Ecclesiastes 11

1 Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days.

Svoj kruh vrzi na vode, kajti našel ga boš po mnogih dneh.

2 Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don’t know what evil will be on the earth.

Daj delež sedmim in tudi osmemu, kajti ne veš kakšno zlo bo na zemlji.

3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there shall it be.

Če so oblaki polni dežja, se izlijejo na zemljo, in če drevo pade proti jugu ali proti severu, na kraj, kamor drevo pade, tam bo.

4 He who observes the wind won’t sow; and he who regards the clouds won’t reap.

Kdor opazuje veter, ne bo sejal in kdor se ozira na oblake, ne bo žel.

5 As you don’t know what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child; even so you don’t know the work of God who does all.

Kakor ne veš kakšna je pot duha niti kako rastejo kosti v maternici tiste, ki je z otrokom; tako ne poznaš del Boga, ki dela vse.

6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don’t withhold your hand; for you don’t know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both will be equally good.

Zjutraj sej svoje seme in zvečer ne zadržuj svoje roke, kajti ne veš, ali bo uspevalo to ali ono, ali pa bosta oba enako dobra.

7 Truly the light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to see the sun.

Resnično, svetloba je prijazna in prijetna stvar je za oči, da gledajo sonce,

8 Yes, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity.

toda če človek živi mnogo let in se veseli v njih vseh, naj se vendar spomni dni teme, kajti mnogo jih bo. Vse, kar prihaja, je ničevost.

9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

Razveseli se, oh mladenič, v svoji mladosti in naj te tvoje srce spodbuja v dneh tvoje mladosti in hodi po poteh svojega srca in za pogledom svojih oči; toda vedi, da te bo Bog zaradi vseh teh stvari privedel v obsodbo.

10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Zatorej od svojega srca odstrani bridkost in odloži zlo od svojega mesa, kajti otroštvo in mladost sta ničevost.