962 英翻中 (662) The Ecclesiastes (十二) 傳道書(十二) 13/01/2025

962 英翻中 (662)           The Ecclesiastes (十二)                傳道書(十二)                  13/01/2025

Don’t Rob Yourself (5:10–20)                                                                                                                  不要搶奪自己的財產 (5:10-20)                                                                                                                Solomon had already discussed “the futility of wealth” in 2:1–11, and some of those ideas are repeated here. What he did in this section was demolish several of the myths that people hold about wealth. Because they hold to these illusions, they rob themselves of the blessings God has for them.                  所羅門已經在 2:1-11 中討論了“財富的虛無”，這裡重複了其中的一些想法。他在本節中所做的就是推翻人們對財富的幾個神話。因為他們抱持著這些幻想，就剝奪了上帝對他們的祝福。                 Wealth brings satisfaction (v. 10). Some people treat money as though it were a god. They love it, make sacrifices for it, and think that it can do anything. Their minds are filled with thoughts about it; their lives are controlled by getting it and guarding it; and when they have it, they experience a great sense of security. What faith in the Lord does for the Christian, money does for many unbelievers. How often we hear people say, “Well, money may not be the number one thing in life, but it’s way ahead of whatever is number two!”                                                                                                                                       財富帶來滿足（10節）。有些人視金錢如神。他們熱愛它，為它做出犧牲，並認為它可以做任何事。他們的心裡充滿了這樣的想法；他們的生活是透過獲取和守護來控制的；當他們擁有它時，他們會體驗到極大的安全感。信仰主對基督徒的作用，就像金錢對許多非信徒的作用一樣。我們經常聽到人們說：“好吧，金錢可能不是生活中第一件事，但它遠遠領先於第二件事！”                                                                                                                                                                      The person who loves money cannot be satisfied no matter how much is in the bank account—because the human heart was made to be satisfied only by God (3:11). “Take heed and beware of covetousness,” warned Jesus, “for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses” (Luke 12:15 nkjv). First the person loves money, and then he loves more money, and the disappointing pursuit has begun that can lead to all sorts of problems. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10 nkjv).                                                                                                                 貪愛錢財的人無論銀行存款有多少，都無法得到滿足－因為只有神才能使人心滿足（3:11）。耶穌警告說：「你們要謹慎，防備貪心，因為人的生命不在乎家道豐富」（路加福音 12:15 新欽定版）。首先，這個人愛錢，然後他愛更多的錢，令人失望的追求就開始了，這可能會導致各種各樣的問題。 「因為貪愛金錢是萬惡之根」（提摩太前書 6:10 新欽定版）。                        Money solves every problem (v. 11). There is no escaping the fact that we need a certain amount of money in order to live in this world, but money of itself is not the magic “cure-all” for every problem. In fact, an increase in wealth usually creates new problems that we never even knew existed before. Solomon mentioned one: relatives and friends start showing up and enjoying our hospitality. All we can do is watch them eat up our wealth. Or perhaps it is the tax agent who visits us and decides that we owe the government more money.                                                                                                                  金錢可以解決一切問題（11節）。無可否認，我們需要一定數量的金錢才能生活在這個世界上，但金錢本身並不是解決所有問題的靈丹妙藥。事實上，財富的增加通常會帶來我們以前從未意識到存在的新問題。所羅門提到了其中一件事：親戚和朋友開始出現並享受我們的款待。我們能做的就是看著他們吞噬我們的財富。或者也許是稅務代理人來拜訪我們並決定我們欠政府更多的錢。                                                                                                                                                John Wesley, cofounder of the Methodist Church, told his people, “Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” Wesley himself could have been a very wealthy man, but he chose to live simply and give generously.                                                                                                                                               衛理公會的聯合創始人約翰衛斯理告訴他的人民，“盡你所能，盡你所能，節省一切，盡你所能。”韋斯利本人本來可以成為一個非常富有的人，但他選擇了簡單的生活和慷慨的奉獻。             