传道书 9
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
把握 神所赐的时机
9 我留心这一切事，并加以阐明：就是义人、智慧人和他们所作的，都在 神手里。临到他们的一切，无论是爱是恨，人都不领悟。 2 众人的命运都是一样的：义人与恶人、好人与坏人、洁净的与不洁净的、献祭的与不献祭的，所遭遇的都是一样的；好人怎样，罪人也怎样；起誓的怎样，怕起誓的也怎样。
3 在日光之下所发生的一切事，有一件令人遗憾的，就是众人的命运都是一样的，并且世人的心充满邪恶，一生心怀狂妄，后来都归到死人那里去。 4 凡有生命的（“凡有生命的”原文作“凡与所有活人有关联的”），就有盼望，因为活狗比死狮更好。 5 活人还知道自己必死，死人却一无所知，而且再得不到酬劳，他们也被遗忘。 6 他们的爱，他们的恨，他们的嫉妒，都早已消失了，在日光之下所发生的一切事，永远也没有他们的分了。
7 你只管快快乐乐地去吃你的饭，怀着高兴的心去喝你的酒，因为 神已经悦纳了你所作的。 8 你当经常穿著白色的衣袍，头上也不要缺少膏油。
9 在你一生虚空的年日中，就是 神在日光之下赐你虚空的年日中，你要和你所爱的妻子享受人生，因为那是你一生在日光之下从劳碌中所得的分。 10 凡是你手可作的，都当尽力去作；因为在你所要去的阴间里，既没有工作，又没有筹谋；没有知识，也没有智慧。
11 我又看见在日光之下，跑得快的未必得奖，勇士未必战胜，智慧的未必得粮食，精明的未必致富，博学的未必得人赏识，因为时机和际遇左右众人。 12 原来人并不知道自己的时机，正像鱼被恶网圈住，鸟被网罗捉住，险恶的时机忽然临到世人身上的时候，世人也照样陷在其中。
智慧胜过武力
13 在日光之下，我又看见一样智慧，觉得很有意义： 14 有一座小城，人数不多；有一个大君王来进攻，把它包围，建造巨大的高垒攻城。 15 城里有一个贫穷但有智慧的人，用他的智慧救了那城。然而，却没有人记念那穷人。 16 于是我说：“智慧胜过武力”，但是那个穷人的智慧被藐视，他的话也没有人听从。 17 听智慧人安安静静说出来的话，胜过听管理愚昧者的人的喊叫。 18 智慧胜于战斗的武器，但一个罪人能破坏许多好事。
Ecclesiastes 9
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 9
Love, Hatred, and Death.[a] 1 To all this I have applied my mind, and I came to this conclusion: the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. As to whether they will earn love or hatred, we have no way of knowing. 2 Everything that confronts them is futile, inasmuch as the same fate comes to all, to the upright, and the wicked, to the good and the bad, to the clean and the unclean, to those who offer sacrifice and those who do not.
As it is with the good person,
so is it with the sinner;
as it is with the one who takes an oath,
so is it with the one who is fearful of doing so.
3 The worst evil of all the things that happen under the sun is this: that the same fate befalls everyone. Moreover, the hearts of men are filled with evil; madness is in their hearts throughout their lives, and afterward they descend to the dead. 4 However, the one who is counted among the living still has hope. It is preferable to be a living dog rather than a dead lion.
5 The living realize that they will die,
whereas the dead know nothing whatever.
They will have no further reward,
and even the memory of them will be obliterated.
6 For them all love and hatred and jealousy
have already perished.
Never again will they have any share
in anything that is done under the sun.
Eat, Drink, and Love.[b] 7 Go forth, then. Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God long ago approved what you do. 8 At all times dress in white garments and always anoint your head with oil.
9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love throughout all the days of your allotted span of life that have been given to you under the sun, because that is your lot while you live and labor here under the sun. 10 Whatever task your hand finds to do, expend all your efforts on it, for you will find no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom in the netherworld to which you are going.
11 Destiny and Life. Another thing I have observed here under the sun:
The race is not won by the swift,
nor the battle by the brave.
Food does not belong to the wise,
nor wealth to the intelligent,
nor success to the skillful.
Rather, time and chance govern all alike.
12 For no one is able to anticipate the time of disaster:
Like fish caught in a treacherous net,
and like birds caught in a snare,
so people are trapped
when misfortune suddenly falls upon them.
13 War and Peace.[c] I have also seen the following example of wisdom under the sun, and I find it of great significance.
14 There was a small town with very few inhabitants. A great king advanced against it and surrounded it while building great siege-works. 15 In the town there lived a man who, though poor, was wise, and by his wisdom he delivered the town. Yet no one remembered this poor man afterward. 16 Therefore, I said, “Wisdom is better than power.” Yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words go unheeded.
A Wise Man in the City of Fools[d]
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one mistake can undo a great deal of good.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 9:1 Qoheleth does not yet foresee the hope of a resurrection, and the pious teachings concerning prosperity of the righteous and the ruin of the wicked have for him a taste of useless opium. But he clings to the idea that it is good to live!
- Ecclesiastes 9:7 In the modest trilogy (eat, drink, and love) of happiness, love, which endures for a lifetime, replaces the joy of labor. Even if Qoheleth hasn’t the slightest presentiment of an eternal life, he has learned to accept the present as a gift of God.
- Ecclesiastes 9:13 Wisdom is more important than arms to save nations, but humankind seems unable to understand this. In all the eras of history, it prefers to keep the memory of its war leaders.
- Ecclesiastes 9:17 Qoheleth inserts some sayings and illustrations on the subject of chance. Merit means nothing in the face of chance (Eccl 9:11-12), and many things succeed or fail because of trivial causes (Eccl 9:13—10:20); hence risk is an essential part of life (Eccl 11:1-6).
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
