Patukkung 8
1 Mi maw palungha baktiah kaom? Mi maw hmuennawk kawng to thui thaih? Palunghahaih mah palungha kami ih mikhmai to pansak moe, anih ih mikhmai amtuenghaih kasae to amkhraisak.
[I will tell you about] those who are truly wise [RHQ] with the result that they can explain why everything happens. Being wise enables people to be happy [MTY] and enables them to smile.
2 Sithaw hmaa ah sak ih lokkamhaih to poek ah loe, siangpahrang lokpaekhaih to tahngai ah.
You solemnly promised God that you would obey what the king commands, so do that.
3 Siangpahrang hmaa hoi karangah tacawt hmah; kasae hmuen sak hanah angdoe haih hmah; anih loe a koeh baktiah sah tih.
Do not quickly disobey the king. And do not join those who want to rebel against him, because the king will do what he wants to do.
4 Siangpahrang ih lok loe thacak; mi mah maw anih khaeah, timaw na sak? tiah naa thai tih.
We need to obey what the king says more than we need to obey what anyone else says; no one can say to the king, “(Why are you doing that?/You should not be doing that.) [RHQ]”
5 Mi kawbaktih doeh anih ih lok tahngai kami loe nganbawh kana hak mak ai; palungha kami ih palungthin mah loe atue hoi lokcaekhaih to panoek hmaek.
If you obey what the king commands, he will not harm you. [So] be wise, and know the correct/right time to do things and the right way to do them.
6 Kami nuiah raihaih hmuenzit pha langlacadoeh, kawbaktih hmuen ah doeh sakhaih atue hoi sakhaih dan to oh boih.
Although people experience many troubles/difficulties, there is a right/correct time to do things, and there is a right/correct way [to do them].
7 Hmabang ih akawng loe mi mah doeh panoek ai pongah, angzo han koi hmuen to mi mah maw thui thai tih?
No one knows what will happen in the future, so there is no one [RHQ] who can tell us what is going to happen.
8 Angmah ih muithla pazawk hanah, patawn thaih mi doeh om ai; duek thaih han ai ah duekhaih nuiah thacakhaih tawn mi doeh om ai; misatuh kami loe anghak ai; hmuen kasae sah kaminawk loe a sak o ih sethaih mah nihcae to loisak thai mak ai.
We cannot control the wind, and we cannot control when we will die. Soldiers are not permitted to go home during a battle, and evil people will not be saved by [doing what is] evil.
9 Ni tlim ah sak ih hmuennawk boih ka poek naah, hae hmuennawk hae ka hnuk; angmah nganbawh kana hak hanah kami maeto mah kalah kami ukhaih atue to oh.
I thought about all those things, and I thought about all [HYP] the other things that happen on this earth. I saw that [sometimes] people cause those whom they control to suffer.
10 To pacoengah kasae kaminawk loe aphum o, toe hmuenciim ah angzo moe, kacaeh kaminawk duek o naah loe, a sak o ih vangpui kaminawk mah nihcae to pahnet o boih, tiah ka hnuk; hae doeh azom pui ni.
I also saw that [sometimes] after evil [people] die, they are highly honored at their funerals by the people in the cities where they had done [evil] deeds. It seemed to be difficult to understand why that happens.
11 Zaehaih sah kaminawk to karangah danpaek ai pongah, kaminawk ih palungthin loe zae sak koehhaih hoiah koi.
If evil people are not immediately punished, it causes [other] people [SYN] to [also] want to do evil things.
12 Kami zae loe zaehaih cumvaito sah moe, hinglung sawk cadoeh; Sithaw zii kaminawk loe angmah hmaa ah khingyahaih hoiah akuep o pongah, khosak hoihaih to hnu o tih, tiah ka panoek khuek boeh.
But even if sinful people commit 100 crimes, and [even if they] live for a long time, I know that things will go better for those who greatly respect and revere God.
13 Kasae kami loe Sithaw to zii ai pongah, khosak hoihaih hnu mak ai; hinghaih doeh sawk mak ai, anih hinghaih loe tahlip baktiah oh.
[I also know] that things will not go well go for those who are evil, because they do not revere God. Shadows [do not last a long time]. Similarly [SIM], evil people will not live a long time.
14 Azom pui ah kaom hmuen to longah ka hnuk let bae vop; kasae kaminawk mah hnuk han koi sethaih to katoeng kaminawk mah hnuk o moe, katoeng kaminawk mah hnuk han koi tangqum to kasae kaminawk mah hnuk o lat; hae doeh azom pui ni, tiah ka poek.
Another thing that [sometimes] happens on this earth is that bad things happen to righteous people, and good things happen to evil people. It is difficult to understand why that happens.
15 To pongah kanawm ah khosakhaih to tha ka paek, caaknaek moe, kanawm ah ohhaih khue ai ah loe, ni tlim ah kami han amekhaih tidoeh om ai; Sithaw mah hinghaih paek nathung ni tlim ah tok to sak moe, hnuk ih amekhaih loe to baktih nawmhaih khue to boeh ni.
[So] I decided that I would recommend that people be happy while they are alive, because the best thing that people can do here on this earth is to eat and drink and be happy. Enjoying doing those things will help people while they do their work, all the time that God has given to them to remain alive here on the earth.
16 Long nuiah toksakhaih hnuk hanah, palunghahaih hoiah panoek thaih han ka poek naah, mik loe khoving khodai iip ai;
I thought about being wise and about people who work very hard, working day and night and not taking time to sleep.
17 Sithaw mah sak ih hmuennawk boih ka khet naah, ni tlim ah sak ih toknawk to mi mah doeh panoek thai ai; tha pathok moe, hnuk han pakrong cadoeh panoek thai mak ai; ue, palungha kami mah ka panoek, tiah a poek, toe hnu thai mak ai.
Then I thought about everything [HYP] that God has done, and I realized that no one can understand everything that happens here on this earth. Truly, people are not able to fully understand everything [that God understands], even if they try hard to do that. Even if wise people claim that they understand it all, they cannot.
