傳道書 6
1 我看見在太陽下，另有一種不幸，重壓在人身上：
I have observed another evil here on earth, and it has a great impact on humanity.
2 有一人，天主賜他富裕、錢財、光榮；凡他心中所願意的，一件也不缺；但天主沒有讓他享用這一切，卻讓外人享用了：這也是空虛，是一件很悲慘的事。
God gives wealth, possessions, and honor to someone. They have everything they want. But God doesn't let them enjoy what they have. Instead somebody else does! This is hard to fathom, and is truly evil.
3 有一人生有百子，活了很大歲數，他年紀雖高，卻沒有隨心享受福樂，且未得安葬，照我看來，他還不如流產的胎兒。
A man could have one hundred children, and grow old, but it wouldn't matter how long his life was if he couldn't enjoy it and at the end receive a decent burial. I would say that a stillborn child would be better off than him.
4 流產的胎兒徒然而來，悄然而去，他的名字也湮沒無聞；
The way a stillborn child comes into the world and then leaves is painfully hard to understand—arriving and departing in darkness—and who he would have been is never known.
5 他沒有見過天日，也沒有任何知覺，但他總比那人更享安寧。
He never saw the light of day or knew what it was like to live. Yet the child finds rest, and not this man.
6 那人即便活了兩千歲，如未享受福樂，他們二人豈不是同歸一處﹖
Even if this man were to live a thousand years twice over he still wouldn't be happy. Don't we all end up in the same place—the grave?
7 人的一切勞碌都是為了口腹，但他的慾望卻總不知滿足。
Everyone works so they can live, but they're never satisfied.
8 智者較愚者究有什麼利益﹖知道如何與人往來的窮人，能得什麼好處﹖
So then, what real advantage do wise people have over those who are fools? And do poor people really gain anything in knowing how to behave in front of others?
9 眼看見過的總勝過心所想望的：這也是空虛，也是追風。
Be happy with what you have instead of running after what you don't! But this is also hard to do, like running after the wind.
10 已往所有的，都已有名可稱；人為何物，都已知道；人決不能與強於自己的抗辯。
Everything that exists has already been described. Everyone knows what people are like, and that you can't win an argument with a superior.
11 說話多，必多空談：這對人能有什麼益處﹖
For the more words you use, the harder it is to make sense. So what's the point?
12 在空虛，消逝如影的人生少數歲月內，有誰知道什麼事對人有益﹖又有誰能指給人指示，他身後在太陽下要發生什麼事﹖
Who knows what's best for us and our lives? During our short lives that pass like shadows we have many unanswered questions. And who can tell us what will happen when we're gone?
