Eklesiastes 9

1 Omiyo ne arango gigi duto kendo atieko ni ngʼama kare kod ngʼat man-gi rieko to gi gima gitimo ni e lwet Nyasaye, to onge ngʼama ongʼeyo ni hera kata achaya rite.

So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.

2 Gimoro achiel ema timore ni ngʼat makare gi ngʼat ma jaricho, ngʼat maler, gi ngʼat ma ok ler, ngʼat malamo Nyasaye, gi ngʼat ma ok lam Nyasaye. Bende onge pogruok mantie e kind ngʼat malongʼo, gi ngʼat ma timbene mono, kata manie kind ngʼat makwongʼore ni biro chiwo misango ni Nyasaye kod ngʼat moluoro kwongʼruok ma kamano.

It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

3 Ma e richo mantiere kuom gimoro amora matimore e piny: Giko machalre choponegi duto. Kata kamano, chuny dhano opongʼ gi richo kendo nitie neko e pachgi e kinde ma gingima, to bangʼe to giriwore gi joma otho.

This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.

4 Ngʼato angʼata mangima pod nigi geno, mana kaka ngero moro wacho ni ber bedo guok mangima moloyo sibuor mosetho!

There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.

5 Nimar joma ngima ongʼeyo ni gibiro tho, to joma osetho ok ongʼeyo gimoro amora; gionge gi mich moro machielo, kendo wich wil kodgi ma ok nyal pargi.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.

6 Hera margi, achaya margi kod nyiego margi noselal chon; ok ginichak gibed gi thuolo e gimoro amora matimore e piny.

Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.

7 Dhiyo, icham chiemo gi mor, kendo imadh divai mari gi chuny moil, nimar sani ema Nyasaye jakori kuom gik mitimo.

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

8 Kinde duto rwakri gi lewni marochere, kendo kinde duto wir wiyi gi mo.

Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head.

9 Bed mamor gi chiegi mihero e ndalo duto mar ngimani maonge tiende ma Nyasaye osemiyi e piny e ndalogi duto maonge tiendgi, nimar mano ema niyudi kuom chandruokni duto e piny ka.

Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.

10 Gimoro amora ma lweti oyudo mondo otim, time gi tekri duto, nimar ei bur, kama ibiro idhiyoe, onge tich kata loso chenro kata ngʼeyo kata rieko. (Sheol h7585)

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom. (Sheol h7585)

11 Gimoro machielo ma bende aseneno e pinyni en ni jongʼwech maringo matek ok yomb e ngʼwech pile, kata joma thuondi e lweny ok lo lweny pile, joma riek ok yud chiemo ma gichamo pile kata joma nigi paro mariek ok bed jo-mwandu, kendo joma ongʼeyo tich ok bed jotelo; to kata kamano hawi marach mako ji duto.

I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.

12 Kuom mano, onge ngʼama ongʼeyo sa ma kindene chopoe: Mana kaka rech imako gi gogo, kata winy imako gi wino, e kaka dhano moko e obadho mar richo ka ok ongʼeyo.

For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

13 Bende ne aneno e bwo wangʼ chiengʼ ranyisi mar rieko mane omora ahinya:

I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:

14 Koro ne nitie dala maduongʼ mane nitie gi ji manok e iye. To ruoth moro maratego nobiro molwore kendo omonje.

There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.

15 E dala maduongʼno ngʼat moro modhier man-gi rieko nodakie, kendo noreso dala maduongʼno gi riekoneno. To onge ngʼama noparo ngʼama odhierno.

Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.

16 Omiyo ne awacho niya, “Rieko ber moloyo teko.” To rieko mar ngʼama odhier ocha, kendo wechene ok winj ngangʼ.

And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”

17 Weche mokwe mar ngʼama nigi rieko iwinjo moloyo koko mar jatend joma ofuwo.

The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.

18 Rieko ber moloyo gige lweny, to jaricho achiel ketho gik mabeyo mangʼeny.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.