Eklesiastes 12
1 Paruru jachwechu kapod utindo, kendo kapok ndalo mag chandruok obiro, ma ubiro wachoe niya, “Onge gima tinde bernwa e piny.”
While you are still young, keep thinking about [God], who created you. Do that before [you are old] and you experience many troubles, during the years when you say “I no [longer] enjoy being alive.”
2 Mano en ndalo ma wangʼ chiengʼ, dwe kod sulwe lokore mudho, kendo angʼwengʼo kwako piny bangʼ ka koth osechwe.
[When you become old], the light from the sun and moon and stars will [seem] dim [to you], and [it will seem that the rain] clouds [always] return [quickly] after it rains.
3 Jorito makonyou koro tetni, jou maroteke koro gumbo, rego biro chungʼ nikech jorego nok, kendo wengeu biro lokore boo ma ok unyal neno maber.
Then your [arms that you use to protect] [MET] your bodies will shake/tremble, and your [legs that support] [MET] your bodies will become weak. Many of your [teeth that you use to] grind/chew [your food] will fall out, and your [eyes that you use to] look out of windows will not see clearly.
4 Dhorangeye momanyore gi wangʼ yore nolor kendo koko mar rego ok nowinjre maber; kendo kata mana ywak winy machiewou e nindo ok unuwinji.
Your [ears] [MET] will not hear the noise in the streets, and you will not be able to hear clearly the sound of people grinding grain with millstones. You will be awakened in the morning by hearing the birds singing/chirping, [but] you will not be able to hear well the songs that (the birds/people) sing.
5 Ji noluor kuonde motingʼore gi malo kendo wuoth nobednigi matek e wangʼ yore. Maua mar oyungu thiewo kendo ongogo lak mondo odhi ocham it yien-no, to oyudo ka it yien-no onge gi ndhandhu. Kamano e kaka dhano dhiyo e dalane mosiko ka joywak to dengo e wangʼ yore.
You will be afraid to be in high places and afraid of dangers on the roads that you walk on. [Your hair] will become [white like] [MET] the flowers of almond trees. [When you try to walk], you will drag yourself along like [MET] grasshoppers, and you will no longer desire [to have sex]. Then you will [die and] go to your eternal home, and people who will mourn for you will be in the streets.
6 Paruru jachwechu kapod utindo, kendo pok ndalo mar chandruok obiro e piny. Kik urit nyaka ubed joma onge paro gi rieko, kata teko mar timo gimoro,
[Think much about God now, because] soon our lives will end, [like] [MET] silver chains or golden bowls that break easily, or like pitchers/jugs that are broken at the water fountain, or like broken pulleys at a well.
7 e kinde ma lowo dok kuom lowo, to chuny dok ir Nyasaye mane ochweye.
Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.
8 Emomiyo an jayalo awacho niya, “Ngima en gima nono! Gik moko duto onge tiendgi!”
[So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.
9 Nikech jayalo ne riek, nopuonjo ji gik moko duto mane ongʼeyo. Noparo matut kendo omanyo mi ochano ngeche mangʼeny kaka owinjore.
I was considered to be a very wise man, and I taught the people many things. I assembled/collected and wrote down many proverbs, and I carefully thought about and studied them.
10 Jayalo nomenyo mana mondo oyud weche makare, kendo gima nondiko noriere tir kendo adiera.
I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.
11 Weche joma riek jiwo mondo omi giti; to wechego kochoki to chalo gi ludh jokwadh makwayo rombe kata musmal mogur matek. Nyasaye ma jakwadhwa achiel kende ema osechiwo wechego.
The things that [I and other] wise people say [teach people what they should do]; they are like [SIM] (goads/sharp sticks that people use to strike animals to direct where they should go). They are like [SIM] nails that stick out of pieces of wood. They are given to us by [God, who is like] [MET] our shepherd.
12 Koro wuoda nitiere gimoro machielo ma bende onego ingʼe. Tich ndiko kitepe ok norum kendo somo mangʼeny biro olo pachi.
[So], my son, pay careful attention to what I have written, and choose carefully what you read that others have written, [because] writing proverbs/books is endless, and [trying to] study them all will cause you to become exhausted.
13 Gik moko duto koro osewinji, omiyo koro ma e wach mogik: Luor Nyasaye kendo rit chikene nimar ma e tich mane omi dhano.
[Now] you have heard all [that I have told you], and here is the conclusion: Revere God, and obey his commandments, because those commandments summarize everything that people should do.
14 Nimar Nyasaye biro ngʼado bura ni tich moro amora, kaachiel gi gimoro amora mopondo, bed ni ober kata orach.
And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.
