1:1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
在耶路撒冷作王，大卫的儿子传道者的言语。
1:2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."
传道者说:虚空的虚空，虚空的虚空,凡事都是虚空。
1:3 What does man gain from all his labor/ˈleɪbə(r)/ at which he toils /tɔɪlz/ under the sun?
人一切的劳碌，就是他在日光之下的劳碌，有什么益处呢？
1:4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
一代过去，一代又来，地却永远长存。
1:5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises /ˈraɪzɪz/ .
日头出来，日头落下，急归所出之地。
1:6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course /kɔːrs/ .
风往南刮，又向北转，不住地旋转，而且返回转行原道。
1:7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
江河都往海里流，海却不满；江河从何处流，仍归还何处。
1:8 All things are wearisome /ˈwɪrisəm/, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor /nɔːr/ the ear its fill of hearing /ˈhɪrɪŋ/ .
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。
1:9 What has been will be again, what has been done /dʌn/ will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
已有的事，后必再有；已行的事，后必再行。日光之下，并无新事。
1:10 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.
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。
1:11 There is no remembrance /rɪˈmembrəns/ of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.
已过的世代，无人记念；将来的世代，后来的人也不记念。
1:12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
我传道者在耶路撒冷作过以色列的王。
1:13 I devoted myself to study and to explore /ɪkˈsplɔːr/ by wisdom /ɪkˈsplɔːr/ all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden /ɪkˈsplɔːr/ God has laid on men!
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。
1:14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing /ˈtʃeɪsɪŋ/ after the wind.
我见日光之下所作的一切事，都是虚空，都是捕风。
1:15 What is twisted cannot be straightened /ˈstreɪtnd/; what is lacking cannot be counted.
弯曲的不能变直，缺少的不能足数。
1:16 I thought to myself, "Look, I have grown /ɡroʊn/ and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced /ɡroʊn/ much of wisdom and knowledge."
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。
1:17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned /ˈlɜːrnɪd/ that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
我又专心察明智慧、狂妄和愚昧，乃知这也是捕风。
1:18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief /ɡriːf/ .
因为多有智慧，就多有愁烦；加增知识的，就加增忧伤。
2:1 I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure /ˈpleʒər/ to find out what is good." But that also proved /pruːvd/ to be meaningless.
我心里说：来吧！我以喜乐试试你，你好享福。谁知，这也是虚空。
2:2 "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?"
我指嬉笑说：这是狂妄；论喜乐说：有何功效呢？
2:3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly--my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
我心里察究，如何用酒使我肉体舒畅，我心却仍以智慧引导我；又如何持住愚昧，等我看明世人，在天下一生当行何事为美。
2:4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.
我为自己动大工程，建造房屋，栽种葡萄园；
2:5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.
修造园囿，在其中栽种各样果木树；
2:6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.
挖造水池，用以浇灌嫩小的树木。
2:7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
我买了仆婢，也有生在家中的仆婢；又有许多牛群羊群，胜过以前在耶路撒冷众人所有的。
2:8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well--the delights of the heart of man.
我又为自己积蓄金银和君王的财宝，并各省的财宝；又得唱歌的男女和世人所喜爱的物，并许多的妃嫔。
2:9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
这样，我就日见昌盛，胜过以前在耶路撒冷的众人。我的智慧仍然存留。
2:10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
凡我眼所求的，我没有留下不给他的；我心所乐的，我没有禁止不享受的；因我的心为我一切所劳碌的快乐，这就是我从劳碌中所得的份。
2:11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
后来，我察看我手所经营的一切事和我劳碌所成的功，谁知都是虚空，都是捕风，在日光之下毫无益处。
2:12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done?
我转念观看智慧、狂妄和愚昧。在王以后而来的人还能作什么呢？也不过行早先所行的就是了。
2:13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.
我便看出智慧胜过愚昧，如同光明胜过黑暗。
2:14 The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both.
智慧人的眼目光明（“光明”原文作“在他头上”）；愚昧人在黑暗里行。我却看明有一件事，这两等人都必遇见。
2:15 Then I thought in my heart, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?" I said in my heart, "This too is meaningless."
我就心里说：愚昧人所遇见的，我也必遇见，我为何更有智慧呢？我心里说：这也是虚空。
2:16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!
智慧人和愚昧人一样，永远无人记念，因为日后都被忘记；可叹智慧人死亡，与愚昧人无异。
2:17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
我所以恨恶生命，因为在日光之下所行的事，我都以为烦恼，都是虚空，都是捕风。
2:18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.
我恨恶一切的劳碌，就是我在日光之下的劳碌，因为我得来的必留给我以后的人。
2:19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.
那人是智慧，是愚昧，谁能知道？他竟要管理我劳碌所得的，就是我在日光之下用智慧所得的。这也是虚空。
2:20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.
故此，我转想我在日光之下所劳碌的一切工作，心便绝望。
2:21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
因为有人用智慧、知识、灵巧所劳碌得来的，却要留给未曾劳碌的人为份。这也是虚空，也是大患。
2:22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?
