Vaiz 5

¹Ağzının üzerine aceleci olma ve Tanrı'nın huzurunda bir söz söylemek için yüreğin tez davranmasın; çünkü Tanrı yukarıda göktedir, sen ise yerdesin. Bu yüzden sözlerin az olsun.

²Çünkü rüya sınanmanın çokluğundan doğar, akılsızın sesi de sözlerin çokluğundan çıkar.

³Tanrı'ya bir adak adadığında, onu yerine getirmekte gecikme; çünkü akılsızlarda kararlı bir irade yoktur. Bu yüzden, ne adadıysan öde.

⁴Adak adayıp da yerine getirmemektense, hiç adamaman senin için daha iyidir.

⁵Ağzının bedenine günah işletmesine izin verme ve Tanrı'nın huzurunda "Bu bir yanılgıydı" deme; Tanrı senin sesine öfkelenip ellerinin eserlerini yok etmesin.

⁶Çünkü rüyaların, boş şeylerin ve çok sözlerin çokluğunda boşluk vardır; sen ise Tanrı'dan kork.

⁷Bir ülkede yoksula zulmedildiğini, adaletin ve doğruluğun gasp edildiğini görürsen bu duruma şaşma; çünkü yüksek olanın üzerinde onu gözeten daha yüksek biri vardır ve onların üzerinde de daha yüksek olanlar bulunur.

⁸Toprağın ürünü herkes içindir; kral bile işlenmiş tarlaya bağımlıdır.

⁹Gümüşü seven gümüşe doymaz; bolluğu sevenlerden hangisi onun ürününden tatmin oldu? Bu da boştur.

¹⁰Mal mülk çoğaldıkça onu yiyenler de çoğalır; sahibine ise onu gözleriyle görmekten başka ne faydası kalır?

¹¹İster az ister çok yesin, emekçinin uykusu tatlıdır; ama zenginlikle doymuş olmak zengini uyutmaz.

¹²Güneşin altında gördüğüm acı bir dert var: Sahibinin yanında onun kötülüğüne biriktirilip korunan servet.

¹³O servet kötü bir uğraşla yok olur; bir oğlu olduğunda, elinde ona verecek hiçbir şey kalmaz.

¹⁴Anasının rahminden çıplak çıktığı gibi, geldiği gibi gitmek üzere geri döner; emeğinden elinde götürebileceği hiçbir şey kalmaz.

¹⁵Bu da acı bir derttir: Nasıl geldiyse öyle gider; rüzgar için emek verenin kazancı nedir?

¹⁶Üstelik bütün günleri karanlıkta, yas içinde, büyük bir öfke, hastalık ve kızgınlıkla geçer.

¹⁷İşte, gördüğüm iyi ve güzel şey şudur: İnsanın, Tanrı'nın kendisine verdiği sayılı ömür günlerinde, güneşin altında verdiği tüm emeklerin içinde yiyip içmesi ve iyiliği görmesidir; çünkü onun payı budur.

¹⁸Ayrıca Tanrı'nın kendisine zenginlik ve mal mülk verdiği, bunlardan yemeye, kendi payını almaya ve emeğiyle sevinmeye yetkilendirdiği her insan için bu, Tanrı'nın bir armağanıdır.

¹⁹Çünkü o, ömrünün günlerini pek fazla düşünmez; çünkü Tanrı onu yüreğinin sevinciyle meşgul eder.

¹ΜΗ σπεῦδε ἐπὶ στόματί σου, καὶ καρδία σου μὴ ταχυνάτω τοῦ ἐξενέγκαι λόγον πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ· ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω, καὶ σὺ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. διὰ τοῦτο ἔστωσαν οἱ λόγοι σου ὀλίγοι.

²ὅτι παραγίνεται ἐνύπνιον ἐν πλήθει πειρασμοῦ καὶ φωνὴ ἄφρονος ἐν πλήθει λόγων.

³καθὼς ἂν εὔξῃ εὐχὴν τῷ Θεῷ, μὴ χρονίσῃς τοῦ ἀποδοῦναι αὐτήν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι θέλημα ἐν ἄφροσι· σὺ οὖν ὅσα ἐὰν εὔξῃ, ἀπόδος.

⁴ἀγαθὸν τὸ μὴ εὔξασθαί σε ἢ τὸ εὔξασθαί σε καὶ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι.

⁵μὴ δῷς τὸ στόμα σου τοῦ ἐξαμαρτῆσαι τὴν σάρκα σου καὶ μὴ εἴπῃς πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι ἄγνοιά ἐστιν, ἵνα μὴ ὀργισθῇ ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ φωνῇ σου καὶ διαφθείρῃ τὰ ποιήματα χειρῶν σου.

⁶ὅτι ἐν πλήθει ἐνυπνίων καὶ ματαιοτήτων καὶ λόγων πολλῶν, ὅτι σὺ τὸν Θεὸν φοβοῦ.

⁷᾿Εὰν συκοφαντίαν πένητος καὶ ἁρπαγὴν κρίματος καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἴδῃς ἐν χώρᾳ, μὴ θαυμάσῃς ἐπὶ τῷ πράγματι· ὅτι ὑψηλὸς ἐπάνω ὑψηλοῦ φυλάξαι, καὶ ὑψηλοὶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς.

