1 在耶路撒冷作王,大卫的儿子,传道者的言语。 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: |
2 传道者说,虚空的虚空,虚空的虚空。凡事都是虚空。 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." |
3 人一切的劳碌,就是他在日光之下的劳碌,有什么益处呢? What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? |
4 一代过去,一代又来。地却永远长存。 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. |
5 日头出来,日头落下,急归所出之地。 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. |
6 风往南刮,又向北转,不住地旋转,而且返回转行原道。 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. |
7 江河都往海里流,海却不满。江河从何处流,仍归还何处。 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. |
8 万事令人厌烦。(或作万物满有困乏)人不能说尽。眼看,看不饱,耳听,听不足。 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,后必再有。已行的事,后必再行。日光之下并无新事。 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. |
10 岂有一件事人能指着说,这是新的。哪知,在我们以前的世代,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 已过的世代,无人记念,将来的世代,后来的人也不记念。 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 我传道者在耶路撒冷作过以色列的王。 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
13 我专心用智慧寻求查究天下所作的一切事,乃知神叫世人所经练的,是极重的劳苦。 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 我见日光之下所作的一切事,都是虚空,都是捕风。 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. |
15 弯曲的不能变直,缺少的不能足数。 What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted. |
16 我心里议论,说,我得了大智慧,胜过我以前在耶路撒冷的众人。而且我心中多经历智慧,和知识的事。 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 我又专心察明智慧,狂妄,和愚昧。乃知这也是捕风。 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 因为多有智慧,就多有愁烦。加增知识的,就加增忧伤。 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. |