圣经-旧约（天主教思高圣经）
不认识圣经，就是不认识基督，不认识基督，就是不认识基督所建立的天主教会。
旧约·训道篇
共12章:
第一章(18)
1:1 达味之子耶路撒冷的君王「训道者」的语录：
万事皆虚
1:2 虚而又虚，训道者说：虚而又虚，万事皆虚。
1:3 人在太阳下辛勤劳作，为人究有何益﹖
1:4 一代过去，一代又来，大地仍常存在。
1:5 太阳升起，太阳落下，匆匆赶回原处，从新再升。
1:6 风吹向南，又转向北，旋转不息，循环运行。
1:7 江河流入大海，大海总不满溢；江河仍向所往之处，川流不息。
1:8 万事皆辛劳，无人能尽言：眼看，看不够；耳听，听不饱。
1:9 往昔所有，将会再有；昔日所行，将会再行；太阳之下决无新事。
1:10 若有人指一事说：「看，这是新事。」殊不知在我们以前早就有过。
1:11 只是对往者，没有人去追忆；同样，对来者，也不会为后辈所记念。
智能空虚
1:12 我训道者，曾在耶路撒冷作过以色列的君王。
1:13 曾专心用智慧考察研究过天下所发生的一切；──这实是天主赐与人类的一项艰辛的工作。
1:14 我观察了在太阳下所发生的一切：看，都是空虚，都是追风。
1:15 弯曲的，不能使之正直，亏缺的，实在不可胜数。
1:16 我心自谓：「看，我获得又大又多的智慧，胜过所有在我以前住在耶路撒冷的人；我心获识许多智慧和学问。」
1:17 我再专心研究智慧和学问，愚昧和狂妄，我才发觉：连这项工作也是追风。
1:18 因为，智慧愈多，烦恼愈多；学问越广，忧虑越深。
第二章(26)
乐亦皆虚
2:1 我心下自语：「来，试一试享乐，享受一下福乐!」看，这也是空虚。
2:2 我称欢笑为「疯狂」，我对喜乐说：「这有何用﹖」
2:3 我遂决意喝酒使我的肉身畅快，──但我的心仍为智慧所引导，并决意迷恋于狂妄的事，直到我看清，世人在天下一生有限的岁月中所做的事，有什么好处为止。
2:4 我于是扩大我的工程：为自己建造宫室，栽植葡萄园，
2:5 开辟园囿，在其中栽植各种果树，
2:6 挖掘水池，以浇灌在生长中的树木。
2:7 买了奴婢，还有在家中出世的僮仆，又有许多牛羊，多过我以前住在耶路撒冷的人。
2:8 我还聚敛了大批金银，及各王候各省郡的财宝；拥有许多吟咏的男女，无数的嫔妃，以及人间所有的享受。
2:9 我虽如此富有，超过以往住在耶路撒冷的人，但我仍没有丧失智慧。
2:10 凡我眼所希求的，我决不加以拒绝；凡我心所愿享受的快乐，我也决不加以阻止；因为我的心对我的一切劳苦工作，实在满意；其实，这也是我由劳苦工作应得的报酬。
2:11 但当我回顾我所作的一切工作，以及工作时所受的劳苦，看，一切都是空虚，都是追风；在太阳之下，毫无裨益。
智愚相比
2:12 我又回顾观察智慧、疯狂和昏愚；那继位作君王的人能做什么﹖只能做已做过的事。
2:13 我看透智慧胜于昏愚，像光明胜于黑暗。
2:14 「智者高瞻远瞩，愚者却在黑暗中摸索。」但我也知道：二者都要遭遇到同样的命运。
2:15 我心中自问：「愚人的命运，我也会遇到，为什么我要更明智﹖」我遂下结论说：「这也是空虚。」
2:16 因为智者和愚者，同样不为人长久记念，早晚有一天都要被人遗忘。可惜，智者和愚者同样死去!
2:17 于是我恼恨生命，因为太阳之下所发生的事，无非使我烦恼，因为全是空虚，都是追风。
勤劳的空虚
2:18 我憎恨我在太阳下所受的劳苦，因为我要将劳苦所得，留给我的后人。
2:19 他是智是愚，有谁知道；但他一定要主管我在太阳下，以智慧所辛苦经营的一切工作：这也是空虚。
2:20 我回顾我在太阳下所受的一切劳苦，就灰心失望。
2:21 因为有人以智慧、学问和才干劳作得来的，却应留给那未曾劳作的人，作为产业：这也是空虚和大不幸。
2:22 人在太阳下所受的一切劳苦，以及痛心的事，究竟有什么裨益﹖
2:23 其实，人天天所有的事务，无非是悲痛和烦恼；而且夜里，心也得不到安息：这也是空虚。
2:24 人除了吃喝和享受自己劳作之所得以外，别无更好的事。我也看透了：这是从天主手里来的。
2:25 因为离了天主，谁能有吃的，谁能有所享受﹖
2:26 天主原把智慧、学问和欢乐，赐给他所喜爱的人。至于罪人，天主将积蓄贮藏财物的劳苦加于他身上，好将一切财物留给天主所喜爱的人：这也是空虚，也是追风。
第三章(22)
事事有定时
3:1 事事有时节，天下任何事皆有定时：
3:2 生有时，死有时，栽种有时，拔除栽种亦有时；
3:3 杀戮有时，治疗有时，拆毁有时，建筑有时；
3:4 哭有时，笑有时，哀悼有时，舞蹈有时；
3:5 拋石有时，堆石有时；拥抱有时，戒避拥抱亦有时；
3:6 寻找有时，遗失有时；保存有时，舍弃有时；
3:7 撕裂有时，缝缀有时；缄默有时，言谈有时，
3:8 爱慕有时，憎恨有时；作战有时，和睦有时。
事事有天主安排
3:9 工作的人，从劳苦中得了什么利益﹖
3:10 我观察了天主交予人类所应从事的事务，得知：
3:11 天主所行的一切事宜，都很适时，并赐给人认识时事的经历，但人仍不能明了，天主自始至终所做的工作。
3:12 于是我明了：人类的幸福，只有在此生欢乐享受；
3:13 但人人有吃有喝，享受自己一切劳苦之所得，也是天主的恩赐。
3:14 我知道：凡天主所行的事，永恒不变，无一可增，无一可减。天主这样作，是为叫人敬畏他。
