传道书 7
1 名誉强如美好的膏油；人死的日子胜过人生的日子。
[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 往遭丧的家去， 强如往宴乐的家去； 因为死是众人的结局， 活人也必将这事放在心上。
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 忧愁强如喜笑； 因为面带愁容，终必使心喜乐。
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 智慧人的心在遭丧之家； 愚昧人的心在快乐之家。
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 听智慧人的责备， 强如听愚昧人的歌唱。
It is better to pay attention to [someone who is wise] you than to listen to the songs of a foolish person.
6 愚昧人的笑声， 好像锅下烧荆棘的爆声； 这也是虚空。
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 勒索使智慧人变为愚妄； 贿赂能败坏人的慧心。
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 事情的终局强如事情的起头； 存心忍耐的，胜过居心骄傲的。
Finishing something is better than starting something, and being patient is better than being proud.
9 你不要心里急躁恼怒， 因为恼怒存在愚昧人的怀中。
Do not quickly (lose your temper/react to things angrily), because it is foolish people [SYN] who become very angry.
10 不要说： 先前的日子强过如今的日子， 是什么缘故呢？ 你这样问，不是出于智慧。
Do not say, “Things were a lot better [RHQ] previously,” because it is people who are not wise who say that.
11 智慧和产业并好， 而且见天日的人得智慧更为有益。
Being wise is better than inheriting [valuable things]; being wise provides lasting benefits for every person on the earth [MTY].
12 因为智慧护庇人， 好像银钱护庇人一样。 惟独智慧能保全智慧人的生命。 这就是知识的益处。
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 你要察看 神的作为； 因 神使为曲的，谁能变为直呢？
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 遇亨通的日子你当喜乐；遭患难的日子你当思想；因为 神使这两样并列，为的是叫人查不出身后有什么事。
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 有义人行义，反致灭亡；有恶人行恶，倒享长寿。这都是我在虚度之日中所见过的。
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 不要行义过分，也不要过于自逞智慧，何必自取败亡呢？
[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 不要行恶过分，也不要为人愚昧，何必不到期而死呢？
If you do what is evil or do what is foolish, you might die while you are still young.
18 你持守这个为美，那个也不要松手；因为敬畏 神的人，必从这两样出来。
Continue to avoid doing what is evil and doing what is foolish; avoid doing both of those things by continually revering God.
19 智慧使有智慧的人比城中十个官长更有能力。
If you are wise, you will be more powerful/influential than the ten most powerful/influential men in your city.
20 时常行善而不犯罪的义人，世上实在没有。
There is no one in this world who [always] does what is right and who never sins.
21 人所说的一切话，你不要放在心上，恐怕听见你的仆人咒诅你。
Do not pay attention [IDM] to everything that people say, because if you do that, you might hear your servant cursing you.
22 因为你心里知道，自己也曾屡次咒诅别人。
You know that you have also cursed other people.
23 我曾用智慧试验这一切事；我说，要得智慧，智慧却离我远。
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 万事之理，离我甚远，而且最深，谁能测透呢？
Wisdom seems to be far from me; there is no one [RHQ] who can truly understand everything.
25 我转念，一心要知道，要考察，要寻求智慧和万事的理由；又要知道邪恶为愚昧，愚昧为狂妄。
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 我得知有等妇人比死还苦：她的心是网罗，手是锁链。凡蒙 神喜悦的人必能躲避她；有罪的人却被她缠住了。
[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 传道者说：“看哪，一千男子中，我找到一个正直人，但众女子中，没有找到一个。”我将这事一一比较，要寻求其理，我心仍要寻找，却未曾找到。
This is what I have learned: I tried to learn more and more about things to try to find out the reason for everything,
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 我所找到的只有一件，就是 神造人原是正直，但他们寻出许多巧计。
[But] I did learn one thing: When God created people, they were righteous, but they have found many ways to do many evil things.
