傳道書 5
1 你往天主的殿裏去時，要小心邁步；你前去聽道，勝過愚人獻祭，因為他們只知作惡。
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
2 你不要在天主前冒然開口，你的心也不要急於發言應許，因為天主在天上，你在地下，為此你說話應當簡單。
Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.
3 因為夜夢由於事務繁雜，亂語出於多言。
As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
4 你一向天主許願，就不可拖延償還，因為他不喜歡人怠慢；你許了願，就應速還；
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.
5 不許願好過許而不還。
It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.
6 不要放任你的口，使你陷於罪過，免得你在使者前說是「錯許了。」為何要天主因你這句話而發怒，破壞你手中的工作﹖
Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, and do not tell the messenger that your vow was a mistake. Why should God be angry with your words and destroy the work of your hands?
7 多夢多虛幻，多言多糊塗；你要敬畏天主。
For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.
8 你若在某省看見欺壓窮人，違犯公道和正義的事，不必對此驚奇，因為高者之上還有更高者在上鑒察，而他們之上還有更高者。
If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.
9 國家全面的利益，在乎有一位關心農業的君王。
The produce of the earth is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields.
10 愛錢的，錢不能使他滿足；愛財的，進益不能使他滿足：這也是空虛。
He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
11 錢財增多，消費的人也隨之增多；財主除飽享眼福外，能有什麼益處﹖
When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?
12 工人不論吃多吃少，總睡得甘甜；飽食的富人，卻難於安眠。
The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.
13 我看見在太陽下有一件慘痛的事：財主積蓄財富，反而害了自己。
There is a grievous evil I have seen under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,
14 生意一次失敗，財產盡失：生了個兒子，手中一無所有。
or wealth lost in a failed venture, so when that man has a son there is nothing to pass on.
15 他赤身出離母胎，也照樣赤身歸去；他勞力之所得，絲毫不能帶去。
As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.
16 這也是一件慘痛的事：他怎樣來，也怎樣去；他操勞追風，究有什麼益處；
This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind?
17 況且他一生在黑暗中生活，遭受許多煩惱、疾病和悲憤的事。
Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness, with much sorrow, sickness, and anger.
18 我所認為幸福美滿的事，是人在天主所賞的少數歲月內，有吃有喝，且享受他在太陽下一切勞碌所得的福樂，這原是他應得的一分。
Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of life that God has given him—for this is his lot.
19 的確，天主賞賜人財產和富裕，叫他能享用；能取得應有的一分，能享受勞碌所得的快樂，實是天主的恩賜。
Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.
20 那麼，人就不甚顧慮人生歲月的短促，因為天主以喜樂充滿了他的心。
For a man seldom considers the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.