3:15 现今所有的，早已有过；将来所有的，先前已有过；因为天主必追寻已往的事。
不公现象
3:16 我在太阳下还看见：正义之处有不义，公平之处有不平。
3:17 我心里想天主必要审判义人和恶人，因为各种事情和行为，在天主那里都有其定时。
3:18 我想，天主借此是为使世人认清自己是谁，看清自己与走兽无异。
3:19 的确，世人的命运，同走兽的命运，都是一样：前者怎样死，后者也怎样死；气息都一样，人并不优于走兽：因为都是虚无。
3:20 都同归于一处；既都出于尘土，也都归于尘土。
3:21 人的气息是否向上高升，走兽的气息是否下降地下，有谁知道﹖
3:22 因此，我看出：人最好还是享受自己劳苦所得，因为这是他的命运；有谁能领他去看他自己身后的事﹖
第四章(17)
4:1 我又转目注视在太阳下所行的一切暴行：看，受压迫者眼泪汪流，却无人安慰；压迫人者有权势，他们却无人援助。
4:2 于是我声称那已死去的人，比现今还活着的人更为有福。
4:3 那还没有出世的人，比这两等人更为有福，因为他还没有见到太阳下所行的恶事。
4:4 我也看出各种劳苦和一切工作的技巧，都是出于人彼此间的竞争：这也是空虚，也是追风。
4:5 愚人交臂叉手，是自食己肉。
4:6 捧一把安逸，胜过两把劳苦和追风。
4:7 我又转睛，看见在太阳下有件空虚的事：
4:8 有个孤独无伴的人，既没有儿子，又没有兄弟，却时常劳苦不息，他的眼总是贪得无厌，从来不问：「我辛辛苦苦，节制享乐，究竟是为谁﹖」这也是空虚和大不幸。
合群之益
4:9 两个人胜于一个人，因为两人一同工作，酬报优厚：
4:10 若一个跌倒了，另一个可扶起自己的同伴。哀哉孤独者!他若跌倒了，没有另一人扶起他来。
4:11 又如两人同眠，都感温暖；若孤独一人，怎能暖和﹖
4:12 若一人抵不住一人，两人就能抵住：──三股绳，不易断。
人心无常
4:13 一个贫寒而明智的青年，胜过一个年老昏愚，而总不采纳忠言的君王。
4:14 这青年虽在国中出身贫寒，但由狱中出来，执政为王；
4:15 我看见一切在太阳下行走的活人，都拥护青年人，新继位者，来代替老王。
4:16 拥护他为领袖的人民，多得无数；但日后，那些后来的人却不喜欢他：这也是空虚，也是追风。
敬畏天主
4:17 你往天主的殿里去时，要小心迈步；你前去听道，胜过愚人献祭，因为他们只知作恶。
第五章(19)
5:1 你不要在天主前冒然开口，你的心也不要急于发言应许，因为天主在天上，你在地下，为此你说话应当简单。
5:2 因为夜梦由于事务繁杂，乱语出于多言。
5:3 你一向天主许愿，就不可拖延偿还，因为他不喜欢人怠慢；你许了愿，就应速还；
5:4 不许愿好过许而不还。
5:5 不要放任你的口，使你陷于罪过，免得你在使者前说是「错许了。」为何要天主因你这句话而发怒，破坏你手中的工作﹖
5:6 多梦多虚幻，多言多胡涂；你要敬畏天主。
5:7 你若在某省看见欺压穷人，违犯公道和正义的事，不必对此惊奇，因为高者之上还有更高者在上鉴察，而他们之上还有更高者。
5:8 国家全面的利益，在乎有一位关心农业的君王。
钱财空虚
5:9 爱钱的，钱不能使他满足；爱财的，进益不能使他满足：这也是空虚。
5:10 钱财增多，消费的人也随之增多；财主除饱享眼福外，能有什么益处﹖
5:11 工人不论吃多吃少，总睡得香甜；饱食的富人，却难于安眠。
5:12 我看见在太阳下有一件惨痛的事：财主积蓄财富，反而害了自己。
5:13 生意一次失败，财产尽失：生了个儿子，手中一无所有。
5:14 他赤身出离母胎，也照样赤身归去；他劳力之所得，丝毫不能带去。
5:15 这也是一件惨痛的事：他怎样来，也怎样去；他操劳追风，究有什么益处；
5:16 况且他一生在黑暗中生活，遭受许多烦恼、疾病和悲愤的事。
5:17 我所认为幸福美满的事：是人在天主所赏的少数岁月内，有吃有喝，且享受他在太阳下一切劳碌所得的福乐，这原是他应得的一分。
5:18 的确，天主赏赐人财产和富裕，叫他能享用；能取得应有的一分，能享受劳碌所得的快乐，实是天主的恩赐。
5:19 那么，人就不甚顾虑人生岁月的短促，因为天主以喜乐充满了他的心。
第六章(12)
三多亦空虚
6:1 我看见在太阳下，另有一种不幸，重压在人身上：
6:2 有一人，天主赐他富裕、钱财、光荣；凡他心中所愿意的，一件也不缺；但天主没有让他享用这一切，却让外人享用了：这也是空虚，是一件很悲惨的事。
6:3 有一人生有百子，活了很大岁数，他年纪虽高，却没有随心享受福乐，且未得安葬，照我看来，他还不如流产的胎儿。
6:4 流产的胎儿徒然而来，悄然而去，他的名字也湮没无闻；
6:5 他没有见过天日，也没有任何知觉，但他总比那人更享安宁。
6:6 那人即便活了两千岁，如未享受福乐，他们二人岂不是同归一处﹖
欲望无厌
6:7 人的一切劳碌都是为了口腹，但他的欲望却总不满足。
6:8 智者对愚者究有什么利益﹖知道如何与人往来的穷人，能得什么好处﹖
6:9 眼看见过的总胜过心所想望的：这也是空虚，也是追风。
6:10 已往所有的，都已有名可称；人为何物，都已知道；人决不能与强于己者相抗辩。
6:11 说话多，必多空谈：这对人能有什么益处﹖
6:12 在空虚，消逝如影的人生少数岁月内，有谁知道什么事对人有益﹖又有谁能给人指示，他身后在太阳下要发生什么事﹖
