Eklesiastes 1
1 Magi e weche mane jayalo ma wuod Daudi, mane ruodh Jerusalem owacho.
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 Jayalo wacho niya, “Ngima en gima nono! Chutho en gima nono! Gik moko duto onge tiendgi!”
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 En ohala mane ma dhano yudo kuom tije duto motiyo kendo mochandore godo e bwo wangʼ chiengʼ?
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 Tiengʼ ka tiengʼ biro kendo kadho, to piny to osiko mana kaka en.
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 Chiengʼ wuok kendo chiengʼ podho, kendo oridore piyo piyo kodok kuma owuokie.
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
6 Yamo futo kochiko yo milambo kendo okudho kochiko yo nyandwat; odhi kolworore, ndalo duto koduogo kare mapile.
The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
7 Aore duto mol kadhi ei nam, to kata kamano nam ok pongʼ. To kuma aorego oaye, kanyo ema gidwogoe.
Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
8 Gik moko duto gin tingʼ mapek, moingo ngʼato wacho. Kata obedo ni wangʼ neno, to gik moneno ok rome, to it bende kata obedo ni owinjo gik moko, to gik mowinjo ok rome.
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 Gima osebedo biro bedo kendo, gima osetim ibiro tim kendo; kendo onge gino manyien e bwo wangʼ chiengʼ.
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
10 Bende nitiere gima ngʼato nyalo wacho ni ma en gima nyien? Ooyo ok gima nyien, nimar nyalo bedo ni gino nosetimore chon kane pok onywolwa.
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 Joma chon ok par ngangʼ mana kaka tiengʼni bende, ok nopar gi joma biro luwo bangʼ-gi.
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 An, jayalo, asebedo ruodh Israel kadak Jerusalem.
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
13 Ne achiwora mondo atiegra kendo anon matut kod rieko gigo duto mitimo e bwo polo. Mano doko tingʼ mapek ma Nyasaye oyieyo kuom ji!
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 Aseneno gik moko mitimo e bwo wangʼ chiengʼ, giduto gionge tiendgi, kendo gichalo mana yamo.
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 Gima odol ok nyal rie; kendo gima onge ok kwan.
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
16 Ne aparo e chunya niya, “Koro, asedongo kendo amedora e rieko moloyo ngʼato angʼata moserito Jerusalem motelona; kendo asebedo gi lony e rieko kod ngʼeyo.”
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 Eka ne achiwora ne winjo tiend rieko, ngʼeyo pogruok manie kind rieko, memruok kod fuwo, to ne afwenyo ni magi gin mana lawo bangʼ yamo mafuto.
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 Nimar ne afwenyo ni rieko mangʼeny kelo kuyo; kendo ngʼeyo mangʼeny medo mana chuny lit.
For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
