传道书 1
Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified)
传道者言万事尽属虚空
1 在耶路撒冷做王,大卫的儿子传道者的言语。
2 传道者说:虚空的虚空,虚空的虚空,凡事都是虚空。 3 人一切的劳碌,就是他在日光之下的劳碌,有什么益处呢? 4 一代过去,一代又来,地却永远长存。 5 日头出来,日头落下,急归所出之地。 6 风往南刮,又向北转,不住地旋转,而且返回转行原道。 7 江河都往海里流,海却不满;江河从何处流,仍归还何处。 8 万事令人厌烦[a],人不能说尽。眼看,看不饱;耳听,听不足。 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。 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。 11 已过的世代无人记念,将来的世代后来的人也不记念。
12 我传道者,在耶路撒冷做过以色列的王。 13 我专心用智慧寻求查究天下所做的一切事,乃知神叫世人所经练的,是极重的劳苦。 14 我见日光之下所做的一切事都是虚空,都是捕风。 15 弯曲的不能变直,缺少的不能足数。 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。” 17 我又专心察明智慧、狂妄和愚昧,乃知这也是捕风。 18 因为多有智慧就多有愁烦,加增知识的就加增忧伤。
Footnotes
- 传道书 1:8 或作:万物满有困乏。
Ecclesiastes 1
Contemporary English Version
Nothing Makes Sense
1 When the son of David was king in Jerusalem, he was known to be very wise,[a] and he said:
2 Nothing makes sense!
Everything is nonsense.
I have seen it all—
nothing makes sense!
3 What is there to show
for all of our hard work
here on this earth?
4 (A) People come, and people go,
but still the world
never changes.
5 The sun comes up,
the sun goes down;
it hurries right back
to where it started from.
6 The wind blows south,
the wind blows north;
round and round it blows
over and over again.
7 All rivers empty into the sea,
but it never spills over;
one by one the rivers return
to their source.[b]
8 All of life is far more boring
than words could ever say.
Our eyes and our ears
are never satisfied
with what we see and hear.
9 Everything that happens
has happened before;
nothing is new,
nothing under the sun.
10 Someone might say,
“Here is something new!”
But it happened before,
long before we were born.
11 No one who lived in the past
is remembered anymore,
and everyone yet to be born
will be forgotten too.
It Is Senseless To Be Wise
12 I said these things when I lived in Jerusalem as king of Israel. 13 With all my wisdom I tried to understand everything that happens here on earth. And God has made this so hard for us humans to do. 14 I have seen it all, and everything is just as senseless as chasing the wind.[c]
15 If something is crooked,
it can't be made straight;
if something isn't there,
it can't be counted.
16 (B) I said to myself, “You are by far the wisest person who has ever lived in Jerusalem. You are eager to learn, and you have learned a lot.” 17 Then I decided to find out all I could about wisdom and foolishness. Soon I realized that this too was as senseless as chasing the wind.[d]
18 The more you know,
the more you hurt;
the more you understand,
the more you suffer.
Footnotes
- 1.1 known to be very wise: This stands for the Hebrew word often translated “preacher” or “teacher.” The word may refer to someone who was a very wise leader or to someone who had become wise from collecting sayings about wisdom.
- 1.7 return to their source: Or “flow into the sea.”
- 1.14 chasing the wind: Or “eating the wind.”
- 1.17 chasing the wind: See the note at 1.14.
Ecclesiastes 1
New International Version
Everything Is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher,[a](A) son of David, king in Jerusalem:(B)
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”(C)
3 What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?(D)
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.(E)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.(F)
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.(G)
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,(H)
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;(I)
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 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 No one remembers the former generations,(J)
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.(K)
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher,(L) was king over Israel in Jerusalem.(M) 13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.(N) What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!(O) 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.(P)
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened;(Q)
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me;(R) I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,(S) and also of madness and folly,(T) but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12
Ecclesiastes 1
New Catholic Bible
Editor’s Note[a]
Chapter 1
1 The words of Qoheleth son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity[b] of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities! Everything is vanity.
3 What profit does anyone gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?[c]
Introductory Poem[d]
There Is Nothing New under the Sun
4 One generation passes away and another generation succeeds it,
but the earth stands firm forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
then it returns to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows southward and then veers to the north,
constantly turning as it repeats its course.
7 All the rivers go to the sea,
and yet the sea never overflows,
for the rivers continue to return
to their place of origin.
8 All things[e] are wearisome
and very difficult to express.
The eyes are not satisfied with seeing
and the ears do not have their fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be so again,
and what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Whatever is perceived to be new
has already existed in the ages before us.
11 Those people who died in ages past
are no longer remembered,
and the people yet to be born
will not be remembered by those who come after them.
The Impossible Happiness[f]
12 Much Wisdom, Much Anguish.[g] When I, Qoheleth, ruled as king over Israel in Jerusalem, 13 I applied the wisdom I possessed to study and explore everything that is done under the sun, a thankless task that God has given to men to keep us occupied. 14 I have seen everything that has been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a chase after the wind.[h]
15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I thought to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, far surpassing all those who preceded me in Jerusalem. My mind has mastered every facet of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 However, as I applied my mind to gain a complete understanding of wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly, I came to realize that this too is a chase after the wind.
