Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
良好的聲譽勝於名貴的香液；死日勝於生日。
2 It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.
往居喪的家去，勝於往宴會的家去，因為喪事是人人的結局，活人應將此事放在心上。
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.
悲哀勝於歡笑，因為愁容能使心靈舒暢。
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
智者的心是在居喪的家中，愚人的心是在歡笑的家中。
5 It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
聽智者斥責，勝過聽愚人歌唱。
6 For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.
愚人的歡笑，就像斧底荊棘的爆炸聲，但這也是空虛。
7 Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
實在，壓榨使智者昏愚，賄賂能敗壞人心。
8 The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
事情的結局勝過事情的開端；居心寬容，勝過存心傲慢。
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
你心裏不要輕易動怒，因為憤怒只停留在愚人胸中。
10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
你不要問：「為什麼昔日勝於今日﹖」因為這樣的詰問，不是出於智慧。
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.
智慧與家產都好，對看見天日的人都有益，
12 For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.
因為受智慧的蔭庇與受金錢的蔭庇無異；但認識智慧的好處，是在於智慧賦與有智慧者生命。
13 Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
你應觀察天主的作為：他所彎曲的，誰能使之正直﹖
14 In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.
幸福之日，你應歡樂，不幸之日，你應思慮：幸與不幸，都是天主所為；其目的是叫人不能察覺自己將來的事。
15 In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
在我虛度的歲月內，我見了許多事：義人在正義中夭亡，惡人在邪惡中反而長壽。
16 Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?
不要過於正義，也不要自作聰明，免得自趨滅亡。
17 Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?
不要作惡無度，也不要糊塗太甚，免得你死非其時。
18 It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.
你的手最好把持這個，也不要放棄那個，因為敬畏天主的人，二者兼顧並重。
19 Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.
智慧使智者的權勢，勝過本城十個有權勢的人。
20 Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
世上沒有一個只行善，而不犯罪的義人。
21 Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.
你不要傾心去聽人說的一切閒話，免得你聽到你的僕人詛咒你；
22 For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
因為你心裏知道，你許多次也詛咒過別人。
23 All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.
這一切我都用智慧追究過；我宣稱我將成個智者，然而智慧仍離我很遠。
24 What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
所有的事，既深遠，又玄奧，誰能窮究﹖
25 I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.
我又專心致力於認識、考察事物，尋求智慧和事理，得知邪惡就是昏愚，昏愚就是狂妄。
26 And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.
我發覺女人比死亡還苦，她一身是羅網：她的心是陷阱，她的手是鎖鏈；凡博天主歡心的，必逃避她；但罪人卻被她纏住。
27 “Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation.
訓道者說：看，這是我所發現的，一一加以比較，好探知事物的原理，
28 While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.
對此我的心還在追求，但尚未找到：在一千男人中，我發現了一個；在所有的女人中，卻沒有發現一個。
29 Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made men upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”
我發現的只有這一件事：天主造人原很正直，但人卻發明了許多詭計。