第七章(29)
智愚之别
7:1 良好的声誉胜于名贵的香液；死日胜于生日。
7:2 往居丧的家，胜于往宴会的家，因为丧事是人人的结局，活人应将此事放在心上。
7:3 悲哀胜于欢笑，因为愁容能使心灵舒畅。
7:4 智者的心是在居丧的家，愚人的心是在欢笑的家。
7:5 听智者斥责，胜过听愚人歌唱。
7:6 愚人的欢笑，就像釜底荆棘的爆炸声，但这也是空虚。
7:7 实在，压榨使智者昏愚，贿赂能败坏人心。
7:8 事情的结局胜过事情的开端；居心宽容，胜过存心傲慢。
7:9 你心里不要轻易动怒，因为愤怒只停留在愚人胸中。
7:10 你不要问：「为什么昔日胜于今日﹖」因为这样的诘问，不是出于智慧。
7:11 智慧与家产都好，对看见天日的人都有益，
7:12 因为受智能的荫庇与受金钱的荫庇无异；但认识智慧的好处，是在于智慧赋于有智慧者生命。
中庸之道
7:13 你应观察天主的作为：他所弯曲的，谁能使之正直﹖
7:14 幸福之日，你应欢乐，不幸之日，你应思虑：幸与不幸，都是天主所为；其目的是为叫人不能察觉自己将来的事。
7:15 在我虚度的岁月内，我见了许多事：义人在正义中夭亡，恶人在邪恶中反而长寿。
7:16 不要过于正义，也不要自作聪明，免得自趋灭亡。
7:17 不要作恶无度，也不要糊涂太甚，免得你死非其时。
7:18 你的手最好把持这个，也不要放弃那个，因为敬畏天主的人，二者兼顾并重。
7:19 智慧使智者的权势，胜过本城十个有权势的人。
7:20 世上没有一个只行善，而不犯罪的义人。
7:21 你不要倾心去听人说的一切闲话，免得你听到你的仆人诅咒你；
7:22 因为你心里知道，你许多次也诅咒过别人。
7:23 这一切我都用智慧追究过；我宣称我将成个智者，然而智慧仍离我很远。
7:24 所有的事，既深远，又玄奥，谁能穷究﹖
色是陷阱
7:25 我又专心致力于认识、考察事物，寻求智慧和事理，得知邪恶就是昏愚，昏愚就是狂妄。
7:26 我发觉女人比死亡还苦，她一身是罗网：她的心是陷阱，她的手是锁链；凡博天主欢心的，必逃避她；但罪人却被她缠住。
7:27 训道者说：看，这是我所发现的，一一加以比较，好探知事物的原理，
7:28 对此我的心还在追求，但尚未找到：在一千男人中，我发现了一个；在所有的女人中，却没有发现一个。
7:29 我发现的只有这一件事：天主造人原很正直，但人却发明了许多诡计。
第八章(17)
智慧与实际
8:1 有谁相似智者，有谁会解释事理﹖智慧使人的面容焕发，使严肃的容貌变为温和。
8:2 为了向天主起的誓，你应遵守君王的命令；
8:3 你不可由他面前仓猝离去，也不可行恶，因为凡他喜欢的事，都可随意执行。
8:4 原来君王的话具有威力，谁敢向他说：「你做什么﹖」
8:5 遵守诫命的，不会遇到灾祸；智者的心能辨识时机和判断。
8:6 的确，事事都有定时和定案；但重大的负担仍压在人身上，
8:7 因为人不知道将来要发生什么事，有谁能告诉他，何时要发生﹖
8:8 没有人有权将生气保留不失，也没有人能支配死期，战场上没有人能退役，邪恶救不了作恶的人。
善人恶人命运不同
8:9 我看见了这一切，专心研究在太阳下所行的一切事：有时统治人的人，自受其害；
8:10 有时我看见恶人被抬去安葬，而行义的人却反离开圣地，而在城中被人遗忘：这也是虚幻。
8:11 因为惩恶的定案未有迅速执行，世人因此充满了行恶的偏向。
8:12 恶人虽百次行恶，仍享长寿，姑且不论；但我确实知道，那敬畏天主的人，因他们在天主前起敬起畏，必得幸福；
8:13 而恶人必得不到幸福，他的时日如影，决不能久长，因为他不敬畏天主。
8:14 在世上还有一件虚幻的事：就是义人所遭遇的，反如恶人所应得的；而恶人所遭遇的，反如义人所应得的；我遂说：这也是虚幻。
8:15 为此，我称赞快乐，因为在太阳下，人除了吃喝行乐外，别无幸福；因为这是人在天主赏他在太阳下的一生岁月内，从他的劳苦中，所获得的幸福。
8:16 当我专心追求智慧，观察人在世上，连黑夜白日都不能闭目安眠所行的工作时，
8:17 我面对天主的一切作为，发觉人决不能知道在太阳下所发生的一切事。人虽然努力研究，终归无法得知；纵然有智者以为知道了，仍是一无所知。
第九章(18)
智愚善恶命运则一
9:1 我留心考察这一切，终于看出：义人、智者和他们的行为，都在天主手里；是爱是恨，人不知道；二者都能来到他们身上。
9:2 无论是义人，是恶人，是好人，是坏人，是洁净的人，是不洁净的人，是献祭的人，是不献祭的人，都有同样的命运；好人与罪人一样，妄发誓的与怕发誓的也一样。
9:3 太阳之下所发生的一切事中，最不幸的是众人都有同样的命运；更有甚者，世人的心都充满邪恶，有生之日，心怀狂妄，以后与死者相聚。
9:4 的确，谁尚与活人有联系，还怀有希望，因为一只活狗胜过一只死狮。
9:5 活着的人至少自知必死，而死了的人却一无所知；他们再得不到报酬，因为连他们的记念也被人遗忘。
9:6 他们的爱好，他们的憎恨，他们的热诚，皆已消失；在太阳下所发生的一切事，永远再没有他们的分。
及时行乐
9:7 你倒不如去快乐地吃你的饭，开怀畅饮你的酒，因为天主早已嘉纳你所作的工作。
9:8 你的衣服常要洁白，你头上总不缺少香液。
9:9 在天主赐你在太阳下的一生虚幻岁月中，同你的爱妻共享人生之乐：这原是你在太阳下，一生从劳苦中所应得的一分。