18 For much wisdom can result in much sorrow,
and those who increase their knowledge also increase their grief.[i]
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:1 The author is introduced under the name of Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth, i.e., a person whose function is to speak in the assembly (ekklesia in Greek, qahal in Hebrew). His editor has come up with a happy formula to sum up the author’s thinking (Vanity of vanities . . .); it is so good that he will repeat it as a conclusion. And, since the Book represents a new line of thought, he puts it on the lips of Solomon—without naming him but using the phrase son of David.
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity: Hebrew word meaning “mist,” “breath,” or “puff of wind” (see Pss 39:6, 12; 62:10; 144:4). The author uses it in the sense of the illusory nature of things. Vanity of vanities: an expression that indicates the greatest degree of uselessness and emptiness.
- Ecclesiastes 1:3 Jesus expands on this same theme in Mk 8:36-38. Under the sun: i.e., the present world and its limits. A synonym is “under heaven” (see v. 13; 2:3; 3:1).
- Ecclesiastes 1:4 The author takes the opposite tack to the wonder and adoration excited by the universe in Job (chs. 38–40); for him, no event can change the course of things: nothing deserves to occupy our memories to this point: there is no history!
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 All things: or “words,” i.e., everything mentioned in verses 4-7.
- Ecclesiastes 1:12 Here is a very unusual interpretation of the success of the great King Solomon. It shows that the current wisdom has been surpassed, namely the wisdom that appeases the torment of people while they await success as a reward for virtue. The ancient ideas about recompense no longer hold, which was a dramatic discovery for Job.
- Ecclesiastes 1:12 Using the first person and speaking as Solomon (use of the third person returns only in the conclusion: Eccl 12:9-14), the author shows that both human endeavor (vv. 12-15; see 2:1-11) and the quest for human wisdom (vv. 16-18; see 2:12-17) are vanity.
- Ecclesiastes 1:14 A chase after the wind: an image of futility, useless effort, and waste of time (see Hos 12:2). The author uses the phrase eight more times in the first half of the Book: v. 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9.
- Ecclesiastes 1:18 The author has found that what is wisdom in theory is not so in practice and vice versa.
Saarnaajan 1
Raamattu 1933/38
1 Saarnaajan sanat, Daavidin pojan, joka oli kuninkaana Jerusalemissa.
2 Turhuuksien turhuus, sanoi saarnaaja, turhuuksien turhuus; kaikki on turhuutta!
3 Mitä hyötyä on ihmiselle kaikesta vaivannäöstänsä, jolla hän vaivaa itseänsä auringon alla?
4 Sukupolvi menee, ja sukupolvi tulee, mutta maa pysyy iäti.
5 Ja aurinko nousee, ja aurinko laskee ja kiiruhtaa sille sijallensa, josta se jälleen nousee.
6 Tuuli menee etelään ja kiertää pohjoiseen, kiertää yhä kiertämistään, ja samalle kierrollensa tuuli palajaa.
7 Kaikki joet laskevat mereen, mutta meri ei siitänsä täyty; samaan paikkaan, johon joet ovat laskeneet, ne aina edelleen laskevat.
8 Kaikki tyynni itseänsä väsyttää, niin ettei kukaan sitä sanoa saata. Ei saa silmä kylläänsä näkemisestä eikä korva täyttänsä kuulemisesta.
9 Mitä on ollut, sitä vastakin on; ja mitä on tapahtunut, sitä vastakin tapahtuu. Ei ole mitään uutta auringon alla.
10 Jos jotakin on, josta sanotaan: "Katso, tämä on uutta", niin on sitä kuitenkin ollut jo ennen, ammoisina aikoina, jotka ovat olleet ennen meitä.
11 Ei jää muistoa esi-isistä; eikä jälkeläisistäkään, jotka tulevat, jää muistoa niille, jotka heidän jälkeensä tulevat.
12 Minä, saarnaaja, olin Israelin kuningas Jerusalemissa.
13 Ja minä käänsin sydämeni viisaudella tutkimaan ja miettimään kaikkea, mitä auringon alla tapahtuu. Tämä on vaikea työ, jonka Jumala on antanut ihmislapsille, heidän sillä itseään rasittaaksensa.
14 Minä katselin kaikkia tekoja, mitä tehdään auringon alla, ja katso, se on kaikki turhuutta ja tuulen tavoittelua.
15 Väärä ei voi suoristua, eikä vajaata voi täydeksi laskea.
16 Minä puhuin sydämessäni näin: Minä olen hankkinut suuren viisauden ja sitä yhä lisännyt, jopa yli kaikkien, jotka ovat ennen minua Jerusalemissa hallinneet, ja paljon on sydämeni nähnyt viisautta ja tietoa.
17 Ja minä käänsin sydämeni tutkimaan viisautta ja tietoa, mielettömyyttä ja tyhmyyttä, ja minä tulin tietämään, että sekin oli tuulen tavoittelemista.
18 Sillä missä on paljon viisautta, siinä on paljon surua; ja joka tietoa lisää, se tuskaa lisää.
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