954 英翻中 (654) The Ecclesiastes (四) 傳道書(四) 04/01/2025

954 英翻中 (654)                The Ecclesiastes (四)                    傳道書(四)                     04/01/2025

          Why we think things are new (v. 11). The answer is simple: we have bad memories and we don’t read the minutes of the previous meeting. (See 2:16; 4:16; 9:5.) It has well been said that the ancients have stolen all of our best ideas, and this is painfully true. 為什麼我們認為事物是新的（11節）。答案很簡單：我們記性不好，也不會讀上次會議的紀錄。 （參閱2:16；4:16；9:5。）有句話說得很好，古人偷走了我們所有最好的想法，這是令人痛苦的事實。                                               A young man approached me at a conference and asked if he could share some new ideas for youth ministry. He was very enthusiastic as he outlined his program, but the longer I listened, the more familiar his ideas became. I encouraged him to put his ideas into practice, but then told him that we had done all of those things in Youth for Christ before he was born, and that YFC workers were still doing them. He was a bit stunned to discover that there was indeed nothing new under the sun.                                   一位年輕人在一次會議上找到我，詢問他是否可以分享一些關於青年事工的新想法。他在概述他的計劃時非常熱情，但我聽得越久，他的想法就越熟悉。我鼓勵他將自己的想法付諸實踐，但隨後告訴他，在他出生之前，我們已經在「基督青年會」做了所有這些事情，YFC的工作人員仍在做這些事情。他有些愕然，發現太陽底下果然無新鮮事。                                                        Solomon wrote, of course, about the basic principles of life and not about methods. As the familiar couplet puts it: Methods are many, principles are few / methods always change, principles never do. The ancient thinkers knew this. The Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius wrote, “They that come after us will see nothing new, and they who went before us saw nothing more than we have seen.” The only people who really think they have seen something new are those whose experience is limited or whose vision can’t penetrate beneath the surface of things. Because something is recent, they think it is new; they mistake novelty for originality.                                                                                                                               當然，所羅門寫的是生活的基本原則，而不是方法。正如那句熟悉的對聯所說：方法多，原理少/方法常變，原理不變。古代思想家都知道這一點。斯多葛派哲學家馬庫斯·奧勒留寫道：“我們之後的人不會看到任何新東西，而我們之前的人所看到的也只不過是我們所看到的。”唯一真正認為自己看到了新事物的人是那些經驗有限或視野無法穿透事物表面的人。因為有些東西是最近的，所以他們認為它是新的；因為有些東西是新的，所以他們認為它是新的。他們將新穎性誤認為獨創性。   

Nothing Is Understood (1:12–18)                                                                                                            什麼都無法理解（1:12-18）                                                                                                                      The historian now becomes the philosopher as Solomon tells how he went about searching for the answer to the problem that vexed him. As the king of Israel, he had all the resources necessary for “experimenting” with different solutions to see what it was that made life worth living. In the laboratory of life, he experimented with enjoying various physical pleasures (2:1–3), accomplishing great and costly works (2:4–6), and accumulating great possessions (2:7–10) only to discover that all of it was only “vanity and grasping for the wind” (v. 14 nkjv).                                                                                          當所羅門講述他如何尋找困擾他的問題的答案時，歷史學家現在變成了哲學家。作為以色列國王，他擁有所有必要的資源來「試驗」不同的解決方案，看看是什麼讓生活變得有價值。在生命的實驗室裡，他嘗試享受各種肉體的快樂（2:1-3），完成偉大而昂貴的工作（2:4-6），並積累大量的財產（2:7-10），結果發現所有這些其中只是“虛空和捕風”（14節）。                              But before launching into his experiments, Solomon took time to try to think the matter through. He was the wisest of all men, and he applied that God-given wisdom to the problem. He devoted his mind wholly to the matter to get to the root of it (“seek”) and to explore it from all sides (“search”). Dorothy Sayers wrote in one of her mystery novels, “There is nothing you cannot prove if only your outlook is narrow enough.” Solomon did not take that approach.                                                                        但在開始實驗之前，所羅門花了一些時間思考這個問題。他是所有人中最聰明的人，他運用上帝賦予的智慧來解決問題。他全心投入這個問題上，尋找它的根源（「尋求」），並從各個方面探索它（「搜尋」）。多蘿西·塞耶斯（Dorothy Sayers）在她的一本懸疑小說中寫道：“只要你的視野足夠狹隘，就沒有什麼是你無法證明的。”