957 英翻中 (657) The Ecclesiastes (七) 傳道書(七) 01/07/2025

957 英翻中 (657)                The Ecclesiastes (七)                    傳道書(七)                        01/07/2025

CHAPTER FOUR Ecclesiastes 3 TIME AND TOIL                                                                                    第四章  傳道書 3   時間與辛勞                                                                                                            Ponder these quotations from two famous professors: “Why shouldn’t things be largely absurd, futile, and transitory? They are so, and we are so, and they and we go very well together.” That’s from philosopher George Santayana, who taught at Harvard from 1889 to 1912.                                                         思考一下兩位著名教授的引言：「為什麼事情不應該在很大程度上是荒謬的、徒勞的和短暫的呢？他們如此，我們也如此，他們和我們相處得很好。這是哲學家喬治·桑塔亞納(George Santayana) 的話，他於1889 年至1912 年在哈佛大學任教。                                                                         “There is no reason to suppose that a man’s life has any more meaning than the life of the humblest insect that crawls from one annihilation to another.” That was written by Joseph Wood Krutch, professor of English at Columbia University from 1937 to 1952.                                                                        “沒有理由相信人的生命比最卑微的昆蟲的生命更有意義，如從一毀滅爬到另一毀滅。”  這是約瑟夫·伍德·克魯奇（Joseph Wood Krutch）於1937 年至1952 年擔任哥倫比亞大學英語教授所寫的。                                                                                                                                                                    Both of these men were brilliant in their fields, but most of us would not agree with what they wrote. We believe that something grander is involved in human life than mere transitory existence. We are not like insects. Surely Dr. Krutch knew that insects have life cycles, but men and women have histories. One bee is pretty much like another bee, but people are unique and no two stories are the same. You can write The Life of the Bee, but you can’t write The Life of the Man or The Life of the Woman.                                                                                                                                                                  這兩個人在各自的領域都很出色，但我們大多數人都不同意他們所寫的內容。我們相信人類生活中包含著比短暫存在更偉大的東西。我們不像昆蟲。克魯奇博士當然知道昆蟲有生命週期，但我們人都有歷史。一隻蜜蜂與另一隻蜜蜂非常相似，但人是獨一奇特的，沒有兩個人的故事是相同的。你可以寫《蜜蜂的一生》，但你不能寫《男人的一生》或《女人的一生》。                 If we as individuals are not unique, then we are not important; if we are not important, then life has no meaning. If life has no meaning, life isn’t worth living. We might as well follow the Epicurean philosophy: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”                                                                                     如果我們並不是獨的個體，那麼我們就不重要；如果我們不重要，那么生命就沒有意義。如果生命沒有意義，生命就不值得過。我們不妨遵循伊比鳩魯哲學：“讓我們吃喝吧，因為明天我們就會死。”                                                                                                                                                       Solomon has presented four arguments proving that life was nothing but grasping broken soap bubbles and chasing after the wind. But he was too wise a man to let his own arguments go unchallenged, so in Ecclesiastes 3—10, he reexamined each of them carefully. His first argument was the monotony of life (1:4–11), and he examined it in Ecclesiastes 3:1— 5:9. He discovered four factors that must be considered before you can say that life is monotonous and meaningless.                                         所羅門提出了四個論點，證明生活只不過是抓住破碎的肥皂泡和追逐風。但他是個太聰明的人，不會讓自己的論點不受質疑，因此在傳道書 3-10 等章中，他仔細地重新審視了每一個論點。他的第一個論點是生活的單調性（傳  1:4-11），他在傳道書 3:1-5:9 中，對此進行了探討。他發現，在你說生活是單調和無意義之前必須考慮四個因素。                                                                     First, he saw something above man, a God who was in control of time and who balanced life’s experiences (3:1–8). Then he saw something within man that linked him to God—eternity in his heart (3:9–14). Third, Solomon saw something ahead of man—the certainty of death (3:15–22). Finally, he saw something around man—the problems and burdens of life (4:1— 5:9).                                                         首先，他看到了高於人類的東西，一位掌控時間並平衡生命經驗的上帝（傳  3:1-8）。然後他看到人內在有某種東西將與祂連結起來 — 他心中的永恆（傳  3:9-14）。第三，所羅門看到了人類的未來 — 死亡的必然性（傳  3:15-22）。最後，他看到了人周圍的一些東西 — 生活的問題和負擔（傳  4:1—5:9）。                                                                                                                                So, the Preacher asked his listeners to look up, to look within, to look ahead, and to look around, and to take into consideration time, eternity, death, and suffering. These are the four factors God uses to keep our lives from becoming monotonous and meaningless. We will consider three of these factors in this chapter and the fourth in our next study.                                                                                                         因此，傳道者要求他的聽眾向上看，向內看，向前看，向四周看，並考慮到時間、永恆、死亡和苦難。這是上帝用來防止我們的生活變得單調和無意義的四個因素。我們將在本章中考慮其中的三個因素，並在下一研究中考慮第四個因素。

