Patukkung 1
1 Jerusalem ih siangpahrang, David capa, Patukkung ih loknawk loe hae tiah oh.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Azom pui ni! Azom pui ni! tiah Patukkung mah thuih; azom pui ni! Hmuen boih hae azom pui ah ni oh.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 Kami mah ni tlim ah angpho qawt hoi toksakhaih atho timaw oh?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 Adung maeto laemh naah, adung kalah maeto angzoh; toe long loe dungzan khoek to cak poe.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 Ni doeh tacawt tahang moe, akun tathuk, angmah tacawthaih ahmuen hoiah ni tacawt let.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 Takhi loe aloih bangah song tathuk moe, aluek bangah amlaem tahang; ahnuk ahma amhae moe, a songhaih ahmuen ah amlaem let.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 Vapuinawk boih loe tuipui ah long o tathuk; toe tuipui loe koi ai toengtoeng vop, vapuinawk loe angmacae long tangsuekhaih ahmuen ah amlaem o let.
All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
8 Hmuen boih loe kami mah thui thaih han ai khoek to, angpho haih koiah ni oh o; mik mah a hnukhaih to boep thai ai, naa doeh a thaihaih hoiah koi thai ai.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 Kaom han koi hmuen loe, kaom tangcae hmuen baktiah ni om tih; sak han kaom hmuen doeh, sak tangcae hmuen baktih ni sah let tih; ni tlim ah hmuen kangtha tidoeh om ai.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Khenah, Hae loe hmuen kangtha ah oh, tiah thuih han koi hmuen oh maw? To baktih hmuen loe canghnii hoiah ni oh boeh.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 Canghnii ih hmuennawk to mi mah doeh panoek ai boeh; angzo han koi kaminawk mah doeh, angzo han koi hmuennawk to panoek o mak ai.
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12 Kai, Patukkung loe Jerusalem Israel siangpahrang ah ka oh.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 Ni tlim ah sak ih hmuennawk boih to palunghahaih hoiah ka pakrong moe, panoek thai hanah tha ka pathok; Sithaw mah to hmuenzit to kaminawk hanah pahoe pae boeh.
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
14 Ni tlim ah sak ih hmuennawk to ka hnuk boih; khenah, hmuen boih loe azom pui ni, poek angpho han ih ni oh o.
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15 Angkawn pacoeng boeh loe patoengh thai ai boeh; angaihaih doeh kroek thai ai boeh.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 Khenah, kai loe, ka om ai nathuem ih Israel ukkungnawk pongah, ka len kue moe, palunghahaih bangah doeh ka sang kue; ue, palunghahaih hoi panoekhaih to pop kue ah ka tawnh, tiah ka poek.
I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 Palunghahaih bang, amthuhaih bang hoi poek cai ai ah ohhaih bangah doeh, ka panoek thai hanah palungthin to ka paek; hae hmuen doeh takhi hnuk patom baktiah ni oh toengtoeng.
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18 Palunghahaih pop baktiah, palungsethaih doeh pop; panoekhaih pop kami loe, palungsethaih doeh pop aep.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