⁸καὶ περισσεία γῆς ἐπὶ παντί ἐστι, βασιλεὺς τοῦ ἀγροῦ εἰργασμένου.

⁹᾿Αγαπῶν ἀργύριον οὐ πλησθήσεται ἀργυρίου· καὶ τίς ἠγάπησεν ἐν πλήθει αὐτῶν γένημα; καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης.

¹⁰ἐν πλήθει ἀγαθωσύνης ἐπληθύνθησαν ἔσθοντες αὐτήν· καὶ τί ἀνδρεία τῷ παρ᾿ αὐτῆς ὅτι ἀλλ᾿ ἢ τοῦ ὁρᾶν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ;

¹¹γλυκὺς ὕπνος τοῦ δούλου εἰ ὀλίγον καὶ εἰ πολὺ φάγεται· καὶ τῷ ἐμπλησθέντι τοῦ πλουτῆσαι οὐκ ἔστιν ἀφίων αὐτὸν τοῦ ὑπνῶσαι.

¹²ἔστιν ἀρρωστία, ἣν εἶδον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, πλοῦτον φυλασσόμενον τῷ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ εἰς κακίαν αὐτῷ,

¹³καὶ ἀπολεῖται ὁ πλοῦτος ἐκεῖνος ἐν περισπασμῷ πονηρῷ, καὶ ἐγέννησεν υἱόν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ οὐδέν.

¹⁴καθὼς ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ γαστρὸς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ γυμνός, ἐπιστρέψει τοῦ πορευθῆναι ὡς ἥκει, καὶ οὐδὲν οὐ λήψεται ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα πορευθῇ ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ.

¹⁵καί γε τοῦτο πονηρὰ ἀρρωστία· ὥσπερ γὰρ παρεγένετο, οὕτως καὶ ἀπελεύσεται, καὶ τίς ἡ περισσεία αὐτοῦ, ᾗ μοχθεῖ εἰς ἄνεμον;

¹⁶καί γε πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ ἐν σκότει καὶ ἐν πένθει καὶ θυμῷ πολλῷ καὶ ἀρρωστίᾳ καὶ χόλῳ.

¹⁷᾿Ιδοὺ εἶδον ἐγὼ ἀγαθόν, ὅ ἐστι καλόν, τοῦ φαγεῖν καὶ τοῦ πιεῖν καὶ τοῦ ἰδεῖν ἀγαθωσύνην ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ, ᾧ ἐὰν μοχθῇ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον ἀριθμὸν ἡμερῶν ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, ὧν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός· ὅτι αὐτὸ μερὶς αὐτοῦ.

¹⁸καί γε πᾶς ἄνθρωπος, ᾧ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς πλοῦτον καὶ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ ἐξουσίασεν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ λαβεῖν τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ εὐφρανθῆναι ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ, τοῦτο δόμα Θεοῦ ἐστιν.

¹⁹ὅτι οὐ πολλὰ μνησθήσεται τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ· ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς περισπᾷ αὐτὸν ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ καρδίας αὐτοῦ.

¹Be not hasty with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be swift to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven above, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

²For through the multitude of trial a dream comes; and a fool’s voice is with a multitude of words.

³Whenever thou shalt vow a vow to God, defer not to pay it; for [he has] no pleasure in fools: pay thou therefore whatsoever thou shalt have vowed.

⁴[It is] better that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

⁵Suffer not thy mouth to lead thy flesh to sin; and say not in the presence of God, It was an error: lest God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the works of thy hands.

⁶For [there is evil] in a multitude of dreams and vanities and many words: but fear thou God.

⁷If thou shouldest see the oppression of the poor, and the wresting of judgment and of justice in the land, wonder not at the matter: for [there is] a high one to watch over him that is high, and high ones over them.

⁸Also the abundance of the earth is for every one: the king [is dependent on] the tilled field.

⁹He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver: and who has loved gain, in the abundance thereof? this is also vanity.

¹⁰In the multitude of good they are increased that eat it: and what virtue has the owner, but the right of beholding [it] with his eyes?

¹¹The sleep of a servant is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but to one who is satiated with wealth, there is none that suffers him to sleep.

¹²There is an infirmity which I have seen under the sun, [namely], wealth kept for its owner to his hurt.

¹³And that wealth shall perish in an evil trouble: and [the man] begets a son, and there is nothing in his hand.

¹⁴As he came forth naked from his mother’s womb, he shall return back as he came, and he shall receive nothing for his labour, that it should go [with him] in his hand.

¹⁵And this is also an evil infirmity: for as he came, so also shall he return: and what is his gain, for which he vainly labours?

¹⁶Yea, all his days are in darkness, and in mourning, and much sorrow, and infirmity, and wrath.

¹⁷Behold, I have seen good, that it is a fine thing [for a man] to eat and to drink, and to see good in all his labour in which he may labour under the sun, [all] the number of the days of his life which God has given to him: for it is his portion.

¹⁸Yea, and [as for] every man to whom God has given wealth and possessions, and has given him power to eat thereof, and to receive his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

¹⁹For he shall not much remember the days of his life; for God troubles him in the mirth of his heart.