Look Up: God Orders Time (3:1–8)                                                                                                        向上看  ：上帝規定時間（3:1-8）                                                                                                        You don’t have to be a philosopher or a scientist to know that “times and seasons” are a regular part of life, no matter where you live. Were it not for the dependability of God-ordained “natural laws,” both science and daily life would be chaotic, if not impossible. Not only are there times and seasons in this world, but there is also an overruling providence in our lives. From before our birth to the moment of our death, God is accomplishing His divine purposes, even though we don’t always understand what He is doing.                                                                                                                                                      你不必是哲學家或科學家，也知道「時間和季節」是生活的常規組成部分，無論你住在哪裡。如果沒有上帝所命定的「自然法則」的可靠性，科學和日常生活即使不是不可能，也將是混亂的。這個世界不但有時間和季節，在我們的生活中也有主宰的天意。從我們出生之前到我們死亡的那一刻，上帝都在實現祂神聖的目的，儘管我們並不總是理解祂在做什麼。                                    In fourteen statements, Solomon affirmed that God is at work in our individual lives, seeking to accomplish His will. All of these events come from God, and they are good in their time. The inference is plain: if we cooperate with God’s timing, life will not be meaningless. Everything will be “beautiful in his time” (v. 11), even the most difficult experiences of life. Most of these statements are easy to understand, so we will examine only those that may need special explanation.                                                   所羅門在他的十四句話中，確認上帝在我們個人的生活中做工，尋求實現祂的旨意。所有這些事件都來自上帝，而且它們在適當的時候是美好的。推論很簡單：如果我們配合上帝的時間安排，生活就不會失去意義。一切都會「在祂的時候成為美好的」（11節），即使是人生中最艱難的經歷。大多數這些陳述都很容易理解，因此我們將只研究那些可能需要特殊解釋的內容。                                                                                                                                                                        Birth and death (v. 2). Things like abortion, birth control, mercy killing, and surrogate parenthood make it look as though man is in control of birth and death, but Solomon said otherwise. Birth and death are not human accidents; they are divine appointments, for God is in control. (see Gen. 29:31–30:24; 33:5; Josh. 24:3; 1 Sam. 1:9–20; Ps. 113:9; 127; Jer. 1:4–5; Luke 1:5–25; Gal. 1:15; 4:4.) Psalm 139:13–16 states that God so wove us in the womb that our genetic structure is perfect for the work He has prepared for us to do (Eph. 2:10). We may foolishly hasten our death, but we cannot prevent it when our time comes, unless God so wills it (Isa. 38). “All the days ordained for me were written in your book” (Ps. 139:16 niv).                                                                                                                                           出生與死亡（2節）。墮胎、節育、安樂死和代孕等事情，讓人類看起來似乎可以控制出生和死亡，但所羅門卻說不然。出生和死亡不是人類的意外；它們是神聖的任命，因為上帝掌管一切。 （參考  創  29：31-30：24；33：5；書  24：3；撒上  1：9-20；詩篇  113：9；127；     耶  1：4-5；路  1: 5-25；加  1:15；4:4。)   詩篇 139:13-16 指出，上帝在子宮裡就將我們編織成這樣，我們的基因結構對於祂為我們準備要做的工作來說是完美的（以弗所書 2:10）。我們可能會愚蠢地加速我們的死亡，但當我們的時刻到來時，我們無法阻止它，除非上帝如此願意（以賽亞書38）。 「為我所命定的一切日子都寫在祢的書上」（詩篇 139:16 新國際版）。                  Planting and plucking (v. 2). Being an agricultural people, the Jews appreciated the seasons. In fact, their religious calendar was based on the agricultural year (Lev. 23). Men may plow and sow, but only God can give the increase (Ps. 65:9–13). “Plucking” may refer either to reaping or to pulling up unproductive plants. A successful farmer knows that nature works for him only if he works with nature. This is also the secret of a successful life: learn God’s principles and cooperate with them.                              種植和採摘（第 2 節）。作為一個農業民族，猶太人非常重視季節。事實上，他們的宗教曆法是以農業年（利  23）為基礎的。人可以犁地、播種，但只有祂才能使作物生長（詩篇 65:9-13）。 「採摘」可能指收割或拔除不結果實的植物。成功的農民知道，只有與大自然合作，自然才會為他服務。這也是成功人生的秘訣：學習上帝的原則, 並與之合作。                                  