Don’t say,“ Why were the former days better than these?” since it is not wise of you to ask this.

不要说：先前的日子强过如今的日子，是什么缘故呢？你这样问，不是出于智慧。

不要说：为什么先前的日子强过现今的日子呢？你这样问不是出于智慧。

不要说：为什么先前的日子强过现今的日子呢？你这样问不是出于智慧。

不要问为什么过去比现在好，因为这样问不明智。

你不要说：“为什么从前的日子胜过现在的呢？”你这样问，不是出于智慧。

不要说：“为什么先前的日子好过现在的日子呢？”因为你这样问不是出于智慧。

不要說：先前的日子強過如今的日子，是甚麼緣故呢？你這樣問，不是出於智慧。

不要說：為甚麼先前的日子強過現今的日子呢？你這樣問不是出於智慧。

不要說：為甚麼先前的日子強過現今的日子呢？你這樣問不是出於智慧。

不要問為什麼過去比現在好，因為這樣問不明智。

你不要說：“為甚麼從前的日子勝過現在的呢？”你這樣問，不是出於智慧。

你不要說：『為甚麼先前的日子比如今這些日子好呢？』因為你問到這事、並不是出於智慧。

不要說：「為什麼先前的日子好過現在的日子呢？」因為你這樣問不是出於智慧。

勿謂今不如古何耶、詢此、乃不智也、

勿是古非今、而尚論其事、此非智者所為也。

爾勿問云、緣何今日不如昔日、爾如是問、則非出於智慧、

Do not say,“ Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions.

Don’t say,“ Why were things better in the good old days?” It isn’t wise to ask that kind of question.

Say not,“ Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

Don’t long for“ the good old days.” This is not wise.

Do not say,“ Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

Do not say,“ Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.

Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.

Don’t say,“ Why were the former days better than these?” since it is not wise of you to ask this.

Say not thou, What is[ the cause] that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

Do not say,“ Why were the old days better than these days?” for it is not wise to ask that.

Don’t say,“ Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not ask wisely about this.

Gideon said to him,“ Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about? They said,‘ Hasn’t the LORD brought us out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”

Instead, we will do everything we promised: we will burn incense to the queen of heaven and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets. Then we had enough food, we were well off, and we saw no disaster,but from the time we ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to offer her drink offerings, we have lacked everything, and through sword and famine we have met our end.”And the women said,“ When we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it apart from our husbands’ knowledge that we made sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Claiming to be wise, they became foolsand exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves.They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.The men in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right.They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful.Although they know God’s just sentence— that those who practice such things deserve to die— they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them.

What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin,as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips.Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.Their feet are swift to shed blood;ruin and wretchedness are in their paths,and the path of peace they have not known.There is no fear of God before their eyes.Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are subject to the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God.All have turned away; all alike have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.

This is what the LORD says: Where is your mother’s divorce certificate that I used to send her away? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and your mother was sent away because of your transgressions.

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with wickedness.God saw how corrupt the earth was, for every creature had corrupted its way on the earth.