9:10 你手能做什么，就努力去做，因为在你所要去的阴府内，没有工作，没有计划，没有学问，没有智慧。
命运不济
9:11 我又在太阳下看见：善跑的不得竞赛，勇将不得参战，智者得不到食物，明白人得不到财富，博学者得不到宠幸，因为他们都遭遇了不幸的时运。
9:12 因为人不知道自己的时期，当凶险猝然而至的时候，人子为不幸的时运所获，就像鱼被网捕住，又像鸟被圈套套住。
9:13 在太阳下我又得了一个智慧的经验，依我看来，大有意义：
9:14 有座小城，里面居民不多；有位大王来攻打此城，把城围住，周围筑了高垒。
9:15 那时，城中有个贫贱却具有智慧的人，他用自己的智慧，救了本城：可是人们却忘了这贫贱的人。
9:16 于是我说：智慧远胜过武力；然而贫贱人的智慧却被人轻忽，他的话却没有人聆听。
9:17 智者温和的言语，比王者在愚人中的吶喊，更受欢迎。
9:18 智慧胜于武器；一个错误能破坏许多好事。
第十章(20)
昏愚之害
10:1 一个死苍蝇能败坏一碗制香膏者的香膏；一点愚昧也能败坏智能和尊荣。
10:2 智慧人的心倾向右，愚人的心偏向左。
10:3 愚人连在走路时，也是无知，并称众人皆胡涂。
10:4 若当权者向你生气，你不可离弃岗位，因为心平气和能避免大错。
10:5 我在太阳下见了一件不幸的事，似乎是出于掌权者的错误：
10:6 愚人占居高位，贵人屈居下位。
10:7 我看见仆人骑马，而王侯反像仆人一样步行。
10:8 挖掘陷阱的必自陷其中，拆毁墙壁的必被蛇咬伤；
10:9 开凿石头的必为石压伤，砍伐树木的必遭遇危险。
10:10 铁器钝了，如不将刃磨快，必费许多气力；成功是智慧的效能。
10:11 行法术之前，就已被蛇咬伤，法术于行法术的人，就没有好处。
10:12 智者口中的语言，为人有益；愚人的口舌却自招灭亡：
10:13 他口中的语言，开始是愚昧，最后却是残忍的狂语。
10:14 愚人只知多言：「将来的事怎样，人不知道；人身后的事，有谁来告诉他﹖」
10:15 以愚人劳碌感到烦恼，因为连怎样进城，他也不知道。
节制与明智
10:16 邦国，你的君王若是一个幼童，你的长官若清晨宴饮，你就有祸了!
10:17 邦国，你的君王若出身显贵，你的长官若宴饮有时，只求养身，不为快乐，那你就有福了。
10:18 屋顶坍塌，由于怠惰；房屋滴漏，由于手懒。
10:19 设宴是为欢乐，酒可使生活愉快；钱能应付一切。
10:20 在床塌上，不要诅咒君王；在卧室内，不要咒骂长官，因为空中的飞鸟能传音，有翅翼的能传话。
第十一章(10)
信赖与明智
11:1 把你的粮食拋到水面，多日后你必有所获。
11:2 将你的家产分作七分八分，因为你不知道世上要发生什么灾祸。
11:3 云一满了，雨就倾住于地。树倒向南或倒向北，一倒在那里，就躺在那里。
11:4 观察风向的，必不撒种；研究云象的，必不收割，
11:5 就如你不知道生气如何进入孕妇胎中的骨骼里，同样你也不知道天主所创造的一切化工。
11:6 你早上撒种，晚上也不要住手，因为你不知道：是早上撒的，或是晚上撒的长的好，或是早晚两种都同样好。
莫负青春
11:7 光明实在可爱，看见太阳实在令眼愉悦。
11:8 人无论活了多大年纪，尽可享受各种福乐；但他应想到黑暗的日子还多，所发生的事，尽属虚幻。
11:9 少年人，在你青春时应行乐；在你少壮的时日，应心神愉快；随你心所欲，你眼所悦的去行，但应知道：天主必要就你所行的一切审判你。
11:10 扫除你心中的烦恼，驱除你身上的痛苦，因为青春和少年都是虚幻。
第十二章(14)
及早纪念造主
12:1 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；
12:2 不要等到太阳、光体、月亮、星辰失光，雨后云彩再来；
12:3 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，
12:4 两扇街门快关闭，磨声低微，雀鸟息声，歌女低吟，
12:5 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；
12:6 那时银链将断，金灯将碎，水罐将破于泉旁，轮子将烂于井边，
12:7 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。
12:8 训道者说：虚而又虚，万事皆虚。
结论
12:9 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。
12:10 训道者费神寻找适当的语句，忠诚地写下了真理之言。
12:11 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。
12:12 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。
12:13 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。」
12:14 诚然天主对一切行为，连最隐秘的，不论好坏，都要一一审判。
BOOK ENDS. Seraphim, April 2009.
