< 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, saith 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 profit hath man of all his labour wherewith he laboureth under the sun?
人在太陽下辛勤勞作,為人究有何益﹖
4 [One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation cometh, but the earth standeth for ever.
一代過去,一代又來,大地仍然常在。
5 The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.
太陽升起,太陽落下,匆匆趕回原處,從新再升。
6 The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about towards the north: it turneth about continually, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.
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: unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go 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 toil; none can express it. 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 hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which will be done: and there is nothing new 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 whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already 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 remembrance of former things; neither shall there be remembrance of things that are to come with those who shall live afterwards.
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 And I applied my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: this grievous occupation hath God given to the children of men to weary themselves therewith.
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 pursuit of the 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 wanting cannot be numbered.
彎曲的,不能使之正直,虧缺的,實在不可勝數。
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I have become great and have acquired wisdom more than all they that have been before me over Jerusalem; and my heart hath seen much 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 And I applied my heart to the knowledge of wisdom, and to the knowledge of madness and folly: I perceived that this also is a striving after the 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 vexation, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
因為,智慧愈多,煩惱愈多;學問越廣,憂慮越深。

< Ecclesiastes 1 >