Ecclesiastes 传道书03

3There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot¹,
3a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5a time to scatter² stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
9What does the worker gain from his toil³?
10I have seen the burden God has laid on men.
11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity⁴ in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom⁵ what God has done from beginning to end.
12I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.
13That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God.
14I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere⁶ him.
15Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.
16And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment⁷-wickedness was there, in the place of justice-wickedness was there.
17I thought in my heart, "God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed."
18I also thought, "As for men, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.
19Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath ; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless.
20All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.
21Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?"
22So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

1 uproot   

v.连根拔起，拔除；根除，灭绝；赶出家园，被迫移开

参考例句：

• The family decided to uproot themselves and emigrate to Australia.他们全家决定离开故土，移居澳大利亚。
• The trunk of an elephant is powerful enough to uproot trees.大象的长鼻强壮得足以将树木连根拔起。

2 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

3 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。

4 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

5 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

6 revere   

vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏

参考例句：

• Students revere the old professors.学生们十分尊敬那些老教授。
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven.中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。

7 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。