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Ecclesiastes 1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come And the years approach of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them; 在你年轻的时日，在灾祸的日子来到之前，即在你说的那些“没有欢乐”的日子来到之前，你应记念你的造主； 2 1 Before the sun is darkened. and the light, and the moon, and the stars, while the clouds return after the rain; 不要等到太阳、光体、月亮、星辰失光，雨后云彩再来； 3 2 When the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, And the grinders are idle because they are few, and they who look through the windows grow blind; 因为那时，看门者战栗，大力士屈伏，推磨的妇女因为少而停工，眺望窗外的女人面目昏黑， 4 3 When the doors to the street are shut, and the sound of the mill is low; When one waits for the chirp of a bird, but all the daughters of song are suppressed; 5 4 And one fears heights, and perils in the street; When the almond tree blooms, and the locust grows sluggish and the caper berry is without effect, Because man goes to his lasting home, and mourners go about the streets; 怕上高处，行路危险，杏子被弃，蚱蜢被嫌，续随子失去效力，因为人要回永远的家乡，哀悼的人徘徊街头； 6 5 Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, And the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the broken pulley falls into the well, 那时银链将断，金灯将碎，水罐将破于泉旁，轮子将烂于井边， 7 And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it. 灰尘将归于原来的土中，生气将归于天主，因为原是天主所赐。 8 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, all things are vanity! 训道者说：虚而又虚，万事皆虚。 9 Besides being wise, Qoheleth taught the people knowledge, and weighed, scrutinized and arranged many proverbs. 训道者不但是智者，而且教人获得知识，在沉思推究之后，编撰了许多格言。 10 Qoheleth sought to find pleasing sayings, and to write down true sayings with precision. 训道者费神寻找适当的语句，忠诚地写下了真理之言。 11 6 The sayings of the wise are like goads; like fixed spikes are the topics given by one collector. 智者的话好似锥子，收集的言论，好象钉牢的钉子：二者都是一位牧者所赐。 12 As to more than these, my son, beware. Of the making of many books there is no end, and in much study there is weariness for the flesh. 除此之外，我儿，不必再找别的书籍，书不论写多少，总没有止境；用功过度，必使身体疲倦。 13 7 The last word, when all is heard: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all; 总而言之：“你应敬畏天主，遵守他的诫命，因为这是人人的义务。” 14 because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad. 诚然天主对一切行为，连最隐秘的，不论好坏，都要一一审判。 Footnotes（注解） 1 [2] The sun . . . return: the cloudy and rainy Palestinian winter, a natural symbol of old age. 2 [3] Guardians: the arms; strong men: the legs; grinders: the teeth; they who . . . windows: the eyes. 3 [4] Doors: the tightly compressed lips; sound of the mill: perhaps the sound of mastication; daughters of song: the voice. 4 [5] The almond tree blooms: resembling the white hair of age. The locust . . . sluggish: an image of the stiffness in movement of the aged. The caper berry: a stimulant for appetite. 5 [6] The golden bowl suspended by the silver cord was a symbol of life; the snapping of the cord and the breaking of the bowl, a symbol of death. The pitcher . . . the broken pulley: another pair of metaphors for life and its ending. 6 [11] Goads . . . one collector: the sayings were stimulants to thought and also spikes or centers around which to group correlated pronouncements of the wise. 7 [13] Man's all: St. Jerome explains: "Unto this is every man born that, knowing his Maker, he may revere him in fear, honor, and the observance of his commandments." |
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