Ecclesiastes 传道书02

2I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless.
2"Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?"
3I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly¹-my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
4I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.
5I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.
6I made reservoirs to water groves² of flourishing trees.
7I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds³ and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
8I amassed⁴ silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well-the delights of the heart of man.
9I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor⁵.
11Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled⁷ to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
12Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done?
13I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.
14The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both.
15Then I thought in my heart, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?" I said in my heart, "This too is meaningless."
16For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!
17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
18I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.
19And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.
20So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.
21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
22What does a man get for all the toil⁶ and anxious striving with which he labors⁸ under the sun?
23All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
24A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
25for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment⁹?
26To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering¹⁰ and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

1 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

2 groves   

树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
• The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林，还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。

3 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

4 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

7 toiled   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。
• He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。

8 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

9 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

10 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。