Ecclesiastes 1

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

1 在耶路撒冷作王、大衛的兒子、傳道者的言語。

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

2 傳道者說：虛空的虛空， 虛空的虛空，凡事都是虛空。

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

3 人一切的勞碌， 就是他在日光之下的勞碌，有甚麼益處呢？

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

4 一代過去，一代又來， 地卻永遠長存。

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

5 日頭出來，日頭落下， 急歸所出之地。

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

6 風往南颳，又向北轉， 不住地旋轉，而且返回轉行原道。

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 江河都往海裏流，海卻不滿； 江河從何處流，仍歸還何處。

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

8 萬事令人厭煩 ， 人不能說盡。 眼看，看不飽； 耳聽，聽不足。

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

9 已有的事後必再有； 已行的事後必再行。 日光之下並無新事。

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

10 豈有一件事人能指着說這是新的？ 哪知，在我們以前的世代早已有了。

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 已過的世代，無人記念； 將來的世代，後來的人也不記念。

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

12 我傳道者在耶路撒冷作過以色列的王。

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 我專心用智慧尋求、查究天下所做的一切事，乃知上帝叫世人所經練的是極重的勞苦。

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 我見日光之下所做的一切事，都是虛空，都是捕風。

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

15 彎曲的，不能變直； 缺少的，不能足數。

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 我心裏議論說：我得了大智慧，勝過我以前在耶路撒冷的眾人，而且我心中多經歷智慧和知識的事。

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 我又專心察明智慧、狂妄，和愚昧，乃知這也是捕風。

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

18 因為多有智慧，就多有愁煩； 加增知識的，就加增憂傷。