所羅門並沒有採取這種方法。                    Here are some of his tentative conclusions:                                                                                                  以下是他的一些初步結論：                                                                                                                        Life is tough, but it is the gift of God (v. 13). He described life as a “sore travail” (“grievous task,” nkjv) that only fatigues you (“may be exercised,” nkjv). Of course, when God first gave life to man, the world had not been cursed because of sin (Gen. 3:14ff.). Since the fall of man, “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs” (Rom. 8:22 nkjv); this is one reason why life is so difficult. One day, when our Lord returns, creation will be delivered from this bondage.                                                   生活是艱難的，但它是上帝的恩賜（13節）。他將生活描述為“痛苦的勞苦”（“艱辛的任務”，新欽定版），只會讓你感到疲倦（“可以鍛煉”，新欽定版）。當然，當神第一次賜給人類生命時，世界並沒有因為罪而受到詛咒（創 3:14 比照研讀.）。自從人類墮落以來，「一切受造之物都在生產的陣痛中嘆息勞苦」（羅 8:22 新欽定版）；這就是為什麼生活如此困難的原因之一。有一天，當我們的主再來時，受造之物將從這種束縛中被解救出來。                                                 While sitting in my backyard one evening, I heard a robin singing merrily from atop a TV aerial. As I listened to him sing, I preached myself a sermon:                                                                                         有一天晚上，我坐在後院，聽到一隻知更鳥在電視天線上歡快地唱歌。當我聽他唱歌時，我給自己講道：                                                 

                         Since early dawn, that bird has done nothing but try to survive.                                                           He’s been wearing himself out hiding from enemies and looking for                                                           food for himself and his little ones. And yet, when he gets to the end                                                         of the day, he sings about it!                                                                                                                                 從黎明開始，那隻鳥除了努力生存之外什麼也沒做。 他一直在躲避敵人並為自己                   和孩子們尋找食物，這讓他精疲力盡。然而，當他一天結束時，他會唱歌！                                           Here I am, created in the image of God and saved by the grace                                                           of God, and I complain about even the little annoyances of life. One                                                           day, I will be like the Lord Jesus Christ; for that reason alone,                                                                     I should be singing God’s praises just like that robin.                                                                                           我在這裡，是按照上帝的形象創造的，並受到上帝恩典的拯救，我甚至抱怨生活                  中的小煩惱。有一天，我要像主耶穌基督；僅僅因為這個原因，我就應該像那隻知更                    鳥一樣歌頌上帝。                     

          Life doesn’t get easier if you try to run away from it (v. 14). All the works that are done “under the sun” never truly satisfy the heart. They are but “vanity and grasping for the wind” (v. 14 nkjv). Both the workaholic and the alcoholic are running away from reality and living on substitutes, and one day the bubble of illusion will burst. We only make life harder when we try to escape. Instead of running away from life, we should run to God and let Him make life worth living.                                                           如果你試圖逃避生活，生活並不會變得更容易（14節 新欽定版）。所有「日光之下」所做的工作，永遠無法真正滿足內心。它們不過是「虛空，捕風」（14節 新欽定版 ）。工作狂和酗酒者都在逃避現實，靠替代品生活，有一天，幻想的泡沫將會破裂。當我們試圖逃避時，我們的生活只會變得更加困難。我們不該逃避生活，而應該奔向上帝，讓祂讓生活變得有價值。                 The ultimate door of escape is suicide, and Solomon will have something to say about man’s desire for death. Some specialists claim that 40,000 persons commit suicide in the United States annually, and an estimated 400,000 make the attempt. But once you have chosen to live and have rightly rejected suicide as an option, then you must choose how you are going to live.  Will it be by faith in yourself and what you can do, or by faith in the Lord?                                                                                        最終的逃脫之門是自殺，所羅門將談到人類對死亡的渴望。