Wealth brings peace of mind (v. 12). The late Joe Louis, world heavyweight boxing champion, used to say, “I don’t like money actually, but it quiets my nerves.” But Solomon said that possessing wealth is no guarantee that your nerves will be calm and your sleep sound. According to him, the common laborer sleeps better than the rich man. The suggestion seems to be that the rich man ate too much and was kept awake all night by an upset stomach. But surely Solomon had something greater in mind than that. The Living Bible expresses verse 12 perfectly: “The man who works hard sleeps well whether he eats little or much, but the rich must worry and suffer insomnia.”                                                     財富帶來心靈的平安（12節）。已故的世界重量級拳擊冠軍喬·路易斯曾經說過：“我實際上不喜歡錢，但它能讓我平靜下來。”但所羅門說，擁有財富並不能保證你的神經平靜、睡眠安穩。據他說，普通勞動者比富人睡得好。看來富翁吃太多，胃不舒服，整夜沒睡。但所羅門的想法肯定比這更偉大。 《活的聖經》完美地表達了第12節：“努力工作的人，無論吃得少還是吃得多，都睡得好；但富有的人卻必須憂慮和失眠。”                                                                                        More than one preacher has mentioned John D. Rockefeller in his sermons as an example of a man whose life was almost ruined by wealth. At the age of fifty-three, Rockefeller was the world’s only billionaire, earning about a million dollars a week. But he was a sick man who lived on crackers and milk and could not sleep because of worry. When he started giving his money away, his health changed radically and he lived to celebrate his ninety-eighth birthday!                                                                              不只一位傳教士在講道中提到約翰·D·洛克菲勒，他是一個幾乎被財富毀掉一生的人的例子。五十三歲的洛克斐勒是全世界唯一的億萬富翁，每週收入約一百萬美元。但他是個病人，靠餅乾和牛奶為生，因為擔心而無法入睡。當他開始捐錢時，他的健康狀況發生了根本性的變化，他活到了九十八歲生日！                                                                                                                          Yes, it’s good to have the things that money can buy, provided you don’t lose the things that money         是的，擁有金錢能買到的東西是件好事，但前提是你不要失去金錢不能買到的東西。                   Wealth provides security (vv. 13–17). The picture here is of two rich men. One hoarded all his wealth and ruined himself by becoming a miser. The other man made some unsound investments and lost his wealth. He was right back where he started from and had no estate to leave to his son. He spent the rest of his days in the darkness of discouragement and defeat, and he did not enjoy life. Like all of us, he brought nothing into the world at birth, and he took nothing out of the world at death (see Job 1:21; Ps. 49:17; 1 Tim. 6:7).                                                                                                                                 財富所提供的保障（13-17節）。這裡的照片是兩個有錢人。一個人囤積了所有的財富，並因成為守財奴而毀了自己。另一個人做了一些不合理的投資並損失了他的財富。他又回到了起點，沒有遺產可以留給兒子。他的餘生都在灰心喪志的黑暗中度過，沒有享受過生活。像我們所有人一樣，他出生時沒有為世界帶來任何東西，死亡時他也沒有從世界上帶走任何東西（參考約伯記 1:21；詩篇 49:17；提前 6:7）。                                                                                                     This account makes us think of our Lord’s parable about the rich fool (Luke 12:13–21). The man thought all his problems were solved when he became rich, but immediately he was faced with providing bigger barns for his wealth. He thought he was safe and secure for years to come, but that night he died! His money provided no security whatsoever.                                                                                 這件事使我們想起主耶穌關於愚昧財主的比喻（路 12：13-21）。這個人以為當他變得富有時，他所有的問題都解決了，但他立即面臨著為他的財富提供更大的穀倉的問題。他以為自己在接下來的幾年都會安全無憂，但那天晚上他就死了！他的錢並不能提供任何安全感。                     Keep in mind that Solomon was advocating neither poverty nor riches, because both have their problems (Prov. 30:7–9). The Preacher was warning his listeners against the love of money and the delusions that wealth can bring. In the closing verses of the chapter (vv. 18–20), he affirmed once again the importance of accepting our station in life and enjoying the blessings that God gives to us.                         請記住，所羅門既不提倡貧窮，也不提倡富裕，因為兩者都有各自的問題（箴 30:7-9）。傳道者警告他的聽眾不要貪愛金錢和財富帶來的妄想。在這一章的最後幾節（第18-20節）中，他再次肯定了接受我們的人生地位，並享受上帝給我們的祝福的重要性。                                                The thing that is “good and fitting” (v. 18 nkjv) is to labor faithfully, enjoy the good things of life, and accept it all as the gracious gift of God. Solomon gave us this wise counsel before in 2:24; 3:12–13; and 3:22; and he will repeat it at least three more times before he ends his “sermon.”                                      