Ecclesiastes 12
1 Remember your Creator while you are young, before days of trouble come and you grow old, saying, “I'm not enjoying life anymore.”
你趁着年幼、衰败的日子尚未来到，就是你所说，我毫无喜乐的那些年日未曾临近之先，当记念造你的主。
2 Before the light fades—sun, moon, and stars—and rain clouds return to darken the skies.
不要等到日头、光明、月亮、星宿变为黑暗，雨后云彩反回，
3 Before the guards of the house tremble and the strong men are bent over, the grinders stop working because there are only a few left, and the ones looking through the windows only see dimly,
看守房屋的发颤，有力的屈身，推磨的稀少就止息，从窗户往外看的都昏暗；
4 and the doors to the street are shut. Before the sound of the grinding mill grows low, and you wake up early when the birds are singing, but you can hardly hear them.
街门关闭，推磨的响声微小，雀鸟一叫，人就起来，唱歌的女子也都衰微。
5 Before you develop a fear of heights and worry about going out on the streets; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper crawls along, and desire fails, for everyone has to go to their eternal home as the mourners go up and down the street.
人怕高处，路上有惊慌，杏树开花，蚱蜢成为重担，人所愿的也都废掉；因为人归他永远的家，吊丧的在街上往来。
6 Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken; before the water jug is smashed at the spring, or the pulley is broken at the well.
银链折断，金罐破裂，瓶子在泉旁损坏，水轮在井口破烂，
7 Then the dust returns to the earth from which it came, and the breath of life returns to God who gave it.
尘土仍归于地，灵仍归于赐灵的 神。
8 “Everything passes! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
传道者说：“虚空的虚空，凡事都是虚空。”
9 Not only was the Teacher a wise man, he also taught what he knew to others. He thought about many proverbs, studying them and arranging them.
再者，传道者因有智慧，仍将知识教训众人；又默想，又考查，又陈说许多箴言。
10 The Teacher looked for the best way to explain things, writing truthfully and honestly.
传道者专心寻求可喜悦的言语，是凭正直写的诚实话。
11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods. Their collected sayings are like nails driven home, given by one shepherd.
智慧人的言语好像刺棍；会中之师的言语又像钉稳的钉子，都是一个牧者所赐的。
12 In addition, my student, take care, for there's no end to book writing, and too much study wears you out.
我儿，还有一层，你当受劝戒：著书多，没有穷尽；读书多，身体疲倦。
13 To sum up now that everything has been discussed: Respect God by keeping his commandments, for that's what everyone should do.
这些事都已听见了，总意就是：敬畏 神，谨守他的诫命，这是人所当尽的本分。
14 God is going to judge us for everything we do, including what we do secretly, whether good or bad.
因为人所做的事，连一切隐藏的事，无论是善是恶， 神都必审问。
