Ecclesiastes 1
1 Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
Jerusalem manghai David capa kah thuituenkung ol.
2 “Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
A honghi, a honghi ni. Thuituenkung loh, “A honghi, a honghi, a honghi boeih ni,” a ti.
3 What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
Khohmik hmuiah a thakthae bangla a thakthaenah cungkuem lamloh hlang taengah balae a rhoeikhangnah.
4 People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
Thawnpuei loh cet tih cadil thoeng coeng dae diklai he kumhal duela a pai moenih.
5 The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
Khomik loh thoeng tih khomik he kun bal. Te phoeiah amah hmuen te a hloem pahoi tiih thoeng.
6 The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
Tuithim la cet tih tlangpuei la aka mael khohli he a tinghil, a tinghil doela cet. Te phoeiah khohli he a hlaep la mael.
7 Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
Soklong boeih khaw tuitunli la pawk. Tedae tuitunli tah hah tlaih pawh. Soklong rhoek khaw a long nah hmuen la mael tih cet.
8 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.
Olka boeih he bonghnaek. Hlang loh a thui hamla a noeng moenih. Mik loh a hmuh te hah pawt tih hna a yaak te cung pawh.
9 Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
Mebang khaw aka om tangtae bangla om bal vetih, mebang khaw a saii tangtae bangla a saii bal ni. Te dongah kah khomik hmuikah he a thai boeih moenih.
10 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.
“A thai he hmu lah, he tah khosuen lamloh om oepsoeh coeng tih mamih hlan lamloh om,’ a ti te ol om nim?
11 The problem is we don't remember people from the past, and people in the future won't remember those who came before them.
Lamhma kah neh hmailong kah khaw poekkoepnah om pawh. Aka om ham te khaw hmailong kah aka om taengah poekkoepnah om mahpawh.
12 I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
Kai tah thuituenkung neh Jerusalem kah Israel soah manghai la ka om.
13 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!
Vaan hmui kah a saii boeih te cueihnah neh dawtlet ham khaw, yaam ham khaw ka lungbuei ka paek. Hlang capa rhoek te amah phaep uh saeh tila Pathen loh yoethae bibi a khueh pah.
14 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!
Khomik hmui kah a saii bitat boeih te ka hmuh. Te dongah a cungkuem he a honghi neh khohli doinah ni ne.
15 You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
Aka khun he dueng hamla coeng pawt tih vitvawtnah khaw tae hamla coeng pawh.
16 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.”
Kamah tah ka lungbuei ah ka cal tih, “Ka pantai tih Jerusalem ah khaw ka mikhmuh kah aka om boeih lakah cueihnah ka thap, ka lungbuei long khaw cueihnah neh mingnah muep a hmuh la he,” ka ti.
17 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.
Ka lungbuei he cueihnah ming ham neh anglatnah ming ham ka paek. Te dongah lunghmangnah he khaw khohli dongkah kohnek ni tila ka ming.
18 For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
Cueihnah a cungkuem nen khaw konoinah cungkuem tih, mingnah a koei khaw nganboh ni a koei.