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 1
1:1 The words of Qoheleth[*a] son of David, king in Jerusalem.
1:2 Vanity of vanities, Qoheleth says. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity!
1:3 For all his toil, his toil under the sun, what does man gain by it?
PART ONE
Prologue
1:4 A generation goes, a generation comes, yet the earth stands firm for ever.
1:5 The sun rises, the sun sets; then to its place it speeds and there it rises.
1:6 Southward goes the wind, then turns to the north; it turns and turns again; back then to its circling goes the wind.
1:7 Into the sea all the rivers go, and yet the sea is never filled, and still to their goal the rivers go.
1:8 All things are wearisome. No man can say that eyes have not had enough of seeing, ears their fill of hearing.
1:9 What was will be again; what has been done will be done again; and there is nothing new under the sun.
1:10 Take anything of which it may be said, ‘Look now, this is new’. Already, long before our time, it existed.
1:11 Only no memory remains of earlier times, just as in times to come next year itself will not be remembered.
The career of Solomon
1:12 I, Qoheleth, have reigned in Jerusalem over Israel.
1:13 With the help of wisdom I have been at pains to study all that is done under heaven; oh, what a weary task God has given mankind to labourat!
1:14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and what vanity it all is, what chasing of the wind!
1:15 What is twisted cannot be straightened, what is not there cannot be counted.
1:16 I thought to myself, ‘I have acquired a greater stock of wisdom than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem. I have great experience of wisdom and learning.’
1:17 Wisdom has been my careful study; stupidity, too, and folly. And now I have come to recognise that even this is chasing of the wind.
1:18 Much wisdom, much grief, the more knowledge, the more sorrow.
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 2
2:1 I thought to myself, ‘Very well, I will try pleasure and see what enjoyment has to offer’. And there it was: vanity again!
2:2 This laughter, I reflected, is a madness, this pleasure no use at all.
2:3 I resolved to have my body cheered with wine, my heart still devoted to wisdom; I resolved to embrace folly to see what made mankind happy, and what men do under heaven in the few days they have to live.
2:4 I did great things: built myself palaces, planted vineyards;
2:5 made myself gardens and orchards, planting every kind of fruit tree in them.
2:6 I had pools made for watering the plantations;
2:7 bought men slaves, women slaves; had home-born slaves as well; herds and flocks I had too, more than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
2:8 I amassed silver and gold, the treasures of kings and provinces; acquired singing men and singing women and every human luxury, chest on chest of it.
2:9 So I grew great, greater than anyone in Jerusalem before me; nor did my wisdom leave me.
2:10 I denied my eyes nothing they desired, refused my heart no pleasure, a heart that found all my hard work a pleasure; such was the return I got for all my efforts.
2:11 I then reflected on all that my hands had achieved and on all the effort I had put into its achieving. What vanity it all is, and chasing of the wind! There is nothing to be gained under the sun.
2:12 My reflections then turned to wisdom, stupidity, folly. For instance, what can the successor of a king do? What has been done already.
2:13 More is to be had from wisdom than from folly, as from light than from darkness; this, of course, I see:
2:14 The wise man sees ahead, the fool walks in the dark. No doubt! But I know, too, that one fate awaits them both.
2:15 ‘The fool’s fate’ is I thought to myself ‘will be my fate too. Of what use my wisdom, then? ‘This, too,’ I thought ‘is vanity.’
2:16 Since there is no lasting memory for wise man or for fool, and in the days to come both will be forgotten; wise man, alas, no less than fool must die.
2:17 Life I have come to hate, for what is done under the sun disgusts me, since all is vanity and, chasing of the wind.
2:18 All I have toiled for and now bequeath to my successor I have come to hate;
2:19 who knows whether he, will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master of all the work into which I have put my efforts and wisdom under the sun. That, too, is vanity.
2:20 And hence I have come to despair of all the efforts I have expended under the sun.
2:21 For so it is that a man who has laboured wisely, skilfully and successfully must leave what is his own to someone who has not toiled for it at all. This, too, is vanity and great injustice;
2:22 for what does he gain for all the toil and strain that he has undergone under the sun?
2:23 What of all his laborious days, his cares of office, his restless nights? This, too, is vanity.
2:24 There is no happiness for man but to eat and drink and to be content with his work. This, too, I see as something from God’s hand,
2:25 since plenty and penury both come from God;
2:26 wisdom, knowledge, joy, he gives to the man who pleases him; on the sinner lays the task of gathering and storing up for another who is pleasing to God. This, too, is vanity and chasing of the wind.
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 3
Death
3:1 There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven:
3:2 A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted.
3:3 A time for killing, a time for healing; a time for knocking down, a time for building.
3:4 A time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing.
3:5 A time for throwing stones away, a time for gathering them up; a time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing.
3:6 A time for searching, a time for losing; a time for keeping, a time for throwing away.
3:7 A time for tearing, a time for sewing; a time for keeping silent, a time for speaking.
3:8 A time for loving, a time for hating; a time for war, a time for peace.
3:9 What does a man gain for the efforts that he makes? .
3:10 I contemplate the task that God gives mankind to labour at.
3:11 All that he does is apt for its time; but though he has permitted man to consider time in its wholeness, man cannot comprehend the work of God from beginning to end.
