes Knitren under Gryden er Tåbers Latter; også det er Tomhed.

⁷Surely extortion makes the wise man foolish; and a bribe destroys the understanding.

⁷Thi uredelig Vinding gør Vismand til Dåre, og Stikpenge ødelægger Hjertet.

⁸Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

⁸En Sags Udgang er bedre end dens Indgang, Tålmod er bedre end Hovmod.

⁹Don’t be hasty in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.

⁹Vær ikke hastig i dit Sind til at græmmes, thi Græmmelse bor i Tåbers Bryst.

¹⁰Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not ask wisely about this.

¹⁰Spørg ikke: "Hvoraf kommer det, at de gamle Dage var bedre end vore?" Thi således spørger du ikke med Visdom.

¹¹Wisdom is as good as an inheritance. Yes, it is more excellent for those who see the sun.

¹¹Bedre er Visdom end Arv, en Fordel for dem, som skuer Solen;

¹²For 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.

¹²thi Visdom skygger, som Penge skygger, men Kundskabs Fortrin er dette, at Visdom holder sin Mand i Live.

¹³Consider the work of God, for who can make that straight, which he has made crooked?

¹³Se på Guds Værk! Hvo kan rette, hvad han har gjort kroget?

¹⁴In 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.

¹⁴Vær ved godt Mod på den gode Dag og indse på den onde Dag, at Gud skabte denne såvel som hin, for at Mennesket ikke skal finde noget efter sig.

¹⁵All this have I 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.

¹⁵Begge Dele så jeg i mine tomme Dage: Der er retfærdige, som omkommer i deres Retfærdighed, og der er gudløse, som lever længe i deres Ondskab.

¹⁶Don’t be overly righteous, neither make yourself overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

¹⁶Vær ikke alt for retfærdig og te dig ikke overvættes viis; hvorfor vil du ødelægge dig selv?

¹⁷Don’t be too wicked, neither be foolish. Why should you die before your time?

¹⁷Vær ikke alt for gudløs og vær ingen Dåre; hvorfor vil du dø i Utide?

¹⁸It is good that you should take hold of this. Yes, also from that don’t withdraw your hand; for he who fears God will come forth from them all.

¹⁸Det bedste er, at du fastholder det ene og ikke slipper det andet; thi den, der frygter Gud, vil undgå begge Farer.

¹⁹Wisdom is a strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

¹⁹Visdom gør Vismand stærkere end ti Magthavere i Byen.

²⁰Surely there is not a righteous man on earth, who does good and doesn’t sin.

²⁰Thi intet Menneske er så retfærdigt på Jorden, at han kun gør gode Gerninger og aldrig synder.

²¹Also don’t take heed to all words that are spoken, lest you hear your servant curse you;

²¹Giv ikke Agt på alle de Ord, Folk siger, at du ikke skal høre din Træl forbande dig;

²²for often your own heart knows that you yourself have likewise cursed others.

²²thi du ved med dig selv, at også du mange Gange har forbandet andre.

²³All this have I proved in wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”; but it was far from me.

²³Alt dette ransagede jeg med Visdom; jeg tænkte: "Jeg vil vorde viis." Men Visdom holdt sig langt fra mig;

²⁴That which is, is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it out?

²⁴Tingenes Grund er langt borte, så dyb, så dyb; hvem kan finde den?

²⁵I 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.

²⁵Jeg tog mig for at vende min Hu til Kundskab og Granskning og til at søge efter Visdom og sikker Viden og til at kende, at Gudløshed er Tåbelighed, Dårskab Vanvid.

²⁶I 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.

²⁶Og beskere end Døden fandt jeg Kvinden, thi hun er et Fangegarn; hendes Hjerfe er et Net og hendes Arme Lænker. Den, som er Gud kær, undslipper hende, men Synderen bliver hendes Fange.

²⁷“Behold, I have found this,” says the Preacher, “one to another, to find out the scheme;

²⁷Se, det fandt jeg ud, sagde Prædikeren, ved at lægge det ene til det andet for at drage min Slutning.

²⁸which my soul still seeks; but I have not found. One man among a thousand have I found; but I have not found a woman among all those.

²⁸Hvad min Sjæl stadig søgte, men ikke fandt, er dette: Een Mand fandt jeg blandt tusind, men en Kvinde fandt jeg ikke i hele Flokken.

²⁹Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they search for many schemes.”

²⁹Dog se, det fandt jeg, at Gud har skabt Menneskene, som de bør være; men de har så mange sære Ting for.