人在日光之下劳碌累心，在他一切的劳碌上得着什么呢？
2:23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
因为他日日忧虑，他的劳苦成为愁烦，连夜间心也不安。这也是虚空。
2:24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
人莫强如吃喝，且在劳碌中享福，我看这也是出于 神的手。
2:25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?
论到吃用、享福，谁能胜过我呢？
2:26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
神喜悦谁，就给谁智慧、知识和喜乐，惟有罪人， 神使他劳苦，叫他将所收聚的、所堆积的归给 神所喜悦的人。这也是虚空，也是捕风。
Ecclesiastes
3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
凡事都有定期，天下万务都有定时。
3:2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
生有时，死有时；栽种有时，拔出所栽种的也有时；
3:3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
杀戮有时，医治有时；拆毁有时，建造有时；
3:4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
哭有时，笑有时；哀恸有时，跳舞有时；
3:5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
抛掷石头有时，堆聚石头有时；怀抱有时，不怀抱有时；
3:6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
寻找有时，失落有时；保守有时，舍弃有时；
3:7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
撕裂有时，缝补有时；静默有时，言语有时；
3:8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
喜爱有时，恨恶有时；争战有时，和好有时。
3:9 What does the worker gain from his toil?
这样看来，作事的人在他的劳碌上有什么益处呢？
3:10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men.
我见 神叫世人劳苦，使他们在其中受经练。
3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
神造万物，各按其时成为美好，又将永生安置在世人心里（“永生”原文作“永远”）。然而 神从始至终的作为，人不能参透。
3:12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.
我知道世人，莫强如终身喜乐行善，
3:13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God.
并且人人吃喝，在他一切劳碌中享福，这也是 神的恩赐。
3:14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.
我知道 神一切所作的都必永存，无所增添，无所减少。 神这样行，是要人在他面前存敬畏的心。
3:15 Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.
现今的事早先就有了，将来的事早已也有了，并且 神使已过的事重新再来（或作“并且 神再寻回已过的事”）。
3:16 And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment--wickedness was there, in the place of justice--wickedness was there.
我又见日光之下，在审判之处有奸恶，在公义之处也有奸恶。
3:17 I thought in my heart, "God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed."
我心里说： 神必审判义人和恶人，因为在那里，各样事务，一切工作，都有定时。
3:18 I also thought, "As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.
我心里说：这乃为世人的缘故，是 神要试验他们，使他们觉得自己不过像兽一样。
3:19 Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath ; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless.
因为世人遭遇的，兽也遭遇，所遭遇的都是一样；这个怎样死，那个也怎样死，气息都是一样。人不能强于兽，都是虚空。
3:20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.
都归一处，都是出于尘土，也都归于尘土。
3:21 Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?"
谁知道人的灵是往上升，兽的魂是下入地呢？
3:22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?
故此，我见人莫强如在他经营的事上喜乐，因为这是他的份；他身后的事，谁能使他回来得见呢？
Ecclesiastes
4:1 Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed-- and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors-- and they have no comforter.
我又转念，见日光之下所行的一切欺压。看哪，受欺压的流泪，且无人安慰；欺压他们的有势力，也无人安慰他们。
4:2 And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive.
因此，我赞叹那早已死的死人，胜过那还活着的活人。
4:3 But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.
并且我以为那未曾生的，就是未见过日光之下恶事的，比这两等人更强。
4:4 And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
我又见人为一切的劳碌和各样灵巧的工作就被邻舍嫉妒。这也是虚空，也是捕风。
4:5 The fool folds his hands and ruins himself.
愚昧人抱着手，吃自己的肉；
4:6 Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.
满了一把，得享安静，强如满了两把，劳碌捕风。
4:7 Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:
我又转念，见日光之下有一件虚空的事：
4:8 There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. "For whom am I toiling," he asked, "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?" This too is meaningless-- a miserable business!
有人孤单无二，无子无兄，竟劳碌不息，眼目也不以钱财为足。他说：我劳劳碌碌，刻苦自己，不享福乐，到底是为谁呢？这也是虚空，是极重的劳苦。
4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
两个人总比一个人好，因为二人劳碌同得美好的果效。
4:10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
若是跌倒，这人可以扶起他的同伴；若是孤身跌倒，没有别人扶起他来，这人就有祸了！
4:11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?
再者，二人同睡，就都暖和；一人独睡，怎能暖和呢？
4:12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
有人攻胜孤身一人，若有二人便能敌挡他；三股合成的绳子不容易折断。
4:13 Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning.
贫穷而有智慧的少年人，胜过年老不肯纳谏的愚昧王。
4:14 The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom.
这人是从监牢中出来作王；在他国中，生来原是贫穷的。
4:15 I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king's successor.
我见日光之下一切行动的活人，都随从那第二位，就是起来代替老王的少年人。
4:16 There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
他所治理的众人，就是他的百姓，多得无数。在他后来的人，尚且不喜悦他。这真是虚空，也是捕风。