| 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 the day of death better than the day of birth.
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| 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 go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
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| 3 | 忧愁强如喜笑,因为面带愁容,终必使心喜乐。
Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 6 | 愚昧人的笑声,好像锅下烧荆棘的爆声,这也是虚空。
Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.
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| 7 | 勒索使智慧人变为愚妄。贿赂能败坏人的慧心。
Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
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| 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 its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
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| 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 resides in the lap of fools.
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| 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 not wise to ask such questions.
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| 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 a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.
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| 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。
Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
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| 13 | 你要察看神的作为,因神使为曲的,谁能变为直呢?
Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
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| 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。
When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.
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| 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 this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
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| 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 overrighteous, neither be overwise--why destroy yourself?
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| 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 overwicked, and do not be a fool--why die before your time?
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| 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 go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.
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| 19 | 智慧使有智慧的人,比城中十个官长更有能力。
Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.
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| 20 | 时常行善而不犯罪的义人,世上实在没有。
There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.
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| 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 people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you--
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| 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.
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| 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 and I said, "I am determined to be wise"--but this was beyond me.
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| 24 | 万事之理离我甚远,而且最深,谁能测透呢?
Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound--who can discover it?
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| 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。
So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.
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| 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。
I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.
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| 27 | 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。
"Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things--
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| 28 |
while I was still searching but not finding--I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.
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| 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。
This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes."
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