12
1Remember⚓ now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the difficult days come,
And the years draw near ⚓when you say,
“I have no pleasure in them”:
2While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain;
3In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,
And the strong men bow down;
When the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look through the windows grow dim;
4When the doors are shut in the streets,
And the sound of grinding is low;
When one rises up at the sound of a bird,
And all ⚓the daughters of music are brought low.
5Also they are afraid of height,
And of terrors in the way;
When the almond tree blossoms,
The grasshopper is a burden,
And desire fails.
For man goes to ⚓his eternal home,
And ⚓the mourners go about the streets.
6Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,
Or the golden bowl is broken,
Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,
Or the wheel broken at the well.
7⚓Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,
⚓And the spirit will return to God ⚓who gave it.
8“Vanity⚓ of vanities,” says the Preacher,
“All is vanity.”
The Whole Duty of Man
9And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and⚓set in order many proverbs.
10The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth.
11The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd.
12And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and ⚓much study is wearisome to the flesh.
13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
⚓Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14For ⚓God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.
12
1你趁着年轻、衰老的日子尚未来到，就是你所说，我毫无喜悦的那些岁月来临之前，当记念造你的主。
2不要等到太阳、光明、月亮、星宿变为黑暗，雨后云又返回；
3看守房屋的发颤，强壮的屈身，推磨的妇女因人少而停工，从窗户往外看的眼光变为昏暗；
4街门关闭，推磨的声音微小，鸟一叫，就惊醒，唱歌女子的声音也都微弱；
5人怕高处，路上有惊慌；杏树开花，蚱蜢成为重担，欲望不再挑起；因为人归他永远的家，吊丧的在街上往来。
6不要等到银链折断⚓，金罐破裂，瓶子在泉旁损坏，水轮在井口断裂，
7尘土仍归于地，像原来一样，气息仍归于赐气息的上帝。
8传道者说：“虚空的虚空，全是虚空。”
结论
9再者，传道者因有智慧，将知识教导众人；他思量，考察，并列举出许多箴言。
10传道者专心寻求可喜悦的言语，是凭正直写的诚实话。
11智慧人的话语如同刺棒；这些嘉言好像钉稳的钉子，都是一个牧者所赐的。
12我儿，还有一点，你当受劝戒：著书多，没有穷尽；读书多，身体疲倦。
13这些事都已听见了，结论就是：敬畏上帝，谨守他的诫命，这是人当尽的本分。
14因为人所做的事，连一切隐藏的事，无论是善是恶，上帝都必审问。