Ecclesiastes 1
1 Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
Pa inge kas lun sie Mwet Luti Lalmwetmet, wen natul David, su tuh tokosra in Jerusalem.
2 “Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
Mwet Luti Lalmwetmet el fahk lah ma nukewa ma lusrongten na lusrongten! Moul uh wangin sripama na lusrongten se.
3 What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
Kom orekma ac kemkatu in moul lom nufon, na mea oasr ma kom konauk kac?
4 People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
Sie fwil uh somla ac sie fwil sifil tuku, a faclu nuna ouiya ah na.
5 The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
Faht ah srakna tak ac srakna tili, na sa na in folok nu ke acn se ma el ac sifil takak we.
6 The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
Eng uh tuh eir me ac som nu epang, ac sifil tuk — raun na raun.
7 Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
Infacl nukewa sororla nu meoa, a meoa soenna sessesla. Kof uh folok nu yen infacl uh mutawauk we, ac sifilpa sororma.
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.
Saflaiyen ma nukewa pa totola — sie totola na yohk su wangin kas fal in aketeya. Mutasr tia muti ke ma kut liye, ac insresr tia muti ke ma kut lohng.
9 Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
Ma sikyak meet ac sifilpa sikyak. Ma orekla tari ac sifilpa orek. Wangin ma sasu in faclu nufon.
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.
Mwet uh fahk, “Liye, ma sasu se pa inge!” Tusruktu sutuu, sikyak tari meet, oemeet liki na kut isusla ah.
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.
Wangin mwet esam ma tuh sikyak in pacl meet ah, ac in pacl fahsru wangin mwet fah esam ma sikyak in len ingela.
12 I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
Nga, Mwet Luti Lalmwetmet, su tuh muta Jerusalem ac tokosra fin acn Israel nufon.
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!
Nga nunkala ku sik mu nga ac tuni ac lutlut ke ma nukewa ma mwet uh oru fin faclu. God El ase orekma na toasr nu sesr mwet uh in oru.
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!
Nga liye tari ma nukewa ma orek faclu, ac nga fahk nu sum, nufonna wangin sripaoana ukweyen eng uh.
15 You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
Kom tia ku in aksuwosyela ma kihla; kom tia pac ku in oek ma wangin uh.
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.”
Nga fahk nu sik sifacna, “Nga sie mwet na fulat, ac nga arulana lalmwetmet liki kutena mwet su leumi Jerusalem meet likiyu. Nga etu na pwaye lah mea lalmwetmet ac etauk.”
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.
Nga tuh sulela ku sik in etu ke kalmen etauk ac kalmen lalfon, oayapa ke lalmwetmet ac wel. Tusruktu nga konauk lah ma inge oana ukweyen eng uh.
18 For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
Lalmwetmet lom fin yokelik, na fosrnga lom ac yokelik pac. Fin yokelik etauk lom, ac yokelik pulakinyen keok sum.
