1Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: 3In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,12.3 the grinders…: or, the grinders fail, because they grind little 4And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; 5Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: 6Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. 7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
8¶ Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. 9And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.12.9 moreover…: or, the more wise the preacher was, etc 10The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.12.10 acceptable…: Heb. words of delight 11The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. 12And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.12.12 study: or, reading
13¶ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.12.13 Let…: or, The end of the matter, even all that hath been heard, is 14For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
1年輕時要記住你的創造主，不要等到衰老的歲月來臨時才哀歎：「我的日子毫無樂趣。」 2那時，太陽、月亮、星星都暗淡無光，雨後烏雲再現； 3守衛家園的手腳顫抖，強壯的身軀變得彎腰駝背；牙齒稀少，無法咀嚼；視力衰退，看不清楚； 4耳朵發背，聽不到推磨聲；小鳥一叫，人就起來；歌聲沙啞，不再美妙； 5懼怕高處，走路戰戰兢兢；頭髮白如銀杏，精力枯竭，慾望蕩然無存；人都走向永遠的歸宿，弔喪的人往來於街上； 6銀鏈斷裂，金碗摔壞，泉旁的瓶子破碎，井口的輪子朽爛。 7那時塵土必歸於塵土，靈也要歸回賜靈的上帝。 8傳道者說：「虛空的虛空，一切都是虛空。」 9傳道者不但有智慧，還把知識傳授給眾人。他經過細心推敲和研究之後，編寫了許多警世的箴言。 10傳道者費盡心思尋找金玉良言，所寫的都是正直誠實的道理。 11智者的言語好像趕牛的刺棍，他們收集的箴言像釘穩的釘子一樣牢靠，都是一位牧者所賜的。 12我親愛的兒子，還有一件事，你要聽我的忠告：著書多，沒有窮盡；讀書多，身體疲勞。
13以上所說的，總而言之，就是要敬畏上帝，遵守祂的誡命，這是人的本分。 14因為人一切的行為，無論善惡，包括一切隱秘事，上帝都必審問。
