< Thuituen 7 >
1 A ming te tah situi then lakah ah then tih dueknah hnin he a cun khohnin lakah then.
A good name is better than oil of great price, and the day of death than the day of birth.
2 Nguekcoinah im la caeh te buhkoknah im la caeh lakah then. He tah hlang boeih kah a bawtnah coeng tih aka hing loh a lungbuei ah dueh saeh.
It is better to go to the house of weeping, than to go to the house of feasting; because that is the end of every man, and the living will take it to their hearts.
3 Konoinah he nueihbu lakah then. Maelhmai thaenah long ni lungbuei a voelphoeng sak.
Sorrow is better than joy; when the face is sad the mind gets better.
4 Aka cueih kah lungbuei tah nguekcoinah im ah dae aka ang kah lungbuei tah kohoenah im ah om.
The hearts of the wise are in the house of weeping; but the hearts of the foolish are in the house of joy.
5 Aka cueih kah tluungnah hnatun he tah aka ang laa aka hnatun hlang lakah then.
It is better to take note of the protest of the wise, than for a man to give ear to the song of the foolish.
6 Am lae kah hling ol bangla aka ang kah nueihbu khaw om. Te dongah he khaw a honghi ni.
Like the cracking of thorns under a pot, so is the laugh of a foolish man; and this again is to no purpose.
7 Hnaemtaeknah loh hlangcueih a yan sak tih kutdoe loh lungbuei a poo sak.
The wise are troubled by the ways of the cruel, and the giving of money is the destruction of the heart.
8 Ol bawtnah he a tongnah lakah then. Aka ueh kah mueihla he aka oek kah mueihla lakah then.
The end of a thing is better than its start, and a gentle spirit is better than pride.
9 Huesak hamla na mueihla neh let sak boeh. Konoinah he aka ang kah rhang dongah ni a kol.
Be not quick to let your spirit be angry; because wrath is in the heart of the foolish.
10 “Balae tih hnukbuet kah a tue aka om te tahae kah lakah a then la a om?” ti boeh. Te bang te cueihnah neh na dawt moenih.
Say not, Why were the days which have gone by better than these? Such a question comes not from wisdom.
11 Cueihnah tah rho la then tih khomik aka hmu ham khaw hoeikhang.
Wisdom together with a heritage is good, and a profit to those who see the sun.
12 Cueihnah hlipkhup ah om he tangka hlipkhup kah om banghui ni. Tedae mingnah he tah rhoeikhangnah la om tih cueihnah long tah a kungmah te a hing sak.
Wisdom keeps a man from danger even as money does; but the value of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to its owner.
13 Pathen kah bibi te hmu lah. Amah loh a khun sak te dueng hamla aka noeng te unim?
Give thought to the work of God. Who will make straight what he has made bent?
14 A then tue vaengah tah a then la om. Tedae a yoethae tue vaengkah khaw hmu. He khaw dumlai dongah Pathen loh voeivang ah a khueh. Te daengah ni hlang loh a hnukah te pakhat khaw ahmu pawt eh.
In the day of wealth have joy, but in the day of evil take thought: God has put the one against the other, so that man may not be certain what will be after him.
15 Kamah kah a honghi tue vaengah a cungkuem te ka hmuh. Amah kah duengnah dongah aka paltham hlang dueng om tih a boethae neh aka nguel halang khaw om.
These two have I seen in my life which is to no purpose: a good man coming to his end in his righteousness, and an evil man whose days are long in his evil-doing.
16 Aka dueng koek la om boel lamtah hoeikhangnah aih ham khaw cueih boeh. Balae tih namah na phae uh?
Be not given overmuch to righteousness and be not over-wise. Why let destruction come on you?
17 Muep poehlip boel lamtah lunghmang la om boeh. Balae tih namah tue pawt vaengah na duek eh?
Be not evil overmuch, and be not foolish. Why come to your end before your time?
18 He he na tuuk vaengah na kut te ke lamloh na hlah pawt ham then. Pathen aka rhih ham tah a cungkuem te a noeng.
It is good to take this in your hand and not to keep your hand from that; he who has the fear of God will be free of the two.
19 Cueihnah long tah aka cueih te khopuei kah aka om boei parha lakah khaw a tanglue sak.
Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers in a town.
20 Diklai hman ah hnothen a saii tih aka tholh pawh hlang dueng a om moenih.
There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.
21 Ol a thui uh boeih te khaw na lungbuei pae boeh. Te pawt koinih na sal loh namah n'tap te na ya ve.
Do not give ear to all the words which men say, for fear of hearing the curses of your servant.
22 Namah loh hlang tloe na tap te na lungbuei loh a voei a yet khaw a ming.
Your heart has knowledge how frequently others have been cursed by you.
23 He boeih he cueihnah neh ka noemcai tih, “Ka cueih eh?,” ka ti dae kai lamloh lakhla laklo.
All this I have put to the test by wisdom; I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.
24 Te tla a om te khaw hla coeng tih a dung lakah dung coeng. Te te aka hmu te unim?
Far off is true existence, and very deep; who may have knowledge of it?
25 Kamah neh ka lungbuei khaw, uepnah koikah halangnah neh anglatnah, lunghmangnah te ming ham neh yaam hamla, cueihnah neh poeknah tlap hamla ka maelh.
I gave my mind to knowledge and to searching for wisdom and the reason of things, and to the discovery that sin is foolish, and that to be foolish is to be without one's senses.
26 A lungbuei te tluum neh soh la a tung tih a kut dongah pinyennah aka khueh huta he dueknah lakah khahing la ka hmuh. Pathen mikhmuh ah aka then tah anih aeng lamloh loeih suidae aka tholh tah anih loh a tuuk ni.
And I saw a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is full of tricks and nets, and whose hands are as bands. He with whom God is pleased will get free from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.
27 So lah he, thuituenkung loh a thui bangla poeknah hmuh hamla pakhat soah pakhat ka phoel.
Look! this I have seen, said the Preacher, taking one thing after another to get the true account,
28 Te te ka hinglu loh a tlap pueng dae ka hmuh moenih. Thawngkhat khuiah tongpa pakhat ka hmuh dae te boeih lakli ah huta ka hmuh moenih.
For which my soul is still searching, but I have it not; one man among a thousand have I seen; but a woman among all these I have not seen.
29 He bueng mah so lah. Pathen loh hlang he a thuem la a saii coeng dae amih loh phuengnah muep a tlap uh te ka hmuh.
This only have I seen, that God made men upright, but they have been searching out all sorts of inventions.