3:12 I know there is no happiness for man except in pleasure and enjoyment while he lives.
3:13 And when man eats and drinks and finds happiness in his work, this is a gift from God.
3:14 I know that what God does he does consistently. To this nothing can be added, from this nothing taken away; yet God sees to it that men fear him.
3:15 What is, already was; what is to be, has been already; yet God cares for the persecuted.
3:16 But I still observe that under the sun crime is where law should be, the criminal where the good should be.
3:17 ‘God’ I thought to myself ‘will judge both virtuous and criminal, because there is a time here for all that is purposed or done.’
3:18 I also thought that mankind behaves like this so that God may show them up for what they are, and expose them for the brute beasts they are to each other.
3:19 Indeed, the fate of man and beast is identical; one dies, the other too, and both have the selfsame breath; man has no advantage over the beast, for all is vanity.
3:20 Both go to the same place; both originate from the dust and to the dust both return.
3:21 Who knows if the spirit of man mounts upward or if the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth?
3:22 I see there is no happiness for man but to be happy in his work, for this is the lot assigned him. Who then can bring him to see what is to happen after his time?
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 4
Society
4:1 I Come again to contemplate all the oppression that is committed under sun. Take for instance the tears of the oppressed, with no one to protect them; the power their oppressors wield. No one to protect them!
4:2 So, rather than the living who still have lives to live, I salute the dead who have already met death;
4:3 happier than both of these is he who is yet unborn and has not seen the evil things that are done under the sun.
4:4 I see that all effort and all achievement spring from men’s mutual jealousy. This, too, is vanity and chasing of the wind.
4:5 The fool folds his arms and eats his own flesh away.
4:6 Better one handful of repose than two hands full of effort in chasing the wind.
4:7 And I observe another vanity under the sun:
4:8 a man is quite alone – no son, no brother; and yet there is no end to his efforts, his eyes can never have their fill of riches. For whom, then, do I work so hard and grudge myself pleasure? This, too, is vanity, a sorry business.
4:9 Better two than one by himself, since thus their work is really profitable.
4:10 If one should fall, the other helps him up; but woe to the man by himself with no one to help him up when he falls down.
4:11 Again: they keep warm who sleep two together, but how can a man keep warm alone?
4:12 Where one alone would be overcome, two will put up resistance; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
4:13 Better a lad beggarly yet wise, than a king old yet foolish who will no longer take advice.
4:14 The lad may well step from prison to the throne, or have been born a beggar in the kingdom he now owns.
4:15 I observe that all who live and move under the sun side with that lad, the usurper who has succeeded.
4:16 He takes his place at the head of innumerable subjects; sad, if later no one has cause to be glad of him. This too, most certainly, is vanity and chasing of the wind.
4:17 When you go to the Temple, be on your guard. Go near so that you can hear; the sacrifice is more valuable than the offering of fools, even if they are unaware of doing wrong.
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 5
5:1 Be in no hurry to speak; do not hastily declare yourself before God; for God is in heaven, you on earth. Be sparing, then, of speech:
5:2 Dreaming comes from much worrying; foolish talk from a multiplicity of words.
5:3 If you make a vow to God, discharge it without delay, for God has no love for fools. Discharge your vow.
5:4 Better a vow unmade than made and not discharged.
5:5 Do not allow your own words to bring guilt on you, nor tell your angel afterwards it was unintentional. Why should a word of yours give God occasion to be angry, and destroy what your hands have worked for?
5:6 For every dream, a vanity to match; too many words, a chasing of the wind. Therefore, fear God.
5:7 If in a province you see the poor oppressed, right and justice violated, do not be surprised. You will be told that officials are under the supervision of superiors, who are supervised in turn;
5:8 you will hear talk of ‘the common good’ and ‘the service of the king’.
Money
5:9 He who loves money never has money enough, he who loves wealth never has enough profit; this, too is vanity.
5:10 Where goods abound, parasites abound; and what is the good of them to their owner? That he can feast his eyes on them.
5:11 The labourer’s sleep is sweet, whether he has eaten little or much; but the rich man’s wealth will not let him sleep at all.
5:12 There is a great injustice that I observe under the sun: riches stored and turning to loss for their owner.
5:13 One unlucky venture, and those riches are lost; a son is born to him, and he has nothing to leave him.
5:14 Naked from his mother’s womb he came, as naked as he came he will depart again; nothing to take with him after all his efforts.
5:15 This is a grievous wrong, that as he came, so must he go; what profit can he show after toiling to earn the wind,
5:16 as he spends the rest of his days in darkness, grief, worry, sickness and resentment?
5:17 This, then, is my conclusion: the right happiness for man is to eat and drink and be content with all the work he has to do under the sun, during the few days God has given him to live, since this is the lot assigned him.
5:18 And whenever God gives a man riches and property, with the ability to enjoy them and to find contentment in his work, this is a gift from God.
5:19 He will not need to brood, at least, over the duration of his life so long as God keeps his heart occupied with joy.
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 6
6:1 There is an evil I observe under the sun, that weighs men down:
6:2 suppose has received from God riches, property, honours – nothing at all left him to wish for. Yet God does not give him the chance to enjoy them, but some stranger enjoys them. There is vanity here, and grievous suffering.
6:3 Or perhaps a man has had a hundred sons and as many daughters and lived for many years, and then derives no benefit from his estate, not even a tomb to call his own. Why then I say, better the untimely-born than he:
6:4 In darkness arriving, in darkness departing; even his name is wrapped in darkness.
6:5 Never seeing the sun, never knowing rest; the one no more than the other.
6:6 Even if the man had lived a thousand years twice over, without deriving profit from his estate, do not both alike go to the same place?
6:7 Man toils but to eat, yet his belly is never filled.
6:8 What advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what about the pauper who keeps up appearances before his fellow men?
