< Ecclesiastes 1 >
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
達味之子耶路撒冷的君王「訓道者」的語錄:
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
虛而又虛,訓道者說:虛而又虛,萬事皆虛。
3 What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?
人在太陽下辛勤勞作,為人究有何益﹖
4 One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever.
一代過去,一代又來,大地仍然常在。
5 The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to its place where it rises.
太陽升起,太陽落下,匆匆趕回原處,從新再升。
6 The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses.
風吹向南,又轉向北,旋轉不息,循環周行。
7 All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again.
江河流入大海,大海總不滿溢;江河仍向所往之處,川流不息。
8 All things are full of weariness beyond uttering. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
萬事皆辛勞,無人能盡言:眼看,看不夠;耳聽,聽不飽。
9 That which has been is that which shall be, and that which has been done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun.
往昔所有的,將來會再有;昔日所行的,將來會再行;太陽之下決無新事。
10 Is there a thing of which it may be said, “Behold, this is new”? It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
若有人指著某事說:「看,這是新事。」豈不知在我們以前早就有過。
11 There is no memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after.
只是對往者,沒有人去追憶;同樣,對來者,也不會為後輩所記念。
12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
我訓道者,曾在耶路撒冷作過以色列的君王。
13 I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
我曾專心用智慧考查研究過天下所發生的一切;--這實在是天主賜與人類的一項艱辛的工作。
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
我觀察了在太陽下所發生的一切:看,都是空虛,都是追風。
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is lacking cannot be counted.
彎曲的,不能使之正直,虧缺的,實在不可勝數。
16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have obtained for myself great wisdom above all who were before me in Jerusalem. Yes, my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.”
我心裏自語說:「看,我獲得了又大又多的智慧,勝過了所有在我以前住在耶路撒冷的人,我的心獲得了許多智慧和學問。」
17 I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also was a chasing after wind.
我再專心研究智慧和學問,愚昧和狂妄,我纔發覺:連這項工作也是追風。
18 For in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
因為,智慧愈多,煩惱愈多;學問越廣,憂慮越深。