传道书 8
1 谁如智慧人呢？ 谁知道事情的解释呢？ 人的智慧使他的脸发光， 并使他脸上的暴气改变。
The wisdom of a man shines in his countenance, and even the expression of a most powerful man will change.
2 我劝你遵守王的命令；既指 神起誓，理当如此。
I heed the mouth of the king, and the commandment of an oath to God.
3 不要急躁离开王的面前，不要固执行恶，因为他凡事都随自己的心意而行。
You should not hastily withdraw from his presence, nor should you remain in an evil work. For all that pleases him, he will do.
4 王的话本有权力，谁敢问他说“你做什么”呢？
And his word is filled with authority. Neither is anyone able to say to him: “Why are you acting this way?”
5 凡遵守命令的，必不经历祸患；智慧人的心能辨明时候和定理。
Whoever keeps the commandment will not experience evil. The heart of a wise man understands the time to respond.
6 各样事务成就都有时候和定理，因为人的苦难重压在他身上。
For every matter, there is a time and an opportunity, as well as many difficulties, for man.
7 他不知道将来的事，因为将来如何，谁能告诉他呢？
For he is ignorant of the past, and he is able to know nothing of the future by means of a messenger.
8 无人有权力掌管生命，将生命留住；也无人有权力掌管死期；这场争战，无人能免；邪恶也不能救那好行邪恶的人。
It is not in the power of a man to prohibit the spirit, nor does he have authority over the day of death, nor is he permitted to rest when war breaks out, and neither will impiety save the impious.
9 这一切我都见过，也专心查考日光之下所做的一切事。有时这人管辖那人，令人受害。
I have considered all these things, and I have applied my heart to all the works which are being done under the sun. Sometimes one man rules over another to his own harm.
10 我见恶人埋葬，归入坟墓；又见行正直事的离开圣地，在城中被人忘记。这也是虚空。
I have seen the impious buried. These same, while they were still living, were in the holy place, and they were praised in the city as workers of justice. But this, too, is emptiness.
11 因为断定罪名不立刻施刑，所以世人满心作恶。
For the sons of men perpetrate evils without any fear, because judgment is not pronounced quickly against the evil.
12 罪人虽然作恶百次，倒享长久的年日；然而我准知道，敬畏 神的，就是在他面前敬畏的人，终久必得福乐。
But although a sinner may do evil of himself one hundred times, and by patience still endure, I realize that it will be well with those who fear God, who revere his face.
13 恶人却不得福乐，也不得长久的年日；这年日好像影儿，因他不敬畏 神。
So, may it not go well with the impious, and may his days not be prolonged. And let those who do not fear the face of the Lord pass away like a shadow.
14 世上有一件虚空的事，就是义人所遭遇的，反照恶人所行的；又有恶人所遭遇的，反照义人所行的。我说，这也是虚空。
There is also another vanity, which is done upon the earth. There are the just, to whom evils happen, as though they had done the works of the impious. And there are the impious, who are very secure, as though they possess the deeds of the just. But this, too, I judge to be a very great vanity.
15 我就称赞快乐，原来人在日光之下，莫强如吃喝快乐；因为他在日光之下， 神赐他一生的年日，要从劳碌中，时常享受所得的。
And so, I praised rejoicing, because there was no good for a man under the sun, except to eat and drink, and to be cheerful, and because he may take nothing with him from his labor in the days of his life, which God has given to him under the sun.
16 我专心求智慧，要看世上所做的事。（有昼夜不睡觉不合眼的。）
And I applied my heart, so that I might know wisdom, and so that I might understand a disturbance that turns upon the earth: it is a man, who takes no sleep with his eyes, day and night.
17 我就看明 神一切的作为，知道人查不出日光之下所做的事；任凭他费多少力寻查，都查不出来，就是智慧人虽想知道，也是查不出来。
And I understood that man is able to find no explanation for all those works of God which are done under the sun. And so, the more that he labors to seek, so much the less does he find. Yes, even if a wise man were to claim that he knows, he would not be able to discover it.
