傳道書 12

1 在你年輕的時日，在災禍的日子來到之前，即在你說的那些「沒有歡樂」的日子來到之前，你應記念你的造主；

Remember your Creator while you are young, before days of trouble come and you grow old, saying, “I'm not enjoying life anymore.”

2 不要等到太陽、光體、月亮、星辰失光，雨後雲彩再來；

Before the light fades—sun, moon, and stars—and rain clouds return to darken the skies.

3 因為那時，看門者戰慄，大力士屈伏，推磨的婦女因為少而停工，眺望窗外的女人面目昏黑，

Before the guards of the house tremble and the strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because there are only a few left, and the ones looking through the windows only see dimly,

4 兩扇街門將要關閉，磨聲低微，雀鳥息聲，歌女低吟，

and the doors to the street are shut. Before the sound of the grinding mill grows low, and you wake up early when the birds are singing, but you can hardly hear them.

5 怕上高處，行路危險，杏子被棄，蚱蜢被嫌，續隨子失去效力，因為人要回永久的家鄉，哀悼的人徘徊街頭；

Before you develop a fear of heights and worry about going out on the streets; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper crawls along, and desire fails, for everyone has to go to their eternal home as the mourners go up and down the street.

6 那時銀鏈將斷，金燈將碎，水罐將破於泉旁，輪子將爛於井邊，

Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken; before the water jug is smashed at the spring, or the pulley is broken at the well.

7 灰塵將歸於原來的土中，生氣將歸於天主，因為原是天主之所賜。

Then the dust returns to the earth from which it came, and the breath of life returns to God who gave it.

8 訓道者說：虛而又虛，萬事皆虛。

“Everything passes! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.

9 訓道者不但是智者，並且教人獲得知識，在沉思推究之後，編撰了許多格言。

Not only was the Teacher a wise man, he also taught what he knew to others. He thought about many proverbs, studying them and arranging them.

10 訓道者費神尋找適當的語句，忠誠地寫下了真理之言。

The Teacher looked for the best way to explain things, writing truthfully and honestly.

11 智者的話好似錐子，收集起的言論集，好像釘牢的釘子：二者都是一位牧者所賜。

The words of the wise are like cattle prods. Their collected sayings are like nails driven home, given by one shepherd.

12 除此之外，我兒，不必再找別的書籍，書不論寫多少，總沒有止境；用功過度，必使身體疲倦。

In addition, my student, take care, for there's no end to book writing, and too much study wears you out.

13 總而言之：「你應敬畏天主，遵守他的誡命，因為這是眾人的義務。」

To sum up now that everything has been discussed: Respect God by keeping his commandments, for that's what everyone should do.

14 因為天主對一切行為，連最隱秘的，不論好壞，都要一一審判。

God is going to judge us for everything we do, including what we do secretly, whether good or bad.