6:9 Do appearances count more than the condition of the belly? This, too, is vanity and chasing of the wind.
6:10 What has been already has a name; and what man is, is known; he cannot dispute with one stronger than himself.
6:11 The more words, the greater the vanity of it all; and what does man get from it?
6:12 Who knows what is good for man in his lifetime, in those few days he lives so vainly, days that like a shadow he spends? Who can tell a man what will happen under the sun after his time?
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 7
PART TWO
Prologue
7:1 Better a good name than costly oil, the day of death than the day of birth.
7:2 Better go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting; for to this end all men come, let the living take this to heart.
7:3 Better sadness than laughter, a severe face confers some benefit.
7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, the heart of fools in the house of gaiety.
7:5 Better attend to a wise man’s reprimand than listen to a song sung by a fool.
7:6 For like the crackling of thorns under the cauldron is the laughter of fools: this is vanity, too.
7:7 For laughter makes a fool of the wise man and merriment corrupts the heart.
Sanctions
7:8 Better the end of a matter than its beginning, better patience than pride.
7:9 Do not be hasty with your resentment, for resentment is found in the heart of fools.
7:10 Do not ask why earlier days were better than these, for that is not a question prompted by wisdom.
7:11 Wisdom is a precious legacy, a boon for those on whom the sun shines.
7:12 For as money gives protection, so does wisdom; and the good that knowledge imparts is this: its possessor finds that wisdom keeps him safe.
7:13 Consider the work of God; who can set straight what he has made crooked?
7:14 When times are prosperous, enjoy your happiness; when times are bad, consider this: the one is God’s doing, as is the other, in order that man may know nothing of his destiny.
7:15 In this fleeting life of mine I have seen so much: the virtuous man perishing for all his virtue, for all his godlessness the godless living on.
7:16 Do not be over-virtuous nor play too much the sage; why drive yourself too hard?
7:17 Do not be wicked to excess, and do not be a fool; why die before your time?
7:18 The best thing is to hold the one and not let go the other, for both of these will happen to the God-fearing man.
7:19 Wisdom lends more strength to the wise than ten rulers in a city.
7:20 There is no virtuous man on earth who, doing good, is ever free of sin.
7:21 Another thing: pay no attention to telltales; you may hear that your servant has reviled you;
7:22 your own heart knows how often you have reviled others.
7:23 I have put all this to the test by wisdom, claiming to be wise; but wisdom has been beyond my reach.
7:24 Reality lies beyond my grasp; and deep; so deep, who can discover it?
7:25 Once again I was at pains to study wisdom and retribution, to see wickedness as folly, and foolishness as madness.
7:26 I find woman more bitter than death; she is a snare, her heart a net, her arms are chains; He who is pleasing to God eludes her, but the sinner is her captive.
7:27 This then you must know, says Qoheleth, is the sum of my investigation, putting this and that together.
7:28 I have made other researches too, without result. One man in a thousand I may find, but never a woman better than the rest.
7:29 This, however, you must know: I find that God made man simple; man’s complex problems are of his own devising.
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 8
8:1 Who is like the sage? Who else can solve a problem? The wisdom of a man lends brightness to his face; his face, once grim, is altered.
8:2 This I say: Obey the command of the king, for the sake of the oath of God;
8:3 do not rashly transgress it; do not be stubborn when the cause is not a good one, since he acts as he thinks fit;
8:4 for the word of the king is paramount, and who dare say to him, ‘Why do that?’
8:5 He who obeys the command will come to no harm, and the wise man knows there will be a time of judgement.
8:6 For there is a time of judgement for everything; and man runs grave risks,
8:7 since he does not know what is going to happen; and who can tell him when it will happen?
8:8 No man can master the wind so as to hold it back, nor control the day of death. There is no discharge in time of war; no more can wickedness set its author free.
8:9 All this I observe as I consider all that is done under the sun, whenever man tyrannises over man to his hurt.
8:10 And then I see the wicked brought to burial and people come from the Temple to honour them in the city for having been the men they were. This, too, is vanity.
8:11 Since the sentence on wrong-doing is not carried out at once, men’s inmost hearts are intent on doing wrong.
8:12 The sinner who does wrong a hundred. times survives even so. I know very well that happiness is reserved for those who fear God, because they fear him;
8:13 that there will be no happiness for the wicked man and that lie will only eke out his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.
8:14 But there is a vanity found on earth; the good, I mean, receive the treatment the wicked deserve; and the wicked the treatment the good deserve. This, too, I say, is vanity.
8:15 Joy, then, is the object of my praise, since under the sun there is no happiness for man except in eating, drinking and pleasure. This is his standby in his toil through the days of life God has given him under the sun.
Love
8:16 Wisdom having been my careful study, I came to observe the business that goes on here on earth. And certainly the eyes of man never rest, day and night.
8:17 And I look at all the work of God: plainly no one can discover what the work is that goes on under the sun or explain why man should toil to seek yet never discover. Not even a sage can discover it, though he may claim to know.
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 9
9:1 For I have, reflected on all this and come to understand that the virtuous and the wise with all they do are in the hand of God. Man does not know what love is, or hate, and both of these in his eyes
9:2 are vanity. Just as one fate comes to all, to virtuous as to wicked, to clean and unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice, so it is with the good man and the sinner, with him who takes an oath and him who shrinks from it.
9:3 This is the evil that inheres in all that is done under the sun: that one fate comes to all; further, that the hearts of men should be full of malice; that they should practise
9:4 such extravagances towards the living in their lifetime and the dead thereafter. For anyone who is linked with all that live still has some hope, a live dog being s better than a dead lion.
9:5 The living know at least that they will die, the dead know nothing; no more reward for them; their memory has passed out of mind.
9:6 Their loves, their hates, their jealousies, these all have perished, nor will they ever again take part in whatever is done under the sun.
