傳道書 8
1 有誰相似智者，有誰會解釋事理﹖智慧使人的面容煥發，使嚴肅的容貌變為溫和。
Who is like the wise man? and to whom is the sense of anything clear? A man's wisdom makes his face shining, and his hard face will be changed.
2 為了向天主起的誓，你應遵守君王的命令；
I say to you, Keep the king's law, from respect for the oath of God.
3 你不可由他面前倉猝離去，也不可行惡，因為凡他喜歡的事，都可隨意執行。
Be not quick to go from before him. Be not fixed in an evil design, because he does whatever is pleasing to him.
4 原來君王的話具有威力，誰敢向他說：「你做什麼﹖」
The word of a king has authority; and who may say to him, What is this you are doing?
5 遵守誡命的，不會遇到災禍；智者的心能辨識時機和審斷。
Whoever keeps the law will come to no evil: and a wise man's heart has knowledge of time and of decision.
6 的確，事事都有定時和定案；但重大的負擔仍壓在人身上，
For every purpose there is a time and a decision, because the sorrow of man is great in him.
7 因為人不知道將來要發生什麼事，有誰能告訴他，何時要發生﹖
No one is certain what is to be, and who is able to say to him when it will be?
8 沒有人有權將生氣保留不失，也沒有人能支配死期，戰場上沒有人能退役，邪惡救不了作惡的人。
No man has authority over the wind, to keep the wind; or is ruler over the day of his death. In war no man's time is free, and evil will not keep the sinner safe.
9 我看見了這一切，專心研究在太陽下所行的一切事：有時統治人的人，自受其害；
All this have I seen, and have given my heart to all the work which is done under the sun: there is a time when man has power over man for his destruction.
10 有時我看見惡人被抬去安葬，而行義的人卻離開聖處，而在城中被人遺忘：這也是虛幻。
And then I saw evil men put to rest, taken even from the holy place; and they went about and were praised in the town because of what they had done. This again is to no purpose.
11 因為懲惡的定案未有迅速執行，世人因此充滿了行惡的偏向。
Because punishment for an evil work comes not quickly, the minds of the sons of men are fully given to doing evil.
12 惡人雖百次行惡，仍享長壽，姑且不論；我確實知道，那敬畏天主的人，因他們在天主前起敬起畏，必得幸福；
Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and his life is long, I am certain that it will be well for those who go in fear of God and are in fear before him.
13 而惡人必得不到幸福，他的時日如影，決不能久長，因為他不敬畏天主。
But it will not be well for the evil-doer; he will not make his days long like a shade, because he has no fear before God.
14 在世上還有一件虛幻的事：就是義人所遭遇的，反如惡人所應得的；而惡人所遭遇的，反如義人所應得的；我遂說：這也是虛幻。
There is a thing which is to no purpose done on the earth: that there are good men to whom is given the same punishment as those who are evil, and there are evil men who get the reward of the good. I say that this again is to no purpose.
15 為此，我稱讚快樂，因為在太陽下，人除了吃喝行樂外，別無幸福；因為這是人在天主賞他在太陽下的一生歲月內，從他的勞苦中，所獲得的幸福。
So I gave praise to joy, because there is nothing better for a man to do under the sun than to take meat and drink and be happy; for that will be with him in his work all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.
16 當我專心追求智慧，觀察人在世上，連黑夜白日都不能閉目安眠，所行的工作時，
When I gave my mind to the knowledge of wisdom and to seeing the business which is done on the earth (and there are those whose eyes see not sleep by day or by night),
17 我面對天主的一切作為，發覺人決不能知道在太陽下所發生的一切事。人雖然努力研究，終歸無法得知；縱然有智者以為知道了，仍是一無所知。
Then I saw all the work of God, and that man may not get knowledge of the work which is done under the sun; because, if a man gives hard work to the search he will not get knowledge, and even if the wise man seems to be coming to the end of his search, still he will be without knowledge.
