传道书 9
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
9 我仔细思想、探究这些事，就知道义人、智者及他们的行事为人都由上帝掌管，人无法知道前面等待自己的是爱还是恨。 2 义人和恶人、好人和坏人、洁净的和污秽的、献祭的和不献祭的、行善的和犯罪的、敢于起誓的和不敢起誓的人，最终的命运都一样。 3 在日光之下有一件可悲的事，就是人最终的命运都一样。再者，人内心都充满邪恶，活着的时候行事狂妄，最后都步入死亡。 4 有生命就有希望，一条活狗总比一头死狮子强。 5 因为活着的人还知道自己终有一死，但死了的人什么都不知道，再也得不到任何赏赐，他们被忘得一干二净。 6 他们的爱、恨和嫉妒早已不复存在，他们再也无法参与日光之下的事。
7 去欢欢喜喜、快快乐乐地吃喝吧！因为上帝已经悦纳你所做的。 8 你的衣服要经常保持洁白，头上也不要缺少膏油。 9 在你虚空的人生中，就是在上帝所赐、日光之下虚空的岁月里，你要与爱妻快乐度日，因为这是你一生在日光之下的劳碌中所当得的。 10 凡你的手能做的，都要尽力去做，因为在你要去的阴间没有工作，没有计划，也没有知识和智慧。 11 我又发现，日光之下，跑得快的未必能得奖，强大的未必能得胜，智者未必得温饱，聪明人未必有财富，博学者未必受爱戴，因为时机和境遇左右众人。 12 再者，人无法知道何时大难临头。祸患突然临到时，人根本无法摆脱，就像鱼落入险恶的网中，又像鸟儿陷入网罗。 13 我看见日光之下有一种智慧，对我来说意义深远。 14 有一个势力强大的君王来攻击一个人口不多的小城，他建造营垒围困这城。 15 这城里有一个贫穷的智者，他用智慧拯救了这城，但事后人们却把他遗忘了。 16 我认为智慧胜过武力，然而那位穷人的智慧却被轻视，他所说的话也无人理会。 17 智者的细语胜过官长在愚人中的喊叫。 18 智慧胜过兵器，但一个罪人却能破坏许多善事。
Ecclesiastes 9
New King James Version
Death Comes to All
9 For I [a]considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: (A)that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. 2 (B)All things come alike to all:
One event happens to the righteous and the wicked;
To the [b]good, the clean, and the unclean;
To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice.
As is the good, so is the sinner;
He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.
3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they will die;
But (C)the dead know nothing,
And they have no more reward,
For (D)the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished;
Nevermore will they have a share
In anything done under the sun.
7 Go, (E)eat your bread with joy,
And drink your wine with a merry heart;
For God has already accepted your works.
8 Let your garments always be white,
And let your head lack no oil.
9 [c]Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; (F)for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.
10 (G)Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your (H)might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
11 I returned (I)and saw under the sun that—
The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and (J)chance happen to them all.
12 For (K)man also does not know his time:
Like fish taken in a cruel net,
Like birds caught in a snare,
So the sons of men are (L)snared in an evil time,
When it falls suddenly upon them.
Wisdom Superior to Folly
13 This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me: 14 (M)There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great [d]snares around it. 15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man.
16 Then I said:
“Wisdom is better than (N)strength.
Nevertheless (O)the poor man’s wisdom is despised,
And his words are not heard.
17 Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard
Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war;
But (P)one sinner destroys much good.”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 9:1 Lit. put
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 LXX, Syr., Vg. good and bad,
- Ecclesiastes 9:9 Lit. See life
- Ecclesiastes 9:14 LXX, Syr., Vg. bulwarks
Ecclesiastes 9
Good News Translation
9 I thought long and hard about all this and saw that God controls the actions of wise and righteous people, even their love and their hate. No one knows anything about what lies ahead. 2 It makes no difference.[a] The same fate comes to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the bad,[b] to those who are religious and those who are not, to those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. A good person is no better off than a sinner; one who takes an oath is no better off than one who does not. 3 One fate comes to all alike, and this is as wrong as anything that happens in this world. As long as people live, their minds are full of evil and madness, and suddenly they die. 4 But anyone who is alive in the world of the living has some hope; a live dog is better off than a dead lion. 5 Yes, the living know they are going to die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward; they are completely forgotten. 6 Their loves, their hates, their passions, all died with them. They will never again take part in anything that happens in this world.
7 Go ahead—eat your food and be happy; drink your wine and be cheerful. It's all right with God. 8 Always look happy and cheerful. 9 Enjoy life with the one you love, as long as you live the useless life that God has given you in this world. Enjoy every useless day of it, because that is all you will get for all your trouble. 10 Work hard at whatever you do, because there will be no action, no thought, no knowledge, no wisdom in the world of the dead—and that is where you are going.
11 I realized another thing, that in this world fast runners do not always win the races, and the brave do not always win the battles. The wise do not always earn a living, intelligent people do not always get rich, and capable people do not always rise to high positions. Bad luck happens to everyone. 12 You never know when your time is coming. Like birds suddenly caught in a trap, like fish caught in a net, we are trapped at some evil moment when we least expect it.
Thoughts on Wisdom and Foolishness
13 There is something else I saw, a good example of how wisdom is regarded in this world. 14 There was a little town without many people in it. A powerful king attacked it. He surrounded it and prepared to break through the walls. 15 Someone lived there who was poor, but so clever that he could have saved the town. But no one thought about him.[c] 16 I have always said that wisdom is better than strength, but no one thinks of the poor as wise or pays any attention to what they say. 17 It is better to listen to the quiet words of someone wise than to the shouts of a ruler at a council of fools. 18 Wisdom does more good than weapons, but one sinner can undo a lot of good.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 hate. No one … difference; or hate, but no one knows whether it is out of love or hate. 2 It makes no difference what lies ahead of us.
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 Some ancient translations and the bad; Hebrew does not have these words.
- Ecclesiastes 9:15 he could have … him; or he saved the town. But later on no one remembered him.
Chinese Contemporary Bible Copyright © 1979, 2005, 2007, 2011 by Biblica® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
