傳道書 7
1 良好的聲譽勝於名貴的香液；死日勝於生日。
[Having] a good reputation [MTY] is better than fine perfume, and the day that we die is better than the day that we are born.
2 往居喪的家去，勝於往宴會的家去，因為喪事是人人的結局，活人應將此事放在心上。
It is better to go to a house where people are mourning [about someone who has died] than to go to a house where people are feasting, because everyone will die some day, and people who are alive should think seriously [IDM] about that.
3 悲哀勝於歡笑，因為愁容能使心靈舒暢。
It is better to be sad than to be [always] laughing, because being sad can cause us to think more about how we should conduct our lives [IDM].
4 智者的心是在居喪的家中，愚人的心是在歡笑的家中。
Wise [people] who go to where others are mourning think about [the fact that some day they also will] die, but foolish people [PRS] [do not think about that]; they are always [MTY] laughing.
5 聽智者斥責，勝過聽愚人歌唱。
It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
6 愚人的歡笑，就像斧底荊棘的爆炸聲，但這也是空虛。
By [listening to] foolish people laughing we will not [learn any more than by listening to] the crackling of thorns [being burned] under a pot. Listening to fools is senseless.
7 實在，壓榨使智者昏愚，賄賂能敗壞人心。
When wise people say to others, “You must pay me a lot of money for me to protect you,” that causes those wise people to become foolish, and [accepting] bribes causes people to become unable to do what is fair/just.
8 事情的結局勝過事情的開端；居心寬容，勝過存心傲慢。
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 你心裏不要輕易動怒，因為憤怒只停留在愚人胸中。
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 你不要問：「為什麼昔日勝於今日﹖」因為這樣的詰問，不是出於智慧。
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 智慧與家產都好，對看見天日的人都有益，
Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
12 因為受智慧的蔭庇與受金錢的蔭庇無異；但認識智慧的好處，是在於智慧賦與有智慧者生命。
We are [sometimes] protected by being wise like we are [sometimes] protected by having a lot of money, but being wise is better [than having a lot of money], [because] being wise prevents us from [doing foolish things that would] cause us to die.
13 你應觀察天主的作為：他所彎曲的，誰能使之正直﹖
Think [carefully about] what God has done. Certainly no one can [RHQ] cause to become straight the things that God has caused to be crooked.
14 幸福之日，你應歡樂，不幸之日，你應思慮：幸與不幸，都是天主所為；其目的是叫人不能察覺自己將來的事。
When things are going well for you, be happy, and when things are not going well for you, remember that God is the one who causes good things to happen and who also causes disasters.
15 在我虛度的歲月內，我見了許多事：義人在正義中夭亡，惡人在邪惡中反而長壽。
During all the time that I have been alive I have seen a lot of [HYP] things that seem senseless. I have seen righteous people die [while they are still young], and I have seen wicked people remain alive for a very long time in [spite of] their continuing to be wicked.
16 不要過於正義，也不要自作聰明，免得自趨滅亡。
[So] do not think that you are very righteous and do not think that you are very wise, [because if you think those things], you will destroy yourself.
17 不要作惡無度，也不要糊塗太甚，免得你死非其時。
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 你的手最好把持這個，也不要放棄那個，因為敬畏天主的人，二者兼顧並重。
Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
19 智慧使智者的權勢，勝過本城十個有權勢的人。
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 世上沒有一個只行善，而不犯罪的義人。
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 你不要傾心去聽人說的一切閒話，免得你聽到你的僕人詛咒你；
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 因為你心裏知道，你許多次也詛咒過別人。
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 這一切我都用智慧追究過；我宣稱我將成個智者，然而智慧仍離我很遠。
I said [to myself] that I would use my wisdom to study all the things [that I have written about], but I was not able to do it successfully.
24 所有的事，既深遠，又玄奧，誰能窮究﹖
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 我又專心致力於認識、考察事物，尋求智慧和事理，得知邪惡就是昏愚，昏愚就是狂妄。
But I decided to investigate things and by my wisdom try to understand the reason for everything. I also wanted to understand why people act wickedly and why they act very foolishly.
26 我發覺女人比死亡還苦，她一身是羅網：她的心是陷阱，她的手是鎖鏈；凡博天主歡心的，必逃避她；但罪人卻被她纏住。
[One thing I learned was that] (allowing a woman to seduce you/having sex with a woman to whom you are not married) is worse than dying. A woman who tries to seduce men is [as dangerous as] a trap [MET]. [If you allow her to put] her arms [around you, it will be as though she will be fastening you with] chains. Women like that will capture sinful men, but men who please God will escape from such women.
27 訓道者說：看，這是我所發現的，一一加以比較，好探知事物的原理，
This is what I have learned: I tried to learn more and more about things to try to find out the reason for everything,
28 對此我的心還在追求，但尚未找到：在一千男人中，我發現了一個；在所有的女人中，卻沒有發現一個。
and I continued to try to learn more, but I could not find [all that I was searching for]. [But] one thing that I found out was that among 1,000 [people] I found one righteous man, but I did not find even one righteous woman.
29 我發現的只有這一件事：天主造人原很正直，但人卻發明了許多詭計。
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
