1 م َنْ يَقدِرُ أنْ يَفهَمَ وَيُفَسِّرَ الأشْياءَ كَالحَكِيمِ. حِكمَةُ الإنْسانِ تُفَرِّحُهُ، وَتُفَرِّحُ الآخَرِينَ.

¶ Who is as the wise man? and who is as he who knows the interpretation of all things? The wisdom of this man shall make his face to shine, and the coarseness of his face shall be changed.

2 أ نصَحُكَ بِأنْ تُطِيعَ أمْرَ المَلِكِ، لِأنَّكَ نَذَرْتَ هَذا النِّذْرَ للهِ.

I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment and the word of the covenant that thou hast made with God.

3 ل ا تَتَرَدَّدْ فِي تَقدِيمِ اقتِراحاتٍ لِلمَلِكِ. وَلا تَدعَمْ شَيئاً خاطِئاً، لَكِنْ تَذَكَّرْ أنَّ المَلِكَ يُقَرِّرُ ما يَشاءُ.

Do not be hasty to rebel against him; do not persist in any evil thing, for he shall do whatsoever pleases him;

4 أ وامِرُ المَلِكِ مُلْزِمَةٌ، وَلَيسَ مَنْ يَعتَرِضُ عَلَى ما يَفعَلُهُ.

because the word of the king is his power and who may say unto him, What doest thou?

5 م َنْ يُطِيعُ أوامِرَ المَلِكِ يَأْمَنُ، وَالرَّجُلُ الحَكِيمُ يَعرِفُ مَتَى وَكَيفَ يَفعَلُ ذَلِكَ.

Whosoever keeps the commandment shall experience no evil thing, and a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment.

6 ل ِكُلِّ شَيءٍ وَقتٌ مُلائِمٌ، وَهُناكَ طَرِيقَةٌ مُلائِمَةٌ لِعَمَلِ كُلِّ شَيءٍ. وَإنْ لَمْ يَفعَلِ المَرءُ ذَلِكَ، سَتَأْتِي عَلَيهِ المَتاعِبُ.

¶ Because for every will there is time and judgment, because the evil of man is great upon him,

7 ل ا سَبِيلَ لِلإنْسانِ إلَى مَعرِفَةِ المُسْتَقبَلِ، لِأنَّهُ ما مِنْ أحَدٍ يَقدِرُ أنْ يُخبِرَهُ بِما سَيَحْدُثُ.

for he does not know that which shall be; nor when it shall be. Who will teach it to him?

8 م ا مِنْ أحَدٍ يَقدِرُ أنْ يَمنَعَ الرَّوْحَ مِنْ مُغادَرَةِ الجَسَدِ. وَما مِنْ أحَدٍ يَقدِرُ أنْ يَمْنَعَ مَوْتَهُ. لا يُسْمَحُ لِلمُحارِبِ بِإخلاءِ مَوْقِعِهِ، كَذَلِكَ الشَّرُّ لا يُخلِي سَبيلَ الأشرارِ.

There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death, and weapons are of no use in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

9 ر أيتُ هَذا كُلَّهُ. وَتَأمَّلْتُ جَيِّداً جَميعَ ما عَمِلَهُ النّاسُ فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيا. فَرَأيتُ أنَّ الإنسانَ يَتَسَلَّطُ عَلَى الإنسانِ، فَيُسَبِّبَ الأذَى لِنَفْسِهِ.

¶ All this I have seen and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: the time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt.

10 و َرَأيتُ أيضاً أشْراراً يُدفَنُونَ فِي جَنازاتٍ مَهِيبَةٍ. وَسَمِعْتُ النّاسَ يَمدَحُونَهُمْ فِي المَدِينَةِ نَفسِها الَّتِي فَعَلُوا الشَّرَّ فِيها! هَذا أيضاً بِلا مَعنَى. العَدلُ وَالعِقابُ وَالثَّواب

Then I also saw that the wicked who were buried came into remembrance more than those who had frequented the holy place, and these were forgotten in the city where they had worked uprightly. This also is vanity.

11 ل ا يُعاقَبُ النّاسُ فَوْراً عَلَى شَرِّهِمْ، فِلِماذا لا يَفعَلُ الآخَرُونَ الشَّرِّ أيْضاً؟

Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

12 ق َدْ يَرتَكِبُ خاطِئٌ مِئَةَ جَرِيمَةٍ، وَيَطُولُ بِهِ العُمْرُ. لَكِنِّي أعلَمُ أنَّهُ خَيرٌ لِلنّاسِ أنْ يَخافُوا اللهَ.

Though a sinner does evil one hundred times and his judgment is prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with those that fear God, who fear before his presence;

13 أ مّا الأشْرارُ فَلَنْ يَرَوْا خَيراً. وَلَنْ يَطُولَ العُمْرُ بِهِمْ. لَنْ تَكُونَ حَياتُهُمْ كَالظِّلالِ الَّتِي تَطُولُ مَعَ غُرُوبِ الشَّمْسِ.

but it shall never be well with the wicked, neither shall his days be prolonged, which are as a shadow, because he did not fear before the presence of God.

14 ش َيءٌ آخَرُ زائِلٌ فِي هَذِهِ الحَياةِ: يُفتَرَضُ أنْ يُصِيبَ الشَّرُّ الأشْرارَ وَالخَيرُ الأخيارَ. لَكِنِّي أرَى أنَّ الشَّرَّ يُصِيبُ الأخيارَ أحياناً، وَالخَيرَ يُصِيبُ الأشْرارَ. هَذا أيضاً بِلا مَعَنَى.

¶ There is another vanity which is done upon the earth: that there are just men, who are recompensed as if they had done according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, who are recompensed as if they had done according to the work of the righteous; I say that this also is vanity.

15 ف َاسْتَنتَجْتُ أنَّ التَّمَتُّعَ بِالحَياةِ هُوَ أفضَلُ ما يُمْكِنُ أنْ يَفعَلَهُ إنسانٌ فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيا. فَيَأْكُلُ وَيَشْرَبُ وَيُمَتِّعُ نَفسَهُ، إذْ سَيَكُونُ هَذا ثَمَرَ تَعَبِ البَشَرِ فِي العَمَلِ الَّذِي أعطاهُمْ إيّاهُ اللهُ فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنْيا. لا نَستَطِيعُ فَهمَ كلِّ ما يفعله الله

Therefore I commended joy because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God gives him under the sun.

16 ت َأمَّلتُ لأكتَشِفَ الحِكمَةَ، لأفهَمَ ما يَفعَلُهُ النّاسُ عَلَى الأرْضِ. رَأيتُهُمْ مُنشَغِلِينَ نَهاراً وَلَيلاً دُونَ نَوْمٍ.

Therefore I applied mine heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done upon the earth (for also there is he that neither day nor night sees sleep with his eyes).

17 ث ُمَّ رَأيتُ كُلَّ ما يَفعَلُهُ اللهُ. لا يُمكِنُ لأحَدٍ أنْ يَفهَمَ ما يَفْعَلُهُ اللهُ فِي هَذِهِ الدُّنيا. لا يُمكِنُ لأحَدٍ مَهما تَعِبَ فِي البَحْثِ أنْ يَفهَمَ أعمالَهُ. حَتَّى الَّذِينَ يَدَّعُونَ الحِكْمَةَ، لا يُمكِنُهُمْ ذَلِكَ.

And I have seen regarding all the works of God that man cannot attain to understand the work that is being done under the sun, because though a man labours to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; even though the wise man says that he knows it, yet he shall not be able to attain it.