一些專家聲稱，美國每年有 4 萬人自殺，估計有 40 萬人嘗試自殺。但一旦你選擇了生活並正確地拒絕自殺作為一種選擇，那麼你就必須選擇你將如何生活。 是對自己和自己能做的事有信心，還是對主有信心？                          Not everything can be changed (v. 15). It is likely that Solomon, who was an expert on proverbs (1 Kings 4:32), quoted a popular saying here in order to make his point. He makes a similar statement in 7:13. If we spend all our time and energy trying to straighten out everything that is twisted, we will have nothing left with which to live our lives! And if we try to spend what we don’t have, we will end up in bankruptcy.                                                                                                                                                            並非一切都可以改變（15節）。精通諺語的所羅門（列王記上 4:32）很可能在這裡引用了一句流行的諺語來表達他的觀點。他在 7 章 13 節中也做了類似的陳述。如果我們花費所有的時間和精力試圖理順一切扭曲的事情，我們將沒有什麼可以過我們的生活！如果我們試圖花掉我們沒有的東西，我們最終會破產。                                                                                                                        In short, Solomon is saying, “The past can’t always be changed, and it is foolish to fret over what you might have done.” Ken Taylor paraphrased verse 15, “What is wrong cannot be righted; it is water over the dam; and there is no use thinking of what might have been” (tlb 版).                                                  簡而言之，所羅門的意思是：“過去並不總是可以改變的，為自己可能做過的事情而煩惱是愚蠢的。”肯·泰勒 (Ken Taylor) 解釋了第 15 節：“錯誤不能糾正；錯誤不能糾正；錯誤不能糾正。”這是水壩上的水；思考可能會發生什麼是沒有用的」（tlb）。                                                             We must remind ourselves, however, that God has the power to straighten out what is twisted and supply what is lacking. He will not change the past, but He can change the way that the past affects us. For the lost sinner, the past is a heavy anchor that drags him down; but for the child of God, the past—even with its sins and mistakes—is a rudder that guides him forward. Faith makes the difference.                     然而，我們必須提醒自己，神有能力糾正扭曲的事物並供應缺乏的事物。祂不會改變過去，但祂可以改變過去影響我們的方式。對迷失的罪人來說，過去是把他拖垮的沉重錨；但對神的兒女來說，過去──即使其中有罪惡和錯誤──是引導他前進的舵。信念帶來改變。                        When He was ministering here on earth, our Lord often straightened out that which was twisted and provided that which was lacking (Luke 13:11–17; Matt. 12:10–13, 15:29–39; John 6:1–13). Man cannot do this by his own wisdom or power, but “with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Solomon was looking at these problems from a vantage point “under the sun,” and that’s why they seemed insoluble.                                                                                                                                                   當我們的主在地上事奉時，祂常常糾正扭曲的事物，並補足不足的事物（路加福音13：11-17；馬太福音12：10-13、15：29-39；約翰福音6 ： 1-13）。人靠自己的智慧或能力無法做到這一點，但「在神凡事都可以」（路加福音1:37）。所羅門從「日光之下」的有利位置來看待這些問題，這就是為什麼它們看起來無法解決。                                                                                                     Wisdom and experience will not solve every problem (vv. 16–18). Those who go through life living on explanations will always be unhappy for at least two reasons. First, this side of heaven, there are no explanations for some things that happen, and God is not obligated to explain them anyway. (In fact, if He did, we might not understand them!) Second, God has ordained that His people live by promises and not by explanations, by faith and not by sight. “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29).                                                                                                                            智慧和經驗並不能解決所有問題（16-18節）。那些一生依靠解釋而生活的人總是會因為至少兩個原因而感到不快樂。首先，在天堂這邊，發生的一些事情是沒有解釋的，神也沒有義務去解釋。 （事實上，如果他這樣做了，我們可能無法理解它們！）第二，神命定他的子民靠應許而不是靠解釋，靠信心而不是眼見而生活。 「那沒有看見就信的有福了」（約翰福音 20:29）。                                                                                                                                                               If anybody was equipped to solve the difficult problems of life and tell us what life was all about, Solomon was that person. He was the wisest of men, and people came from all over to hear his wisdom (1 Kings 4:29–34). His wealth was beyond calculation so that he had the resources available to do just about anything he wanted to do. He even experienced “madness and folly” (the absurd, the opposite of wisdom) in his quest for the right answers. Nothing was too hard for him.                                                           