Killing and healing (v. 3). This probably refers, not to war (v. 8) or self-defense, but to the results of sickness and plague in the land (1 Sam. 2:6). God permits some to die, while others are healed. This does not imply that we should refuse medical aid, for God can use both means and miracles to accomplish His purposes (Isa. 38).                                                                                                                         殺戮與醫治（3節）。這可能不是指戰爭（第 8 節）或自衛，而是指該土地疾病和瘟疫的後果（撒 2:6）。上帝允許一些人死亡，而其他人則被治癒。這並不意味著我們應該拒絕醫療援助，因為上帝可以使用手段和奇蹟來實現祂的目的（以賽亞書 38）。                                                      Casting away stones and gathering stones (v. 5). Tour guides in Israel will tell you that God gave stones to an angel and told him to distribute them across the world—and he tripped right over Palestine! It is indeed a rocky land, and farmers must clear their fields before they can plow and plant. If you wanted to hurt an enemy, you filled up his field with stones (2 Kings 3:19, 25). People also gathered stones for building walls and houses. Stones are neither good nor bad; it all depends on what you do with them. If your enemy fills your land with rocks, don’t throw them back. Build something out of them!                                                                                                                                                                       拋開石頭，又聚集石頭（5節）。以色列的導遊會告訴您，上帝把石頭交給了一位天使，並告訴他將它們分發到世界各地 - 結果他就在巴勒斯坦絆倒了！這確實是一片岩石地，農民必須先清理田地，然後才能耕種。如果你想傷害敵人，你就用石頭填滿他的田地（列王紀下 3:19, 25）。人們也收集石頭來建造牆壁和房屋。石頭沒有好壞之分；這完全取決於你如何處理它們。如果你的敵人用石頭填滿你的土地，不要把它們丟回去。用它們來建造一些東西！                         Embracing and refraining from embracing (v. 5). People in the Near East openly show their affections, kissing and hugging when they meet and when they part. So, you could paraphrase this, “A time to say hello and a time to say good-bye.” This might also refer to the relationship of a husband and wife (Lev. 15:19–31; and see 1 Cor. 7:5).                                                                                                              擁抱與不擁抱（5節）。近東地區的人們公開表達他們的感情，見面時親吻和擁抱。所以，你可以解釋一下，“有時間打招呼，也有時間說再見。”這也可能指的是丈夫和妻子的關係（利15:19-31；參考  林前  7:5）。                                                                                                                            Getting and losing (v. 6). “A time to search and a time to give it up for lost” is another translation. The next phrase gives biblical authority for garage sales: a time to keep and a time to clean house!                  得到和失去（6節）。另一種翻譯是「尋找的時刻和放棄迷失的時刻」。下一句話給了在車庫內拍賣的聖經權威：保留時間和打掃房間的時間！                                                                                    Tearing and mending (v. 7). This probably refers to the Jewish practice of tearing one’s garments during a time of grief or repentance (2 Sam. 13:31; Ezra 9:5). God expects us to sorrow during bereavement, but not like unbelievers (1 Thess. 4:13–18). There comes a time when we must get out the needle and thread and start sewing things up!                                                                                                      撕裂又修補（7節）。這可能是指猶太人在悲傷或悔改時撕裂衣服的做法（撒下 13:31；拉 9:5）。上帝希望我們在喪親之痛時感到悲傷，但不要像非信徒那樣悲傷（帖前 4：13-18）。總有一天我們必須拿出針線開始縫東西！                                                                                                             Loving and hating (v. 8). Are God’s people allowed to hate? The fact that the next phrase mentions “war and peace” suggests that Solomon may have had the nation primarily in mind. However, there are some things that even Christians ought to hate (2 Chron. 19:2; Ps. 97:10; Prov. 6:16–19; Rev. 2:6, 15).                                                                                                                                                                  又愛又恨（8節）。上帝的子民可以仇恨嗎？下一個短語提到「戰爭與和平」這一事實表明，所羅門可能首先考慮的是國家。然而，有些事情即使是基督徒也應該憎恨（歷代誌下 19:2；詩篇 97:10；箴 6:16-19；啟 2:6, 15）。                                                                                                 Life is something like a doctor’s prescription: taken alone, the ingredients might kill you; but properly blended, they bring healing. God is sovereignly in control and has a time and a purpose for everything (Rom. 8:28). This is not fatalism, nor does it rob us of freedom or responsibility. It is the wise providence of a loving Father who does all things well and promises to make everything work for good.                                                                                                                                                                       生活就像醫生的處方：單獨服用，其中的成分可能會殺死你；但適當地混合，它們會帶來治癒。上帝擁有主權，對萬事都有祂的時間和目的（羅馬書 8:28）。這不是宿命論，也不剝奪我們的自由或責任。這是慈愛的天父明智的旨意，祂把所有的事情都做好，並承諾讓一切都為美好而運轉。