Ecclesiastes 传道书08

8Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance.
2Obey the king's command, I say, because you took an oath before God.
3Do not be in a hurry to leave the king's presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
4Since a king's word is supreme¹, who can say to him, "What are you doing?"
5Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.
6For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery² weighs heavily upon him.
7Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?
8No man has power over the wind to contain it ; so no one has power over the day of his death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
9All this I saw, as I applied³ my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt.
10Then too, I saw the wicked buried-those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless.
11When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.
12Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent⁴ before God.
13Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen⁵ like a shadow.
14There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.
15So I commend the enjoyment⁶ of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.
16When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labor⁷ on earth-his eyes not seeing sleep day or night-
17then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 reverent   

adj.恭敬的，虔诚的

参考例句：

• He gave reverent attention to the teacher.他恭敬地听老师讲课。
• She said the word artist with a gentle,understanding,reverent smile.她说作家一词时面带高雅，理解和虔诚的微笑。

5 lengthen   

vt.使伸长，延长

参考例句：

• He asked the tailor to lengthen his coat.他请裁缝把他的外衣放长些。
• The teacher told her to lengthen her paper out.老师让她把论文加长。

6 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。

7 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。