Vaiz 8

¹Bilgeleri kim bilir? Ve bir sözün çözümünü kim bilir? İnsanın bilgeliği onun yüzünü aydınlatır, fakat yüzü arsız olan kimseden nefret edilir.

²Kralın ağzından çıkanı gözet ve Tanrı'nın huzurunda edilen yemin sözü konusunda aceleyle davranma.

³Onun huzurundan çıkıp gideceksin; kötü bir durumda direnip durma, çünkü o dilediği her şeyi yapar.

⁴Çünkü kral yetki sahibidir; kim ona, "Ne yapıyorsun?" diyebilir?

⁵Buyruğa uyan kimse kötü bir durumla karşılaşmaz; bilge kişinin yüreği ise yargı vaktini bilir.

⁶Çünkü her işin bir vakti ve yargısı vardır; insanın kendi sefaletine dair farkındalığı onun üzerinde büyük bir yük olsa da.

⁷Çünkü gelecek olanı bilen yoktur; bunun nasıl gerçekleşeceğini ona kim bildirebilir?

⁸Rüzgarı engellemek için rüzgar üzerinde yetki sahibi olan hiçbir insan olmadığı gibi, ölüm gününde de hiçbir yetki yoktur; savaş gününde askerlikten terhis olmak yoktur ve tanrısızlık kendi sahibini kurtaramayacaktır.

⁹Bütün bunları gördüm ve güneşin altında yapılan her işe yüreğimi verdim; insanın insan üzerinde ona zarar verecek şekilde egemenlik kurduğu tüm zamanları gördüm.

¹⁰Ve o zaman kötülerin mezarlara götürüldüğünü gördüm; kutsal yerden çıkıp gittiler ve şehirde böyle davrandıkları için övüldüler; bu da boşluktur.

¹¹Kötülük yapanların aleyhindeki hüküm tez zamanda yerine getirilmediği için, insanoğullarının yüreği kötülük yapmak arzusuyla dolup taşar.

¹²Günahkar olan, o zamandan beri kötülük yapmış ve günleri uzatılmış olsa da, yine de biliyorum ki, Tanrı'dan korkanlar O'nun huzurunda huşu duydukları için iyilik bulacaklardır.

¹³Ama kötüye iyilik olmayacak ve Tanrı'nın huzurunda korkmadığı için, gölgede olan günlerini uzatamayacaktır.

¹⁴Yeryüzünde gerçekleşen bir boşluk daha vardır: Doğrular vardır ki, başlarına kötülerin hak ettiği işler gelir; ve kötüler vardır ki, başlarına doğruların hak ettiği işler gelir. Dedim ki, bu da boşluktur.

¹⁵Bu yüzden sevinci övdüm; çünkü güneşin altında insan için yemekten, içmekten ve neşelenmekten başka iyi bir şey yoktur; güneşin altında Tanrı'nın kendisine verdiği ömrünün günlerinde, çektiği emeğin içinde insana eşlik edecek olan budur.

¹⁶Bilgeliği kavramak ve yeryüzünde çekilen sıkıntıyı görmek için yüreğimi verdiğimde, öyle ki insan ne gece ne de gündüz gözlerine uyku göstermez,

¹⁷Tanrı'nın yaptığı tüm işleri gördüm; insan güneşin altında yapılan işi çözemez. İnsan aramak için ne kadar emek verirse versin, yine de bulamaz; bilge kişi bunu bildiğini iddia etse bile, bulup çıkarmaya gücü yetmez.

¹ΤΙΣ οἶδε σοφούς; καὶ τίς οἶδε λύσιν ῥήματος; σοφία ἀνθρώπου φωτιεῖ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀναιδὴς προσώπῳ αὐτοῦ μισηθήσεται.

²στόμα βασιλέως φύλαξον καὶ περὶ λόγου ὅρκου Θεοῦ μὴ σπουδάσῃς.

³ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πορεύσῃ, μὴ στῇς ἐν λόγῳ πονηρῷ· ὅτι πᾶν ὃ ἐὰν θελήσῃ, ποιήσει,

⁴καθὼς βασιλεὺς ἐξουσιάζων, καὶ τίς ἐρεῖ αὐτῷ· τί ποιεῖς;

⁵ὁ φυλάσσων ἐντολὴν οὐ γνώσεται ρῆμα πονηρόν, καὶ καιρὸν κρίσεως γινώσκει καρδία σοφοῦ·

⁶ὅτι παντὶ πράγματί ἐστι καιρὸς καὶ κρίσις, ὅτι γνῶσις τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πολλὴ ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν·

⁷ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι γινώσκων τί τό ἐσόμενον ὅτι καθὼς ἔσται τίς ἀναγγελεῖ αὐτῷ;

⁸οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνθρωπος ἐξουσιάζων ἐν πνεύματι τοῦ κωλῦσαι σὺν τὸ πνεῦμα· καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐξουσία ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θανάτου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀποστολὴ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ πολέμου, καὶ οὐ διασώσει ἀσέβεια τὸν παρ᾿ αὐτῆς.

