传道书 9
1 我将这一切事放在心上，详细考究，就知道义人和智慧人，并他们的作为都在 神手中；或是爱，或是恨，都在他们的前面，人不能知道。
So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.
2 凡临到众人的事都是一样：义人和恶人都遭遇一样的事；好人，洁净人和不洁净人，献祭的与不献祭的，也是一样。好人如何，罪人也如何；起誓的如何，怕起誓的也如何。
It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.
3 在日光之下所行的一切事上有一件祸患，就是众人所遭遇的都是一样，并且世人的心充满了恶；活着的时候心里狂妄，后来就归死人那里去了。
This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.
4 与一切活人相连的，那人还有指望，因为活着的狗比死了的狮子更强。
There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.
5 活着的人知道必死；死了的人毫无所知，也不再得赏赐；他们的名无人记念。
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.
6 他们的爱，他们的恨，他们的嫉妒，早都消灭了。在日光之下所行的一切事上，他们永不再有分了。
Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.
7 你只管去欢欢喜喜吃你的饭，心中快乐喝你的酒，因为 神已经悦纳你的作为。
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
8 你的衣服当时常洁白，你头上也不要缺少膏油。
Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head.
9 在你一生虚空的年日，就是 神赐你在日光之下虚空的年日，当同你所爱的妻，快活度日，因为那是你生前在日光之下劳碌的事上所得的分。
Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.
Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom. (Sheol h7585)
11 我又转念：见日光之下，快跑的未必能赢；力战的未必得胜；智慧的未必得粮食；明哲的未必得资财；灵巧的未必得喜悦。所临到众人的是在乎当时的机会。
I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
12 原来人也不知道自己的定期。鱼被恶网圈住，鸟被网罗捉住，祸患忽然临到的时候，世人陷在其中也是如此。
For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.
13 我见日光之下有一样智慧，据我看乃是广大，
I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:
14 就是有一小城，其中的人数稀少，有大君王来攻击，修筑营垒，将城围困。
There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.
15 城中有一个贫穷的智慧人，他用智慧救了那城，却没有人记念那穷人。
Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
16 我就说，智慧胜过勇力；然而那贫穷人的智慧被人藐视，他的话也无人听从。
And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
17 宁可在安静之中听智慧人的言语，不听掌管愚昧人的喊声。
The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.
18 智慧胜过打仗的兵器；但一个罪人能败坏许多善事。
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
