Ecclesiastes 3
1 Everything has its own time—a time for all that happens here:
天が下の萬の事には期あり 萬の事務には時あり
2 A time of birth, and a time of death. A time of planting, and a time of harvest.
生るるに時あり死るに時あり 植るに時あり植たる者を抜に時あり
3 A time of killing, and a time of healing. A time of tearing down, and a time of building up.
殺すに時あり醫すに時あり 毀つに時あり建るに時あり
4 A time of crying, and a time of laughing. A time of mourning, and a time of dancing.
泣に時あり笑ふに時あり 悲むに時あり躍るに時あり
5 A time of throwing away stones, and a time of gathering up stones. A time of embracing, and a time of avoiding embracing.
石を擲つに時あり石を斂むるに時あり 懐くに時あり懐くことをせざるに時あり
6 A time of searching, and a time of giving up searching. A time of keeping, and a time of throwing away.
得に時あり失ふに時あり 保つに時あり棄るに時あり
7 A time of tearing, and a time of mending. A time of keeping quiet, a time of speaking up.
裂に時あり縫に時あり 默すに時あり語るに時あり
8 A time of loving, and a time of hating. A time of warfare, and a time of peace.
愛しむに時あり惡むに時あり 戰ふに時あり和ぐに時あり
9 So what do you get for all your hard work?
働く者はその勞して爲ところよりして何の益を得んや
10 I have examined what God gives us to do.
我神が世の人にさづけて身をこれに勞せしめたまふところの事件を視たり
11 Everything God does is beautifully timed, and even though he has also placed the idea of eternity in our minds, we can't fully understand what God does from beginning to end.
神の爲したまふところは皆その時に適ひて美麗しかり 神はまた人の心に永遠をおもふの思念を賦けたまへり 然ば人は神のなしたまふ作爲を始より終まで知明むることを得ざるなり
12 I concluded that there's nothing better than being happy and looking for the good in life.
我知る人の中にはその世にある時に快樂をなし善をおこなふより外に善事はあらず
13 In addition everyone should eat and drink and enjoy their work—this is God's gift to us.
また人はみな食飮をなしその勞苦によりて逸樂を得べきなり 是すなはち神の賜物たり
14 I also concluded that everything God does lasts forever: nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. God acts in this way so that people may stand in awe of him.
我知る凡て神のなしたまふ事は限なく存せん 是は加ふべき所なく是は減すべきところ無し 神の之をなしたまふは人をしてその前に畏れしめんがためなり
15 Whatever was, is; and whatever will be, has been, and God examines the whole of time.
昔ありたる者は今もあり 後にあらん者は旣にありし者なり 神はその遂やられし者を索めたまふ
16 I also observed that here on earth there was evil even in the place where there was supposed to be justice; even where things were meant to be right, there was evil.
我また日の下を見るに審判をおこなふ所に邪曲なる事あり 公義を行ふところに邪曲なる事あり
17 But then I thought to myself, “Ultimately God will judge both those who do right and those who do wrong, and every deed and action, at the appointed time.”
我すなはち心に謂けらく神は義者と惡者とを鞫きたまはん 彼處において萬の事と萬の所爲に時あるなり
18 I also thought to myself, “Regarding what happens to human beings—God proves to us that we're no better than animals.”
我また心に謂けらく是事あるは是世の人のためなり 即ち神は斯世の人を撿して之にその獣のごとくなることを自ら暁らしめ給ふなり
19 For what happens to human beings is the same as what happens to animals—in the same way one dies, the other dies too. They all have the breath of life—so regarding any advantage human beings have over animals, there is none. Definitely this is very hard to understand!
世の人に臨むところの事はまた獣にも臨む この二者に臨むところの事は同一にして是も死ば彼も死るなり 皆同一の呼吸に依れり 人は獣にまさる所なし皆空なり
20 They all end up in the same place—they all came from dust, and they all return to dust.
皆一の所に往く 皆塵より出で皆塵にかへるなり
21 Who really knows whether the breath of life of human beings goes up above, and the breath of life of animals goes down below to the earth?
誰か人の魂の上に昇り獣の魂の地にくだることを知ん
22 So I concluded that there's nothing better than for people to enjoy their work. This is what we are meant to do. For who can bring anyone back from the dead to show them what will happen after they die?
然ば人はその動作によりて逸樂をなすに如はなし 是その分なればなり 我これを見る その身の後の事は誰かこれを携へゆきて見さしむる者あらんや
