Ecclesiastes 9
1 So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.
我將這一切事放在心上，詳細考究，就知道義人和智慧人，並他們的作為都在上帝手中；或是愛，或是恨，都在他們的前面，人不能知道。
2 It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.
凡臨到眾人的事都是一樣：義人和惡人都遭遇一樣的事；好人，潔淨人和不潔淨人，獻祭的與不獻祭的，也是一樣。好人如何，罪人也如何；起誓的如何，怕起誓的也如何。
3 This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.
在日光之下所行的一切事上有一件禍患，就是眾人所遭遇的都是一樣，並且世人的心充滿了惡；活着的時候心裏狂妄，後來就歸死人那裏去了。
4 There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.
與一切活人相連的，那人還有指望，因為活着的狗比死了的獅子更強。
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.
活着的人知道必死；死了的人毫無所知，也不再得賞賜；他們的名無人記念。
6 Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.
他們的愛，他們的恨，他們的嫉妒，早都消滅了。在日光之下所行的一切事上，他們永不再有分了。
7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
你只管去歡歡喜喜吃你的飯，心中快樂喝你的酒，因為上帝已經悅納你的作為。
8 Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head.
你的衣服當時常潔白，你頭上也不要缺少膏油。
9 Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.
在你一生虛空的年日，就是上帝賜你在日光之下虛空的年日，當同你所愛的妻，快活度日，因為那是你生前在日光之下勞碌的事上所得的分。
10 Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom. (Sheol h7585)
凡你手所當做的事要盡力去做；因為在你所必去的陰間沒有工作，沒有謀算，沒有知識，也沒有智慧。 (Sheol h7585)
11 I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
我又轉念：見日光之下，快跑的未必能贏；力戰的未必得勝；智慧的未必得糧食；明哲的未必得資財；靈巧的未必得喜悅。所臨到眾人的是在乎當時的機會。
12 For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.
原來人也不知道自己的定期。魚被惡網圈住，鳥被網羅捉住，禍患忽然臨到的時候，世人陷在其中也是如此。
13 I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:
我見日光之下有一樣智慧，據我看乃是廣大，
14 There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.
就是有一小城，其中的人數稀少，有大君王來攻擊，修築營壘，將城圍困。
15 Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
城中有一個貧窮的智慧人，他用智慧救了那城，卻沒有人記念那窮人。
16 And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
我就說，智慧勝過勇力；然而那貧窮人的智慧被人藐視，他的話也無人聽從。
17 The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.
寧可在安靜之中聽智慧人的言語，不聽掌管愚昧人的喊聲。
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
智慧勝過打仗的兵器；但一個罪人能敗壞許多善事。