9:7 Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a glad heart; for what you do God has approved beforehand.
9:8 Wear white all the time, do not stint your head of oil.
9:9 Spend your life with the woman you love, through all the fleeting days of the life that God has given you under the sun; for this is the lot assigned to you in life and in the efforts you exert under the sun.
9:10 Whatever work you propose to do, do it while you can, for there is neither achievement, nor planning, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in Sheolwhere you are going.
Chance
9:11 I see this too under the sun: the race does not go to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; there is no bread for the wise, wealth for the intelligent, nor favour for the learned; all are subject to time and mischance.
9:12 Man does not know his hour; like fish caught in the treacherous net, like birds taken in the snare, so is man overtaken by misfortune suddenly falling on him.
9:13 I observe another evil under the sun, to me a grave one.
9:14 There was a small town, with only a few inhabitants; a mighty king marched against it, laid siege to it and built great siege-works round it.
9:15 But a poverty-stricken sage confronted him and by his wisdom saved the town. No one remembered this poor man afterwards.
9:16 Now I say: wisdom is better than strength, but a poor man’s wisdom is never valued and his words are disregarded.
9:17 The gentle words of the wise are heard above the shouts of a king of fools.
9:18 Better wisdom than warlike weapons, but one mistake undoes a deal of good.
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 10
10:1 Dead flies spoil a bowl of perfumed oil; a little folly is stronger than wisdom and honour.
10:2 The wise man’s heart leads him aright, the fool’s heart leads him astray.
10:3 A fool has only to walk along the road and, having no sense, he makes plain to all what a fool he is.
10:4 With the anger of the ruler mounting against you, do not leave your post; composure avoids many a fault.
10:5 There is an evil I observe under the sun, the type of misjudgement to which rulers are prone:
10:6 folly promoted to high dignities, rich men taking the lowest place.
10:7 Slaves I see on horseback, princes going on foot like slaves.
10:8 He who digs a pit may fall into it; a man saps a wall, the serpent bites him.
10:9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them; he who chops wood takes a risk.
10:10 If for want of sharpening the axe is blunt, you have to strike very hard, but the reward given by wisdom is success.
10:11 If the snake bites before it is charmed, what is the use of the charmer?
10:12 Words from a wise man’s mouth are pleasing, but a fool’s lips procure his own ruin.
10:13 Of the words he speaks folly is the beginning, sheer madness the end.
10:14 A fool is a great spender of words; man does not know the future; so who can tell him what is to happen after his time?
10:15 Fools find hard work irksome; he who does not know the way cannot go to town.
10:16 A bad outlook for you, country with a lad for king, and where princes feast in the morning.
10:17 Happy the country whose king is nobly born, where princes eat at a respectable hour to keep themselves strong, not to make themselves drunk.
10:18 Owing to neglect the roof-tree gives way; for want of care the house lets in the rain.
10:19 But meals are made for laughter. Wine gives joy to life. Money is the answer to everything[*a].
10:20 Do not curse the king, even in thought; do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air will carry the news; indiscretion sprouts wings.
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 11
11:1 Cast your bread on the water; at long last you will find it again.
11:2 Share with seven, yes with eight, for you never know what disaster may occur on earth.
11:3 When clouds are full of rain, They empty it out on the earth. Let the tree fall south or north, where the tree falls there it lies.
11:4 Keep watching the wind and you will never sow, stare at the clouds and you will never reap.
11:5 Just as you do not know the way of the wind or the mysteries of a woman with child, no more can you know the work of God who is behind it all.
11:6 In the morning sow your seed, do not let your hands lie idle in the evening. For which will prove successful, this or that, you cannot tell; and it may be that both will turn out well together.
Old age
11:7 Light is sweet; at sight of the sun the eyes are glad.
11:8 However great the number of the years a man may live, let him enjoy them all, and yet remember that dark days will be many. All that is to come is vanity.
11:9 Rejoice in your youth, you who are young; let your heart give you joy in your young days. Follow the promptings of your heart and the desires of your eyes. But this you must know: for all these things God will bring you to judgement.
11:10 Cast worry from your heart, shield your flesh from pain. Yet youth, the age of dark hair, is vanity.
JB ECCLESIASTES Chapter 12
12:1 And remember your creator in the days of your youth, before evil days come and the years approach when you say, ‘These give me no pleasure’,
12:2 before sun and light and moon and stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain;
12:3 the day when those who keep the house tremble[*a] and strong men are bowed; when the women grind no longer at the mill, because day is darkening at the windows
12:4 and the street doors are shut; when the sound of the mill is faint, when the voice of the bird is silenced, and song notes are stilled,
12:5 when to go uphill is an ordeal and a walk is something to dread. Yet the almond tree is in flower, the grasshopper is heavy with food and the caper bush bears its fruit, while man goes to his everlasting home. And the mourners are already walking to and fro in the street
12:6 before the silver cord has snapped, or the golden lamp been broken, or the pitcher shattered at the spring, or the pulley cracked at the well,
12:7 Or before the dust returns to the earth as it once came from it; and the breath to God who gave it.
12:8 Vanity of vanities, Qoheleth says. All is vanity.
Epilogue
12:9 Besides being a sage, Qoheleth also taught his knowledge to the people, having weighed, studied and amended a great many proverbs.
12:10 Qoheleth tried to write in an attractive style and to set down truthful thoughts in a straight-forward manner.
12:11 The words of the sages are like goads, like pegs driven deep; a shepherd uses these for the good of his flocks.
12:12 One last thing, my son, be warned that writing books involves endless hard work, and that much study wearies the body.
12:13 To sum up the whole matter: fear God, and keep his commandments, since this is the whole duty of man.
12:14 For God will call all hidden deeds, good or bad, to judgement.
END OF JB ECCLESIASTES [12 Chapters].