傳道書 3
1 凡事都有定期， 天下萬務都有定時。
There is a right/correct time for everything, a time for everything that we do in this world.
2 生有時，死有時； 栽種有時，拔出所栽種的也有時；
There is a time to be born, and there is a time to die. There is a time to plant [seeds], and there is a time to harvest crops.
3 殺戮有時，醫治有時； 拆毀有時，建造有時；
There is a time to kill [people], and there is a time to heal [people]. There is a time to tear things down, and there is a time to build things.
4 哭有時，笑有時； 哀慟有時，跳舞有時；
There is a time to cry, and there is a time to laugh. There is a time to mourn, and there is a time to dance [joyfully].
5 拋擲石頭有時，堆聚石頭有時； 懷抱有時，不懷抱有時；
There is a time to throw away stones [from a field], and there is a time to gather stones [to build walls/houses]. There is a time to embrace [people], and there is a time to not embrace [people].
6 尋找有時，失落有時； 保守有時，捨棄有時；
There is a time to search for things, and there is a time to stop searching for things. There is a time to keep/save things, and there is a time to throw things away.
7 撕裂有時，縫補有時； 靜默有時，言語有時；
There is a time to tear [our old clothes], and there is a time to mend [clothes]. There is a time to say nothing, and there is a time when we should speak.
8 喜愛有時，恨惡有時； 爭戰有時，和好有時。
There is a time when we should love [things that people do], and there is a time when we should hate [things that people do]. There is a time for war, and there is a time for peace.
9 這樣看來，做事的人在他的勞碌上有甚麼益處呢？
(What do people gain from all the work that they do?/It seems that people gain very little from all the work that they do [RHQ]).
10 我見上帝叫世人勞苦，使他們在其中受經練。
I have seen the work that God has given people to do.
11 上帝造萬物，各按其時成為美好，又將永生安置在世人心裏。然而上帝從始至終的作為，人不能參透。
God has appointed a time that is right/correct for everything to happen. He has [also] caused people to realize that there are things that will endure forever. But in spite of that, no one can completely understand everything that God has done, from the time that he starts doing things until he finishes them.
12 我知道世人，莫強如終身喜樂行善；
I know that the best [LIT] thing for us people to do is to rejoice and to do good things [all] during the time that we are alive.
13 並且人人吃喝，在他一切勞碌中享福，這也是上帝的恩賜。
And I also know that everyone should eat and drink, and enjoy the work that they do. Those are things that God gives to us.
14 我知道上帝一切所做的都必永存；無所增添，無所減少。上帝這樣行，是要人在他面前存敬畏的心。
I [also] know that what God does endures forever. No one can add to what God does, and no one can take away from the things that God does. God does those things in order that people would revere him.
15 現今的事早先就有了，將來的事早已也有了，並且上帝使已過的事重新再來。
Things that exist now have already existed previously, and things that will happen in the future have already happened previously; God causes the same things to happen many times.
16 我又見日光之下，在審判之處有奸惡，在公義之處也有奸惡。
Furthermore, I saw that on this earth [MTY], even in the courts where we expect judges to make right decisions about what people had done, they did many wicked [DOU] things.
17 我心裏說，上帝必審判義人和惡人；因為在那裏，各樣事務，一切工作，都有定時。
[So] I said to myself [SYN], “God will judge [both] righteous [people] and wicked [people]; there is a time [for him to do that], because there is a time for him to do everything.”
18 我心裏說，這乃為世人的緣故，是上帝要試驗他們，使他們覺得自己不過像獸一樣。
And regarding humans, I [also] said to myself, “God is testing us, to show us that [in one way] people are no different than animals,
19 因為世人遭遇的，獸也遭遇，所遭遇的都是一樣：這個怎樣死，那個也怎樣死，氣息都是一樣。人不能強於獸，都是虛空。
because what happens to people happens to animals. Animals die, and people die. We all must breathe [to remain alive]. [With regard to that], people have no advantage over animals, so I have a difficult time understanding that.
20 都歸一處，都是出於塵土，也都歸於塵土。
[People and animals] all die and are buried. We are all made of soil, and [when we die], our corpses become soil again.
21 誰知道人的靈是往上升，獸的魂是下入地呢？
No one knows [RHQ] for sure that when we die, our souls/spirits go up to heaven and the souls/spirits of animals go down to the place where the dead are.”
22 故此，我見人莫強如在他經營的事上喜樂，因為這是他的分。他身後的事誰能使他回來得見呢？
So I concluded that the best thing for [us] people to do is to be happy about the work that we do, because that is what God has given to us. I say that because no one of us [RHQ] knows what happens to us after we die.
