Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.
Mwet lalmwetmet mukena pa etu lah mea na pwaye kalmen ma uh. Lalmwetmet uh oru elos israsr srisrik ac tia ngetnget in sulung.
2 Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
Oru ma tokosra el fahk, ac nik kom oru kutena wuleang ingunyar nu sin God.
3 Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
Tokosra el ku in oru kutena ma el lungse, ke ma inge fahsr liki yen el muta we, ac nimet muta in acn sensen se inge.
4 For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
Tokosra el orekma ke ku lun wal lal; wangin mwet ku in kusen siyuk ke ma el oru.
5 Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.
Ke lusen na pacl kom akos sap lal, wangin ma koluk ac sikyak nu sum; ac sie mwet lalmwetmet el etu lah pia pacl wo, ac el ac oru fuka ma inge.
6 For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
Oasr pacl wo se, ac inkanek pwaye se in oru kutena ma, tuh sriklana etu lasr!
7 Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?
Wangin sesr etu lah mea ac sikyak uh, ac wangin mwet in fahkma nu sesr.
8 As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
Wangin sie mwet oasr ku la fin ngun, ac wangin sie ku in kolla len in misa lal. Pa inge sie mweun kut koflana kaingkunla. Kom ac tia ku in molla kom fin oru na ma koluk.
9 All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.
Nga liye ma inge nukewa ke nga sang insiuk in arulana nunku ke ma orek fin facl se inge — sie facl su kutu mwet uh funmweti kutu, ac kewana ac keok.
10 Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.
Aok, nga liye ke mwet koluk uh pukpuki in kulyuk lalos, sruk ke elos moul elos uti utyak nu in acn mutal. Na ke mwet uh folok liki kulyuk uh elos kaksakin mwet misa inge in siti se na ma elos tuh oru ma koluk we. Ma inge wangin sripa.
11 When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
Efu ku mwet uh pulaikna in oru ma koluk? Mweyen kaiyen ma koluk uh pahtla in orek.
12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.
Sie mwet koluk el ku in orala ma koluk pacl siofok ac loesna moul lal. Tusruktu nga etu na pwaye lah, “Elos su sangeng sin God ac akfulatyal pa ac wo nu se,
13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
a ac tia wo nu sin mwet koluk uh. Moul lalos oana sie ohk, ac elos fah fusr na misa, mweyen elos tiana sangeng sin God.”
14 There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.
Tusruktu ma inge wangin pac sripa. Liyewin ma sikyak fin faclu: kutu pacl uh kaiyuk mwet suwoswos uh oana mwet koluk, ac mwet koluk elos eis mwe insewowo ma fal nu sin mwet suwoswos. Nga ku in fahk mu arulana wangin sripa.
15 So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
Ke ma inge nga arulana akkeye tuh sie mwet in engan ke moul lal, mweyen pwayena mwe akwoyal in moul se inge pa in mongo, ac nim, ac insewowo ke ma su oasr yorol. Pa inge ma el ku in oru ke pacl el orekma in moul se inge su God El sang nu sel fin faclu.
16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—
Pacl nukewa nga tuh srike in eis lalmwetmet ac lutlut ke ma orek fin faclu, nga akilenak lah mwet se ku in ngetngetna ac tia motul ke fong ac len,
17 I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.
ac tiana ku in kalem ke ma God El oru. Mwet se finne suk ke kuiyal, el tia ku in konauk. Mwet lalmwetmet uh ac ku in fahk mu elos etu, tusruktu elos tiana etu.
