Ecclesiastes 10
1 Pestilent flies will corrupt a preparation of sweet ointment: [and] a little wisdom is more precious than great glory of folly.
Mrtve muhe lekarnarjevemu mazilu povzročijo, da od sebe širi smrdljiv vonj; tako je majhna neumnost tistemu, ki ima sloves zaradi modrosti in časti.
2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.
Srce modrega človeka je pri njegovi desnici, toda bedakovo srce pri njegovi levici.
3 Yea, and whenever a fool walks by the way, his heart will fail him, and all that he thinks of is folly.
Da, tudi kadar kdor je bedak, hodi po poti, ga njegova modrost izneverja in vsakemu govori, da je bedak.
4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for soothing will put an end to great offences.
Če vladarjev duh vstane zoper tebe, ne zapusti svojega mesta, kajti ustrežljivost pomirja velike prestopke.
5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, wherein an error has proceeded from the ruler.
Je zlo, ki sem ga videl pod soncem, kakor pomota, ki izvira od vladarja:
6 The fool has been set in very high places, while rich men would sit in a low one.
neumnost je postavljena na visoko dostojanstvo, bogati pa sedijo na nizkem kraju.
7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants on the earth.
Videl sem služabnike na konjih, prince pa hoditi kakor služabniki po tleh.
8 He that digs a pit shall fall into it; and him that breaks down a hedge a serpent shall bite.
Kdor koplje jamo, bo padel vanjo, kdorkoli pa lomi ograjo, ga bo pičila kača.
9 He that removes stones shall be troubled thereby; he that cleaves wood shall be endangered thereby.
Kdorkoli odstranja kamne, bo z njimi poškodovan in kdor cepi drva, bo s tem izpostavljen nevarnosti.
10 If the axe-head should fall off, then the man troubles his countenance, and he must put forth more strength: and [in that case] skill is of no advantage to a man.
Če je železo topo in ne nabrusi ostrine, potem mora vložiti več moči; toda modrost je koristna, da usmerja.
11 If a serpent bite when there is no [charmer's] whisper, then there is no advantage to the charmer.
Zagotovo bo kača pičila brez izrekanja uroka in blebetavec ni boljši.
12 The words of a wise mouth are gracious: but the lips of a fool will swallow him up.
Besede iz ust modrega moža so milostljive, toda ustnice bedaka bodo samega sebe pogoltnile.
13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is folly: and the end of his talk mischievous madness.
Začetek besed iz njegovih ust je nespametnost, konec njegovega govora pa je pogubna norost.
14 A fool moreover multiplies words: man knows not what has been, nor what will be: who shall tell him what will come after him?
Tudi bedak je poln besed. Človek ne more povedati kaj bo, in kaj bo za njim, kdo mu lahko pove?
15 The labour of fools will afflict them, [as that of one] who knows not to go to the city.
Trud nespametnih izčrpava vsakogar izmed njih, ker ne ve kako iti do mesta.
16 Woe to thee, O city, whose king is young, and thy princes eat in the morning!
Gorje tebi, oh dežela, kadar je tvoj kralj otrok in tvoji princi jedo zjutraj!
17 Blessed art thou, O land, whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes shall eat seasonably, for strength, and shall not be ashamed.
Blagoslovljena si ti, oh dežela, kadar je tvoj kralj sin plemičev in tvoji princi jedo v pravšnjem obdobju, za moč in ne za pijanost!
18 By slothful neglect a building will be brought low: and by idleness of the hands the house will fall to pieces.
Z veliko lenobe zgradba propada in zaradi brezdelja rok kaplja skozi hišo.
19 Men prepare bread for laughter, and wine and oil that the living should rejoice: but to money all things will humbly yield obedience.
Praznovanje je narejeno za smeh in vino dela vesele, toda denar odgovarja vsem stvarem.
20 Even in thy conscience, curse not the king; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry thy voice, and that which has wings shall report thy speech.
Ne preklinjaj kralja niti v svojih mislih in ne preklinjaj bogatega v svoji spalnici, kajti zračna ptica bo odnesla glas in kar ima peruti, bo povedalo zadevo.