⁹καὶ σὺν πᾶν τοῦτο εἶδον καὶ ἔδωκα τὴν καρδίαν μου εἰς πᾶν τὸ ποίημα, ὃ πεποίηται ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, τὰ ὅσα ἐξουσιάσατο ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ τοῦ κακῶσαι αὐτόν.

¹⁰καὶ τότε εἶδον ἀσεβεῖς εἰς τάφους εἰσαχθέντας, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἁγίου, καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν καὶ ἐπῃνέθησαν ἐν τῇ πόλει, ὅτι οὕτως ἐποίησαν· καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης.

¹¹ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι γινομένη ἀντίρρησις ἀπὸ τῶν ποιούντων τὸ πονηρὸν ταχύ· διὰ τοῦτο ἐπληροφορήθη καρδία υἱῶν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ πονηρόν.

¹²ὃς ἥμαρτεν, ἐποίησε τὸ πονηρὸν ἀπὸ τότε καὶ ἀπὸ μακρότητος αὐτῶν· ὅτι καί γε γινώσκω ἐγὼ ὅτι ἐστὶν ἀγαθὸν τοῖς φοβουμένοις τὸν Θεόν, ὅπως φοβῶνται ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ.

¹³καὶ ἀγαθὸν οὐκ ἔσται τῷ ἀσεβεῖ, καὶ οὐ μακρυνεῖ ἡμέρας ἐν σκιᾷ ὃς οὐκ ἔστι φοβούμενος ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ.

¹⁴ἔστι ματαιότης, ἣ πεποίηται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅτι εἰσί δίκαιοι ὅτι φθάνει ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς ὡς ποίημα τῶν ἀσεβῶν, καὶ εἰσὶν ἀσεβεῖς ὅτι φθάνει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὡς ποίημα τῶν δικαίων· εἶπα ὅτι καί γε τοῦτο ματαιότης.

¹⁵καὶ ἐπῄνεσα ἐγὼ σὺν τὴν εὐφροσύνην, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαθὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ὅτι εἰ μὴ φαγεῖν καὶ τοῦ πιεῖν καὶ τοῦ εὐφρανθῆναι, καὶ αὐτὸ συμπροσέσται αὐτῷ ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ ἡμέρας ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, ὅσας ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον.

¹⁶᾿Εν οἷς ἔδωκα τὴν καρδίαν μου τοῦ γνῶναι τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τοῦ ἰδεῖν τὸν περισπασμὸν τὸν πεποιημένον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅτι καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ ὕπνον ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι βλέπων.

¹⁷καὶ εἶδον σὺν πάντα τὰ ποιήματα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι οὐ δυνήσεται ἄνθρωπος τοῦ εὑρεῖν σὺν τὸ ποίημα τὸ πεποιημένον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον. ὅσα ἂν μοχθήσῃ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ ζητῆσαι, καὶ οὐχ εὑρήσει· καί γε ὅσα ἂν εἴπῃ σοφὸς τοῦ γνῶναι, οὐ δυνήσεται τοῦ εὑρεῖν.

¹Who knows the wise? and who knows the interpretation of a saying? A man’s wisdom will lighten his countenance; but a man of shameless countenance will be hated.

²Observe the commandment of the king, and [that] because of the word of the oath of God.

³Be not hasty; thou shalt go forth out of his presence: stand not in an evil matter; for he will do whatsoever he shall please,

⁴even as a king having power: and who will say to him, What doest thou?

⁵He that keeps the commandment shall not know an evil thing: and the heart of the wise knows the time of judgment.

⁶For to every thing there is time and judgment; for the knowledge of a man is great to him.

⁷For there is no one that knows what is going to be: for who shall tell him how it shall be?

⁸There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; and there is no power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in the day of the battle; neither shall ungodliness save her votary.

⁹So I saw all this, and I applied my heart to every work that has been done under the sun; all the things wherein man has power over man to afflict him.

¹⁰And then I saw the ungodly carried into the tombs, and [that] out of the holy place: and they departed, and were praised in the city, because they had done thus: this also is vanity.

¹¹Because there is no contradiction made on the part of those who do evil quickly, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully determined in them to do evil.

¹²He that has sinned has done evil from that time, and long from beforehand: nevertheless I know, that it is well with them that fear God, that they may fear before him:

¹³but it shall not be well with the ungodly, and he shall not prolong his days, [which are] as a shadow; forasmuch as he fears not before God.

¹⁴There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are righteous persons to whom it happens according to the doing of the ungodly; and there are ungodly men, to whom it happens according to the doing of the just: I said, This is also vanity.

¹⁵Then I praised mirth, because there is no good for a man under the sun, but to eat, and drink, and be merry: and this shall attend him in his labour all the days of his life, which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶Whereupon I set my heart to know wisdom, and to perceive the trouble that was wrought upon the earth: for there is that neither by day nor night sees sleep with his eyes.

¹⁷And I beheld all the works of God, that a man shall not be able to discover the work which is wrought under the sun; whatsoever things a man shall endeavour to seek, however a man may labor to seek it, yet he shall not find it; yea, how much soever a wise man may speak of knowing it, he shall not be able to find it.