| 智慧篇 |
Wisdom |
| 1惡人們胡思亂想自語說：「我們的生命又短促，又多愁；人的死期一到，又沒有辦法補救，也從不見有人從陰府回來。 |
1they who said among themselves, thinking not aright: "Brief and troublous is our lifetime; neither is there any remedy for man's dying, nor is anyone known to have come back from the nether world. |
| 2我們原是偶然而生，過後我們又好像未曾生存過；我們鼻中的氣息只是一陣煙霧，思想亦不過是心動迸出的火花； |
2For haphazard were we born, and hereafter we shall be as though we had not been; Because the breath in our nostrils is a smoke and reason is a spark at the beating of our hearts, |
| 3火花一旦熄滅，身軀即變成灰土，魂魄即像輕風消散。 |
3And when this is quenched, our body will be ashes and our spirit will be poured abroad like unresisting air. |
| 4我們的名字，隨時被人遺忘，無人追念我們的工作；我們的生命消逝，有如一絲浮雲，又如為日光所驅散，被熱力所蒸化的煙霧。 |
4Even our name will be forgotten in time, and no one will recall our deeds. So our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and will be dispersed like a mist pursued by the sun's rays and overpowered by its heat. |
| 5實在，我們的時日，有如疾馳的陰影；我們一死去，再不得返回，因為一經蓋印，無人再能返回。 |
5For our lifetime is the passing of a shadow; and our dying cannot be deferred because it is fixed with a seal; and no one returns. |
| 6所以，來！讓我們享受現有的美福，趁年青及時消受這世界。 |
6Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are real, and use the freshness of creation avidly. |
| 7我們要痛飲美酒，濃施香液，莫讓春花空空溜過。 |
7Let us have our fill of costly wine and perfumes, and let no springtime blossom pass us by; |
| 8在玫瑰花尚未萎謝以前，用來作我們的花冠；【我們要隨處享樂，連一塊草地也別放過。】 |
8let us crown ourselves with rosebuds ere they wither. |
| 9凡是樂事，我們不要放過，到處要留下我們歡樂的痕跡，因為這是我們的名份，我們的運命。 |
9 Let no meadow be free from our wantonness; everywhere let us leave tokens of our rejoicing, for this our portion is, and this our lot. |
| 10我們要壓迫窮苦的義人，不必顧惜寡婦，連白髮年高的老人，也不必敬重。 |
10Let us oppress the needy just man; let us neither spare the widow nor revere the old man for his hair grown white with time. |
| 11我們的勢力，就是正義的法律，因為軟弱只呈現自己無用。 |
11But let our strength be our norm of justice; for weakness proves itself useless. |
| 12我們要陷害義人，因為他太令我們討厭，反對我們的作為，指責我們違犯法律，控訴我們品行不檢， |
12 Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, Reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. |
| 13自誇認識天主，自稱是上主的僕人， |
13He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. |
| 14自充我們思想的裁判員，我們一見他，就感覺討厭； |
14To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, |
| 15因為他的生活與眾不同，他的行徑與人兩樣。 |
15Because his life is not like other men's, and different are his ways. |
| 16他竟將我們視作雜種，遠避我們的行徑，像遠避不潔之物；聲言義人有幸福的結局，且自誇有天主為父。 |
16He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. |
| 17我們且看他的話是否屬實，看他究有什麼結局。 |
17Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. |
| 18因為，如果義人是天主的兒子，天主定要幫助他，拯救他脫離敵人的手。 |
18For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. |
| 19來罷！我們用恥辱和酷刑試驗他，查看他是否溫良，考驗他是否忍耐。 |
19With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. |
| 20我們判他受可恥的死刑，看他是否蒙受眷顧，如他所說的一樣。」 |
20Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him." |
| 21他們這樣思想真是荒謬，因為邪惡使他們喪失了理智， |
21These were their thoughts, but they erred; for their wickedness blinded them, |
| 22不明瞭天主的奧理，不希望聖德的酬報，也不賞識無罪靈魂的獎賞。 |
22And they knew not the hidden counsels of God; neither did they count on a recompense of holiness nor discern the innocent souls' reward. |
| 23其實天主造了人，原是不死不滅的，使他成為自己本性的肖像； |
23For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. |
| 24但因魔鬼的嫉妒，死亡才進入了世界；只有與他結緣的人，纔經歷死亡。 |
24But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it. |
