Ecclesiastes 1

1 These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:

1 以下是在耶路撒冷做王的大卫之子传道者的话。

2 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”

2 传道者说：虚空的虚空， 虚空的虚空，一切都是虚空。

3 What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?

3 人在日光之下的一切劳碌有什么益处呢？

4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

4 一代过去，一代又来， 大地却永远长存。

5 The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.

5 太阳升起，太阳落下， 匆忙回到升起之地。

6 The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.

6 风吹向南，又转向北， 循环不息，周而复始。

7 All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.

7 江河涌流入海，海却不会满溢； 江河从何处流出，又返回何处。

8 All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.

8 万事令人厌烦，人述说不尽。 眼看，看不饱； 耳听，听不够。

9 What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

9 以往发生的事，将来还会发生； 先前做过的事，将来也必再做。 日光之下，根本没有新事。

10 Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.

10 人可以指着哪件事说 “看啊，这是新事”？ 所谓的新事在我们以前早就有了。

11 There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.

11 过去的事无人记得， 将来的事后人也不记得。

12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

12 我传道者曾在耶路撒冷做以色列的王。

13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a miserable task God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!

13 我专心用智慧去研究、探索天下万事，发现上帝给世人的是极重的苦工。

14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

14 我观察一切日光之下所做的事，看啊，都是虚空，好像捕风。

15 What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

15 弯曲的不能变直，缺少的无法补足 。

16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

16 我心里想：“我获得极大的智慧，远超过以前统治耶路撒冷的人。我拥有丰富的智慧和知识。”

17 So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.

17 我又专心察明智慧和知识、狂妄和愚昧，却发现这也是捕风。

18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.

18 因为智慧越高，愁烦越多；知识越多，痛苦越深。