Livets uretfærdighed
1Dernæst iagttog jeg, hvordan folk ud over jorden blev undertrykt. Jeg så deres tårer, men ingen hjalp dem, for det var undertrykkerne, der havde magten. 2Da tænkte jeg: „De døde er heldige, for de har det bedre end de levende. 3Og allerheldigst er de, som ikke er født endnu og derfor ikke har oplevet ondskaben på jorden!”
Menneskets motivation for at arbejde
4Jeg indså også, at når folk arbejder hårdt for at opnå succes, er det fordi de er motiveret af ønsket om at overgå hinanden. Men også det er meningsløst. 5Tåber derimod sidder med foldede hænder uden at arbejde, og derfor lider de sult. 6De vil hellere tage det roligt og sulte end slide sig ihjel uden at kunne se meningen med det.
7En anden meningsløshed så jeg på jorden: 8Mange bor alene uden børn eller søskende, men alligevel slider de i det fra morgen til aften. De kan aldrig få rigdom nok. Mon de tænker: „Hvorfor slider jeg mig selv op i stedet for at nyde livet?” Hvor er det tomt og meningsløst!
Ensomhed og fællesskab
9Det er godt, når to deles om arbejdet, for så går det lettere. 10Hvis den ene falder, kan den anden hjælpe ham op. Men den, der er alene og falder, har ingen til at hjælpe sig op.
11Og hvis man ligger to i samme seng, kan man lettere holde varmen, end hvis man ligger alene. 12Den, der kæmper alene, er lettere at overvinde end to, der kæmper og forsvarer hinanden. Men tre er endnu bedre, for en trestrenget snor brister ikke så let.
Berømmelse giver ikke livet mening
13En, der er ung og fattig, men klog, er bedre stillet end en gammel konge, som nægter at tage imod råd. 14Sådan en ung person kan være født ind i fattigdommens fængsel og alligevel drive det til noget, måske endda blive konge. 15Alle er ivrige efter at hjælpe ham og følger ham begejstret. 16Han kan blive konge over et stort folk, men alligevel blive forkastet af den næste generation. Også det er meningsløst.
Ærefrygt for Gud
17Når du går til Guds hus, så tænk over dine handlinger. Det er bedre at lytte og tage ved lære end at bringe ofre som en tåbe, der ikke kender sine egne fejl.
Suffering, Hard Work and No Friends
1I looked and saw how much people were suffering on this earth.
I saw the tears of those who are suffering.
They don’t have anyone to comfort them.
Power is on the side of those who treat them badly.
Those who are suffering don’t have anyone to comfort them.
2Then I announced that those
who have already died
are happier than those
who are still alive.
3But someone who hasn’t been born yet
is better off than the dead or the living.
That’s because that person hasn’t seen the evil things
that are done on earth.
4I also saw that a person works hard and accomplishes a lot. But they do it only because they want what another person has. That doesn’t have any meaning either. It’s like chasing the wind.
5Foolish people fold their hands and don’t work.
And that destroys them.
6One handful with peace and quiet
is better than two handfuls with hard work.
Working too hard is like chasing the wind.
7Again I saw something on earth that didn’t mean anything.
8A man lived all by himself.
He didn’t have any sons or brothers.
His hard work never ended.
But he wasn’t happy with what he had.
“Who am I working so hard for?” he asked.
“Why don’t I get the things I enjoy?”
That doesn’t have any meaning either.
In fact, it’s a very bad deal!
9Two people are better than one.
They can help each other in everything they do.
10Suppose either of them falls down.
Then the one can help the other one up.
But suppose a person falls down and doesn’t have anyone to help them up.
Then feel sorry for that person!
11Or suppose two people lie down together.
Then they’ll keep warm.
But how can one person keep warm alone?
12One person could be overpowered.
But two people can stand up for themselves.
And a rope made out of three cords isn’t easily broken.
Getting Ahead Is Meaningless
13A poor but wise young man is better off than an old but foolish king. That king doesn’t pay attention to a warning anymore. 14The young man might have come from prison to become king. Or he might have been born poor within the kingdom but still became king. 15I saw that everyone was following the young man who had become the new king. 16At first, all the people served him when he became king. But those who came later weren’t pleased with the way he was ruling. That doesn’t have any meaning either. It’s like chasing the wind.
