Propovjednik 4

Biblija Hrvatski	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Opet stadoh promatrati sva nasilja koja se čine pod suncem, i gle, suze potlačenih, i nikog nema da ih otre; i nasilje iz tlačiteljske ruke, a zaštitnika niotkuda.	1 Again I considered all the oppressions that take place under the sun: the tears of the victims with none to comfort them! From the hand of their oppressors comes violence, and there is none to comfort them!
2 Zato sretnima smatram mrtve koji su već pomrli; sretniji su od živih što još žive.	2 And those now dead, I declared more fortunate in death than are the living to be still alive.
3 A od obojih je sretniji onaj koji još nije postao, koji nije vidio zlih djela što se čine pod suncem.	3 And better off than both is the yet unborn, who has not seen the wicked work that is done under the sun.
4 Nadalje iskusih da svaki napor i svaki uspjeh pribavlja čovjeku zavist njegova bližnjeg. I to je ispraznost i pusta tlapnja.	4 Then I saw that all toil and skillful work is the rivalry of one man for another. This also is vanity and a chase after wind.
5 Bezumnik prekriži ruke i izjeda sebe.	5 "The fool folds his arms and consumes his own flesh"--
6 Bolja je puna šaka u miru nego obje pregršti mučna rada i puste tlapnje.	6 Better is one handful with tranquility than two with toil and a chase after wind!
7 I još jednu opazih ispraznost pod suncem:	7 Again I found this vanity under the sun:
8 Čovjek potpun samac – bez sina, bez brata, i opet nema kraja njegovu trudu; oči mu se ne mogu nasititi blaga; a ne misli: za koga se mučim i uskraćujem dobro sebi? I to je ispraznost i zla briga.	8 a solitary man with no companion; with neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his toil, and riches do not satisfy his greed. "For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good things?" This also is vanity and a worthless task.
9 Bolje je dvojici nego jednome, jer imaju bolju plaću za svoj trud.	9 Two are better than one: they get a good wage for their labor.
10 Padne li jedan, drugi će ga podići; a teško jednomu! Ako padne, nema nikoga da ga podigne.	10 If the one falls, the other will lift up his companion. Woe to the solitary man! For if he should fall, he has no one to lift him up.
11 Pa ako se i spava udvoje, toplije je; a kako će se samac zagrijati?	11 So also, if two sleep together, they keep each other warm. How can one alone keep warm?
12 I ako tko udari na jednoga, dvojica će mu se oprijeti; i trostruko se uže ne kida brzo.	12 Where a lone man may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord is not easily broken.
13 Bolji je mladić siromašan a mudar nego kralj star a lud, koji više ne zna za savjet.	13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows caution;
14 Jer mladić može izići iz tamnice i postati kraljem, iako se rodio kao prosjak u svom kraljevstvu.	14 for from a prison house one comes forth to rule, since even in his royalty he was poor at birth.
15 Opazih kako svi koji žive i hode pod suncem pristaju uz mladića, uz nastupnika koji ga naslijedi.	15 Then I saw all those who are to live and move about under the sun with the heir apparent who will succeed to his place.
16 On stupa na čelo bezbrojnih podanika i kasniji se naraštaji ne mogahu zbog njega radovati. I to je zacijelo ispraznost i pusta tlapnja.	16 There is no end to all these people, to all over whom he takes precedence; yet the later generations will not applaud him. This also is vanity and a chase after wind.
17 Kad odlaziš u Božji dom, pazi na korake svoje. Priđi da mogneš čuti – žrtva je valjanija nego prinos luđakâ, jer oni i ne znaju da čine zlo.	17 Guard your step when you go to the house of God. Let your approach be obedience, rather than the fools' offering of sacrifice; for they know not how to keep from doing evil.