Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? the wisedome of a man doth make his face to shine: and the strength of his face shalbe changed.
有誰相似智者，有誰會解釋事理﹖智慧使人的面容煥發，使嚴肅的容貌變為溫和。
2 I aduertise thee to take heede to ye mouth of the King, and to the worde of the othe of God.
為了向天主起的誓，你應遵守君王的命令；
3 Haste not to goe forth of his sight: stand not in an euill thing: for he will doe whatsoeuer pleaseth him.
你不可由他面前倉猝離去，也不可行惡，因為凡他喜歡的事，都可隨意執行。
4 Where the word of ye King is, there is power, and who shall say vnto him, What doest thou?
原來君王的話具有威力，誰敢向他說：「你做什麼﹖」
5 He that keepeth the commandement, shall knowe none euill thing, and the heart of the wise shall knowe the time and iudgement.
遵守誡命的，不會遇到災禍；智者的心能辨識時機和審斷。
6 For to euery purpose there is a time and iudgement, because the miserie of man is great vpon him.
的確，事事都有定時和定案；但重大的負擔仍壓在人身上，
7 For he knoweth not that which shalbe: for who can tell him when it shalbe?
因為人不知道將來要發生什麼事，有誰能告訴他，何時要發生﹖
8 Man is not lorde ouer the spirit to retaine the spirite: neither hath hee power in the day of death, nor deliuerance in the battell, neither shall wickednesse deliuer the possessers thereof.
沒有人有權將生氣保留不失，也沒有人能支配死期，戰場上沒有人能退役，邪惡救不了作惡的人。
9 All this haue I seene, and haue giuen mine heart to euery worke, which is wrought vnder the sunne, and I sawe a time that man ruleth ouer man to his owne hurt.
我看見了這一切，專心研究在太陽下所行的一切事：有時統治人的人，自受其害；
10 And likewise I sawe the wicked buried, and they returned, and they that came from the holy place, were yet forgotten in the citie where they had done right: this also is vanitie.
有時我看見惡人被抬去安葬，而行義的人卻離開聖處，而在城中被人遺忘：這也是虛幻。
11 Because sentence against an euill worke is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully set in them to doe euill.
因為懲惡的定案未有迅速執行，世人因此充滿了行惡的偏向。
12 Though a sinner doe euill an hundreth times, and God prolongeth his dayes, yet I knowe that it shalbe well with them that feare the Lord, and doe reuerence before him.
惡人雖百次行惡，仍享長壽，姑且不論；我確實知道，那敬畏天主的人，因他們在天主前起敬起畏，必得幸福；
13 But it shall not be well to the wicked, neither shall he prolong his dayes: he shall be like a shadowe, because he feareth not before God.
而惡人必得不到幸福，他的時日如影，決不能久長，因為他不敬畏天主。
14 There is a vanitie, which is done vpon the earth, that there be righteous men to whom it commeth according to the worke of the wicked: and there be wicked men to whom it commeth according to the worke of the iust: I thought also that this is vanitie.
在世上還有一件虛幻的事：就是義人所遭遇的，反如惡人所應得的；而惡人所遭遇的，反如義人所應得的；我遂說：這也是虛幻。
15 And I praysed ioy: for there is no goodnesse to man vnder the sunne, saue to eate and to drinke and to reioyce: for this is adioyned to his labour, the dayes of his life that God hath giuen him vnder the sunne.
為此，我稱讚快樂，因為在太陽下，人除了吃喝行樂外，別無幸福；因為這是人在天主賞他在太陽下的一生歲月內，從他的勞苦中，所獲得的幸福。
16 When I applied mine heart to knowe wisedome, and to behold the busines that is done on earth, that neither day nor night the eyes of man take sleepe,
當我專心追求智慧，觀察人在世上，連黑夜白日都不能閉目安眠，所行的工作時，
17 Then I behelde the whole worke of God, that man cannot finde out ye worke that is wrought vnder the sunne: for the which man laboureth to seeke it, and cannot finde it: yea, and though the wise man thinke to knowe it, he cannot finde it.
我面對天主的一切作為，發覺人決不能知道在太陽下所發生的一切事。人雖然努力研究，終歸無法得知；縱然有智者以為知道了，仍是一無所知。
