传道书 7

¹名誉强如美好的膏油；人死的日子胜过人生的日子。A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.

²往遭丧的家去，强如往宴乐的家去；因为死是众人的结局，活人也必将这事放在心上。It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.

³忧愁强如喜笑；因为面带愁容，终必使心喜乐。Sorrow is better than laughter, for a sad countenance is good for the heart.

⁴智慧人的心在遭丧之家；愚昧人的心在快乐之家。The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

⁵听智慧人的责备，强如听愚昧人的歌唱。It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.

⁶愚昧人的笑声，好像锅下烧荆棘的爆声；这也是虚空。For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

⁷勒索使智慧人变为愚妄；贿赂能败坏人的慧心。Surely extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

⁸事情的终局强如事情的起头；存心忍耐的，胜过居心骄傲的。The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.

⁹你不要心里急躁恼怒，因为恼怒存在愚昧人的怀中。Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.

¹⁰不要说：先前的日子强过如今的日子，是什么缘故呢？你这样问，不是出于智慧。Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.

¹¹智慧和产业并好，而且见天日的人得智慧更为有益。Wisdom, like an inheritance, is good, and it benefits those who see the sun.

¹²因为智慧护庇人，好像银钱护庇人一样。惟独智慧能保全智慧人的生命。这就是知识的益处。For wisdom, like money, is a shelter, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

¹³你要察看　神的作为；因　神使为曲的，谁能变为直呢？Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?

¹⁴遇亨通的日子你当喜乐；遭患难的日子你当思想；因为　神使这两样并列，为的是叫人查不出身后有什么事。In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider this: God has made one of these along with the other, so that a man cannot discover anything that will come after him.

¹⁵有义人行义，反致灭亡；有恶人行恶，倒享长寿。这都是我在虚度之日中所见过的。In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

¹⁶不要行义过分，也不要过于自逞智慧，何必自取败亡呢？Do not be overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself?

¹⁷不要行恶过分，也不要为人愚昧，何必不到期而死呢？Do not be excessively wicked, and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time?

¹⁸你持守这个为美，那个也不要松手；因为敬畏　神的人，必从这两样出来。It is good to grasp the one and not let the other slip from your hand. For he who fears God will follow both warnings.

¹⁹智慧使有智慧的人比城中十个官长更有能力。Wisdom makes the wise man stronger than ten rulers in a city.

²⁰时常行善而不犯罪的义人，世上实在没有。Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

²¹人所说的一切话，你不要放在心上，恐怕听见你的仆人咒诅你。Do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, or you may hear your servant cursing you.

²²因为你心里知道，自己也曾屡次咒诅别人。For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

²³我曾用智慧试验这一切事；我说，要得智慧，智慧却离我远。All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.

²⁴万事之理，离我甚远，而且最深，谁能测透呢？What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?

²⁵我转念，一心要知道，要考察，要寻求智慧和万事的理由；又要知道邪恶为愚昧，愚昧为狂妄。I directed my mind to understand, to explore, to search out wisdom and explanations, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the folly of madness.

²⁶我得知有等妇人比死还苦：她的心是网罗，手是锁链。凡蒙　神喜悦的人必能躲避她；有罪的人却被她缠住了。And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.

^27–28传道者说：“看哪，一千男子中，我找到一个正直人，但众女子中，没有找到一个。”我将这事一一比较，要寻求其理，我心仍要寻找，却未曾找到。“Behold,” says the Teacher, “I have discovered this by adding one thing to another to find an explanation. While my soul was still searching but not finding, among a thousand I have found one upright man, but among all these I have not found one such woman.

²⁹我所找到的只有一件，就是　神造人原是正直，但他们寻出许多巧计。Only this have I found: I have discovered that God made mankind upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”