¹For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hatred, man doesn’t know it; all is before them.

¹Visa apsvarstęs, supratau, kad teisusis, išmintingasis ir jų darbai yra Dievo rankose. Žmogus nežino, ar jo laukia meilė, ar neapykanta.

²All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, to the clean, to the unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who doesn’t sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath, as he who fears an oath.

²Visiems yra vienodas likimas: teisiajam ir nedorėliui, geram ir blogam, švariam ir nešvariam, aukojančiam aukas ir neaukojančiam, doram ir nusidėjėliui, prisiekiančiam ir nedrįstančiam prisiekti.

³This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

³Tai yra pasaulio blogybė­tas pats likimas visiems. Visų širdys yra pilnos piktybių, ir beprotybė pasilieka žmonių širdyse, kol jie gyvena, o po to­pas mirusiuosius.

⁴For to him who is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

⁴Kol žmogus gyvas, jis turi vilties. Gyvas šuo vertingesnis už negyvą liūtą.

⁵For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything, neither do they have any more a reward; for their memory is forgotten.

⁵Gyvieji žino, kad jie mirs, bet mirusieji nieko nebežino. Jie nebesulauks jokio atlyginimo ir bus užmiršti.

⁶Also their love, their hatred, and their envy has perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.

⁶Jų meilė, neapykanta ir pavydas dingo; jie nebeturi jokios dalies pasaulyje.

⁷Go your way—eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.

⁷Valgyk linksmas savo duoną, gerai nusiteikęs, gerk vyną, nes Dievas dabar priima tavo darbus.

⁸Let your garments be always white, and don’t let your head lack oil.

⁸Tebūna tavo drabužiai visados balti ir tegul netrūksta tavo galvai aliejaus.

⁹Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun.

⁹Džiaukis gyvenimu, kurį tau Dievas davė, kartu su žmona, kurią myli. Tokia yra tavo gyvenimo dalis šiame pasaulyje.

¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol Sheol is the place of the dead. , where you are going.

¹⁰Ką gali, daryk dabar, nes kape, į kurį eisi, nebus nei darbo, nei minčių, nei supratimo, nei išminties.

¹¹I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.

¹¹Aš pastebėjau pasaulyje, kad lenktynes laimi ne greitieji, karus ne drąsieji, duonos turi ne išmintingieji, turtus ne protingieji ir palankumą ne sumanieji. Visa priklauso nuo laiko ir atsitiktinumo.

¹²For man also doesn’t know his time. As the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.

¹²Žmonės nežino savo laiko kaip ir žuvys, kurios sugaunamos tinklu, arba kaip paukščiai, kurie pagaunami spąstais. Žmonės patenka į nelaimės spąstus, kai jie to visai nesitiki.

¹³I have also seen wisdom under the sun in this way, and it seemed great to me.

¹³Aš mačiau tokią išmintį po saule, ir man ji pasirodė didelė.

¹⁴There was a little city, and few men within it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.

¹⁴Buvo mažas miestas, kuriame gyveno nedaug žmonių. Atėjo galingas karalius, apsupo jį ir pristatė didelių įtvirtinimų.

¹⁵Now a poor wise man was found in it, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.

¹⁵Mieste gyveno neturtingas, bet išmintingas žmogus. Savo išmintimi jis išlaisvino miestą. Tačiau niekas neatsiminė to beturčio žmogaus.

¹⁶Then I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

¹⁶Tada aš tariau: “Išmintis vertingesnė už jėgą”. Bet beturčio išmintis buvo paniekinta, ir niekas jo žodžių neklausė.

¹⁷The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools.

¹⁷Išmintingojo ramiai pasakytų žodžių klausoma labiau negu šauksmo to, kuris vadovauja kvailiams.

¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroys much good.

¹⁸Išmintis vertingesnė už ginklus. Vienas nusidėjėlis gali daug blogo padaryti.