Patukkung 1
1 Jerusalem ih siangpahrang, David capa, Patukkung ih loknawk loe hae tiah oh.
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 Azom pui ni! Azom pui ni! tiah Patukkung mah thuih; azom pui ni! Hmuen boih hae azom pui ah ni oh.
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 Kami mah ni tlim ah angpho qawt hoi toksakhaih atho timaw oh?
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 Adung maeto laemh naah, adung kalah maeto angzoh; toe long loe dungzan khoek to cak poe.
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 Ni doeh tacawt tahang moe, akun tathuk, angmah tacawthaih ahmuen hoiah ni tacawt let.
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
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 south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
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.
Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
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.
Everything just keeps on going. You can't say all there is to say. You can't see all there is to see. You can't hear all there is to hear.
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.
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
10 Khenah, Hae loe hmuen kangtha ah oh, tiah thuih han koi hmuen oh maw? To baktih hmuen loe canghnii hoiah ni oh boeh.
There's nothing anyone can point to and say, “Look! Here's something new.” In fact it's been around for ages, long before our time.
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.
The problem is we don't remember people from the past, and people in the future won't remember those who came before them.
12 Kai, Patukkung loe Jerusalem Israel siangpahrang ah ka oh.
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from 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.
I decided to focus my mind to explore, using wisdom, everything that happens here on earth. This is a tough assignment that God has given people to keep them busy!
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 examined everything people do here on earth, and discovered that it's all so temporary—trying to understand it is like trying to pin down the wind!
15 Angkawn pacoeng boeh loe patoengh thai ai boeh; angaihaih doeh kroek thai ai boeh.
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
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 thought to myself, “I've become very wise, wiser than all the kings of Jerusalem before me. My mind has gained a great deal 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 decided to use my mind to learn everything about wisdom, and madness and foolishness as well. But I found out that this is as hard as trying to catch hold of the wind.
18 Palunghahaih pop baktiah, palungsethaih doeh pop; panoekhaih pop kami loe, palungsethaih doeh pop aep.
For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
