Ecclesiastes 1
1 Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
在耶路撒冷作王、大卫的儿子、传道者的言语。
2 “Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
传道者说：虚空的虚空， 虚空的虚空，凡事都是虚空。
3 What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
人一切的劳碌， 就是他在日光之下的劳碌，有什么益处呢？
4 People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
一代过去，一代又来， 地却永远长存。
5 The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
日头出来，日头落下， 急归所出之地。
6 The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
风往南刮，又向北转， 不住地旋转，而且返回转行原道。
7 Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
江河都往海里流，海却不满； 江河从何处流，仍归还何处。
8 Everything just keeps on going. You can't say all there is to say. You can't see all there is to see. You can't hear all there is to hear.
万事令人厌烦， 人不能说尽。 眼看，看不饱； 耳听，听不足。
9 Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
已有的事后必再有； 已行的事后必再行。 日光之下并无新事。
10 There's nothing anyone can point to and say, “Look! Here's something new.” In fact it's been around for ages, long before our time.
岂有一件事人能指着说这是新的？ 哪知，在我们以前的世代早已有了。
11 The problem is we don't remember people from the past, and people in the future won't remember those who came before them.
已过的世代，无人记念； 将来的世代，后来的人也不记念。
12 I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
我传道者在耶路撒冷作过以色列的王。
13 I decided to focus my mind to explore, using wisdom, everything that happens here on earth. This is a tough assignment that God has given people to keep them busy!
我专心用智慧寻求、查究天下所做的一切事，乃知 神叫世人所经练的是极重的劳苦。
14 I examined everything people do here on earth, and discovered that it's all so temporary—trying to understand it is like trying to pin down the wind!
我见日光之下所做的一切事，都是虚空，都是捕风。
15 You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
弯曲的，不能变直； 缺少的，不能足数。
16 I thought to myself, “I've become very wise, wiser than all the kings of Jerusalem before me. My mind has gained a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”
我心里议论说：我得了大智慧，胜过我以前在耶路撒冷的众人，而且我心中多经历智慧和知识的事。
17 So I decided to use my mind to learn everything about wisdom, and madness and foolishness as well. But I found out that this is as hard as trying to catch hold of the wind.
我又专心察明智慧、狂妄，和愚昧，乃知这也是捕风。
18 For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
因为多有智慧，就多有愁烦； 加增知识的，就加增忧伤。
