Ecclesiastes 1
传道书 第一章
人生的虚空
1 在耶路撒冷作王、大卫的儿子、传道者的言语。2 传道者说：虚空的虚空，虚空的虚空，全是虚空。3 人一切的劳碌，就是他在日光之下的劳碌，有什么益处呢？4 一代过去，一代又来，地却永远长存。5 太阳上升，太阳下落，急归所出之地。6 风往南刮，又向北转，不停旋转，绕回原路。7 江河都往海里流，海却不满；江河从何处流，仍归回原处。8 万事令人厌倦，人不能说尽。眼看，看不饱；耳听，听不足。9 已有的事，后必再有；已行的事，后必再行。日光之下并无新事。10 有一件事人指着说：“看，这是新的！”它在我们以前的世代早已有了。11 已过的事，无人记念；将来的事，后来的人也不记念。
传道者的经验
12 我传道者在耶路撒冷作过以色列的王。 13 我用智慧专心探寻、考察天下所发生的一切事：上帝给世人何等沉重的担子，使他们在其中劳苦！ 14 我见日光之下所发生的一切事，看哪，全是虚空，全是捕风。15 弯曲的，不能变直；缺乏的，不计其数。16 我心里说：“看哪，我大有智慧，胜过在我以前所有统治耶路撒冷的人；我的心也多经历智慧和知识的事。”17 我专心想要明白智慧，想要明白狂妄与愚昧，方知这也是捕风。18 因为多有智慧，就多有愁烦；增加知识，就增加忧伤。
问题讨论
你认为最有趣的经节是哪一节？为什么？
在这一章中，你会重复性的看到“虚空”这个词，它是什么意思？
在第1-11节中，这些经节传达了生活实际上从未真正改变的观念。你同意吗？
了解生活是重复的之后，对你来说是一种解脱还是沮丧？
在第11节中，作者说我们的生命最终会从记忆中消逝。这对你思考自己想要留下的遗产有什么影响？
在这一章中，对你来说最有意义的是什么？为什么？
Everything is meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
Discussion Questions:
What verse is most interesting to you, why?
A word that you will find repeatedly within this chapter is “meaningless”, what does it mean?
In verses 1-11, these verses give the notion that nothing ever really changes in life. Do you agree?
Do you find it liberating or frustrating to know that life is repetitive?
In verse 11, the writer says that our lives will eventually fade from memory. How does this impact the way you think about the legacy you wish to leave behind?
What is most meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?