¹智慧人懂得判斷時機誰像智慧人，誰知道事情的解釋呢？人的智慧使他容光煥發，使他臉上的戾氣轉消。

¹Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.

²我勸你，因為你指著　神起了誓，你就要遵守王的命令。

²I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.

³不要輕率離開王的面前，也不要參與惡事，因為王可以隨己意作任何事。

³Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,

⁴既然王的話有權柄，誰敢問他：“你在作甚麼？”

⁴for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵遵守命令的，必不遭受災禍；智慧人的心，曉得時機，懂得判斷。

⁵Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure.

⁶各樣事務成就，都有合宜的時機和定局，儘管人的災禍重壓在自己身上。

⁶For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.

⁷他不曉得未來的事，將來要發生甚麼，誰能告訴他呢？

⁷For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?

⁸沒有人能支配風（“風”或譯：“生命”），把它留住；沒有人能控制死期；戰爭之時，沒有人能免役；邪惡救不了行邪惡的人。

⁸There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.

⁹敬畏　神終得福樂我看見了這一切，又專心查究在日光之下所發生的一切事。有這樣的一個時候：有人管轄別人，叫他受害。

⁹All this have I seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.

¹⁰然後我看見惡人得以埋葬，他們生前在聖地往來，而在他們這樣行的城中，竟被人遺忘。這也是虛空！（全節或譯：“然後我看見惡人得以埋葬，他們生前在聖地往來，並且在他們這樣行的城中，受人稱讚。這也是虛空！”或“然後我看見惡人得以埋葬，歸入墳墓；行正直的人卻與聖地隔離，在城中被人遺忘。這也是虛空！”）

¹⁰So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.

¹¹對惡行已判定的刑罰遲遲沒有執行，世人的心就充滿行惡的意圖。

¹¹Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

¹²罪人既然作惡百次，還享長壽，那麼我知道敬畏　神的人，就是在他面前存敬畏的心的，必享福樂。

¹²Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.

¹³惡人卻沒有福樂，也得不到長壽；他好像影子的短暫，因為他在　神面前不存敬畏的心。

¹³But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow; because he doesn’t fear God.

¹⁴在世上有一件虛空的事，就是義人照惡人所行的受報應，惡人照義人所行的得報償。我說，這也是虛空。

¹⁴There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.

¹⁵於是我稱頌快樂，因為人在日光之下最好是吃喝快樂。這是人在日光之下，　神賜給他一生的年日裡，從自己勞碌中所得的享受。

¹⁵Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶我專心認識智慧，察看世上的勞碌──有人晝夜不眠──

¹⁶When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (for also there is that neither day nor night sees sleep with his eyes),

¹⁷於是我看見了　神的一切作為，知道在日光之下所發生的事，人不能查明；儘管人勞碌尋查，總是查不出來；即使智慧人以為知道了，還是查不出來。

¹⁷then I saw all the work of God, that man can’t find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it.