Ecclesiastes 7
1 A good name is better than precious ointments, and a day of death is better than a 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 go to a house of mourning, than to a house of feasting. For in the former, we are admonished about the end of all things, so that the living consider what may be in the future.
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 Anger is better than laughter. For through the sadness of the countenance, the soul of one who offends may be corrected.
悲哀勝於歡笑，因為愁容能使心靈舒暢。
4 The heart of the wise is a place of mourning, and the heart of the foolish is a place of rejoicing.
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 be corrected by a wise man, than to be deceived by the false praise of the foolish.
聽智者斥責，勝過聽愚人歌唱。
6 For, like the crackling of thorns burning under a pot, so is the laughter of the foolish. But this, too, is emptiness.
愚人的歡笑，就像斧底荊棘的爆炸聲，但這也是空虛。
7 A false accusation troubles the wise man and saps the strength of his heart.
實在，壓榨使智者昏愚，賄賂能敗壞人心。
8 The end of a speech is better than the beginning. Patience is better than arrogance.
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 moved to anger. For anger resides in the sinews of the foolish.
你心裏不要輕易動怒，因為憤怒只停留在愚人胸中。
10 You should not say: “What do you think is the reason that the former times were better than they are now?” For this type of question is foolish.
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 with riches is more useful and more advantageous, for those who see the sun.
智慧與家產都好，對看見天日的人都有益，
12 For as wisdom protects, so also does money protect. But learning and wisdom have this much more: that they grant life to one who possesses them.
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 works of God, that no one is able to correct whomever he has despised.
你應觀察天主的作為：他所彎曲的，誰能使之正直﹖
14 In good times, enjoy good things, but beware of an evil time. For just as God has established the one, so also the other, in order that man may not find any just complaint against 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 I also saw this, in the days of my vanity: a just man perishing in his justice, and an impious man living a long time in his malice.
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 try to be overly just, and do not try to be more wise than is necessary, lest you become stupid.
不要過於正義，也不要自作聰明，免得自趨滅亡。
17 Do not act with great impiety, and do not choose to be foolish, lest 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 for you to support a just man. Furthermore, you should not withdraw your hand from him, for whoever fears God, neglects nothing.
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 has strengthened the wise more than ten princes of a city.
智慧使智者的權勢，勝過本城十個有權勢的人。
20 But there is no just man on earth, who does good and does not sin.
世上沒有一個只行善，而不犯罪的義人。
21 So then, do not attach your heart to every word that is spoken, lest perhaps you may hear your servant speaking ill of 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 your conscience knows that you, too, have repeatedly spoken evil of others.
因為你心裏知道，你許多次也詛咒過別人。
23 I have tested everything in wisdom. I have said: “I will be wise.” And wisdom withdrew farther from 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 so much more than it was before. Wisdom is very profound, so who shall reveal her?
所有的事，既深遠，又玄奧，誰能窮究﹖
25 I have examined all things in my soul, so that I may know, and consider, and seek out wisdom and reason, and so that I may recognize the impiety of the foolish, and the error of the imprudent.
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 have discovered a woman more bitter than death: she who is like the snare of a hunter, and whose heart is like a net, and whose hands are like chains. Whoever pleases God shall flee from her. But whoever is a sinner shall be seized by her.
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, Ecclesiastes said, I have discovered these things, one after another, in order that I might discover the 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 which my soul still seeks and has not found. One man among a thousand, I have found; a woman among them all, I have not found.
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 This alone have I discovered: that God made man righteous, and yet he has adulterated himself with innumerable questions. Who is so great as the wise? And who has understood the meaning of the word?
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。