「美好而適當」的事（18節 新欽定版）就是忠心地工作，享受生活中的美好事物，並接受這一切作為上帝恩賜的禮物。所羅門在 2 章 24 節給了我們這個明智的建議； 3:12-13； 3:22；在結束他的「講道」之前，他至少會再重複三次。                                                                                              There are three ways to get wealth: we can work for it, we can steal it, or we can receive it as a gift (see Eph. 4:28). Solomon saw the blessings of life as God’s gift to those who work and who accept that work as the favor of God. “To enjoy your work and to accept your lot in life—that is indeed a gift from God” (v. 19 tlb 版).                                                                                                                                         獲得財富有三種方式：我們可以工作，我們可以偷竊，或者我們可以接受它作為禮物（參考    以弗所書 4:28）。所羅門認為生命的祝福是上帝給那些工作並接受工作作為上帝恩惠的人的禮物。 「享受你的工作並接受你的生活——這確實是上帝的恩賜」（19節tlb）。                               Solomon added another important thought: the ability to enjoy life’s blessings is also a gift from God. Solomon will expand on this thought in the next chapter and point out the unhappiness of people who possess wealth but are not able to enjoy it. We thank God for food, but we should also thank Him for healthy taste buds and a digestive system that functions correctly. A wealthy friend, now in heaven, often took me and my wife to expensive restaurants, but he was unable to enjoy the food because he couldn’t taste it. All of his wealth could not purchase healing for his taste buds.                                                所羅門補充了另一個重要的想法：享受生活祝福的能力也是上帝的恩賜。所羅門將在下一章中擴展這一思想，並指出擁有財富但無法享受它的人的不幸。我們感謝上帝賜給我們食物，但我們也應該感謝祂賜給我們健康的味蕾和正常運作的消化系統。一位現在在天堂的富有的朋友經常帶我和我的妻子去昂貴的餐館，但他無法享受食物，因為他無法品嚐。他所有的財富都無法治癒他的味蕾。                                                                                                                                           Verse 20 may mean that the person who rejoices in God’s daily blessings will never have regrets. “The person who does that will not need to look back with sorrow on his past, for God gives him joy” (tlb). The time to start storing up happy memories is now. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Ps. 90:12).                                                                                                           第20節可能意味著，因神每日的祝福而喜樂的人永遠不會後悔。 「這樣做的人將不需要悲傷地回顧他的過去，因為上帝會給他歡樂」（tlb 版）。現在是開始儲存快樂回憶的時候了。 「求你教導我們數算自己的日子，好使我們的心靈獲得智慧」（詩 90:12）。                                           It may also mean that the believer who gratefully accepts God’s gifts today will not fret and worry about how long he or she will live. It is an established fact that the people who have the most birthdays live the longest, but if they keep complaining about “getting old” they will have very little to enjoy. People who are thankful to God “will not dwell overmuch upon the passing years,” as the New English Bible translates verse 20. They will take each day as it comes and use it to serve the Lord.                                這也可能意味著，今天感激地接受上帝恩賜的信徒，將不會擔心自己還能活多久。生日次數最多的人最長壽，這是既定的事實，但如果他們一直抱怨 “變老”，他們就沒有什麼可享受的了。正如新英文聖經第 20 節的翻譯，感謝上帝的人「不會過多地思考過去的歲月」。                         In chapter 6, Solomon will conclude his discussion of “the futility of wealth.” He might well have chosen Matthew 6:33 as the text for his message: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (nkjv). The important thing is that we love the Lord, accept the lot He assigns us, and enjoy the blessings He graciously bestows. If we focus more on the gifts than on the Giver, we are guilty of idolatry. If we accept His gifts, but complain about them, we are guilty of ingratitude. If we hoard His gifts and will not share them with others, we are guilty of indulgence. But if we yield to His will and use what He gives us for His glory, then we can enjoy life and be satisfied.                                                                                                                                                      在第六章中，所羅門將結束他對「財富的無用性」的討論。他很可能選擇馬太福音 6章33節 作為他的信息的文本：「你們要先求上帝的國和祂的義，這些東西都要加給你們了」（新欽定版）。重要的是我們愛主，接受祂所分配給我們的命運，並享受祂恩賜的祝福。如果我們更專注於恩賜，而不是給予者，我們就犯了偶像崇拜的罪。如果我們接受祂的恩賜，但卻抱怨祂的恩賜，我們就犯了忘恩負義的罪。如果我們囤積祂的恩賜而不與他人分享，我們就犯了放縱罪。但如果我們順服祂的旨意，並使用祂為祂的榮耀所賜給我們的東西，那麼我們就能享受生活，並感到滿足。