如果有人有能力解決生活中的難題並告訴我們生活到底是什麼，那麼所羅門就是那個人。祂是最有智慧的人，人們從各地趕來聆聽祂的智慧（列王記上 4：29-34）。他的財富無法計算，因此他擁有足夠的資源來做他想做的任何事情。在尋求正確答案的過程中，他甚至經歷了「瘋狂和愚蠢」（荒謬，智慧的對立面）。對他來說沒有什麼是太難的。                                                  But these advantages didn’t enable Solomon to find all the answers he was seeking. In fact, his great wisdom only added to his difficulties, for wisdom and knowledge increase sorrow and grief. People who never ponder the problems of life, who live innocently day after day, never feel the pain of wrestling with God in seeking to understand His ways. The more we seek knowledge and wisdom, the more ignorant we know we are. This only adds to the burden. “All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,” wrote T. S. Eliot in “Choruses from ‘The Rock.’” An old proverb says, “A wise man is never happy.”                                                                                                                                                         但這些優勢並沒有讓所羅門找到他所尋求的所有答案。事實上，他的大智慧只會增加他的困難，因為智慧和知識會增加悲傷和悲傷。那些從不思考生活問題的人，日復一日天真無邪地生活的人，永遠感受不到在尋求理解神的道路時與神摔跤的痛苦。我們越是尋求知識和智慧，就越發現自己是無知的。這只會增加負擔。 “我們所有的知識都讓我們更加接近無知，” T.S.艾略特(T. S. Eliot)在 " '磐石' "合唱中寫道。有句古諺語說道,  "聰明人永遠不會快樂. "                                All of this goes back to the Garden of Eden and Satan’s offer to Eve that, if she ate of the fruit, she would have the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3). When Adam and Eve sinned, they did get an experiential knowledge of good and evil; but since they were alienated from God, this knowledge only added to their sorrows. It has been that way with man ever since. Whether it be jet planes, insecticides, or television, each advance in human knowledge and achievement only creates a new set of problems for society.                                                                                                                                                               這一切都可以追溯到伊甸園和撒旦向夏娃提出的提議，如果她吃了禁果，她就會有善惡的知識（創世記 3）。當亞當和夏娃犯罪時，他們確實獲得了善惡的經驗知識。但由於他們與上帝隔絕，這種認識只會增加他們的悲傷。從那時起，人類就一直如此。無論是噴射機、殺蟲劑或電視，人類知識和成就的每一次進步只會為社會帶來一系列新的問題。                                                   For some people, life may be monotonous and meaningless, but it doesn’t have to be. For the Christian believer, life is an open door, not a closed circle; there are daily experiences of new blessings from the Lord. True, we can’t explain everything; but life is not built on explanations: it’s built on promises—and we have plenty of promises in God’s Word!                                                                                對某些人來說，生活可能是單調且毫無意義的，但事實並非如此。對基督徒來說，生命是一扇敞開的門，而不是一個封閉的圈子；每天都會經歷來自主的新祝福。確實，我們無法解釋一切；但生命不是建立在解釋之上的：它是建立在應許之上的－神的話語裡有很多應許！                    The scientist tells us that the world is a closed system and nothing is changed. The historian tells us that life is a closed book and nothing is new.                                                                                                         科學家告訴我們，世界是一個封閉的系統，什麼都不會改變。歷史學家告訴我們，生活是一本合上的書，沒有什麼新鮮的。                                                                                                                    The philosopher tells us that life is a deep problem and nothing is understood.                                           哲學家告訴我們，生命是一個深奧的問題，沒有什麼是可以理解的。                                               But Jesus Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24), and He has miraculously broken into history to bring new life to all who trust Him.                                                               但耶穌基督是「上帝的能力，祂的智慧」（哥林多前書 1:24），他奇蹟般地闖入歷史，為所有信靠祂的人帶來新的生命。                                                                                                                             If you are “living in circles,” then turn your life over to Him.                                                                     如果你 “生活在原地踏步”，那麼就把你的生活交給祂吧。