1 在耶路撒冷作王、大衛的兒子、傳道者的言語。
The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: |
2 傳道者說、虛空的虛空、虛空的虛空.凡事都是虛空。
"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." |
3 人一切的勞碌、就是他在日光之下的勞碌、有甚麼益處呢。
What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? |
4 一代過去、一代又來.地卻永遠長存。
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. |
5 日頭出來、日頭落下、急歸所出之地。
The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. |
6 風往南颳、又向北轉、不住的旋轉、而且返回轉行原道。
The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. |
7 江河都往海裡流、海卻不滿.江河從何處流、仍歸還何處.
All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. |
8 萬事令人厭煩〔或作萬物滿有困乏〕人不能說盡.眼看、看不飽、耳聽、聽不足。
All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. |
9 已有的事、後必再有.已行的事、後必再行.日光之下並無新事。
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. |
10 豈有一件事人能指著說、這是新的.那知、在我們以前的世代、早已有了。
Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. |
11 已過的世代、無人記念、將來的世代、後來的人也不記念。
There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow. |
12 我傳道者在耶路撒冷作過以色列的王。
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
13 我專心用智慧尋求查究天下所作的一切事、乃知 神叫世人所經練的、是極重的勞苦。
I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! |
14 我見日光之下所作的一切事、都是虛空、都是捕風。
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. |
15 彎曲的不能變直.缺少的不能足數。
What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. |
16 我心裡議論、說、我得了大智慧、勝過我以前在耶路撒冷的眾人.而且我心中多經歷智慧、和知識的事。
I thought to myself, "Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge." |
17 我又專心察明智慧、狂妄、和愚昧.乃知這也是捕風。
Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. |
18 因為多有智慧、就多有愁煩.加增知識的、就加增憂傷。
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. |