Ecclesiastes 2
1 [Then] I said to myself, “Okay, I will try to do everything that I enjoy. I will find out whether doing what I enjoy can truly enable me to be happy.” But I found out that doing that was also useless/senseless.
Ka lungthin thung hoi atuteh nawmnae hoi na tanouk han, hno alouke pouk laipalah nawmnae dueng ka sak han ka ti. Hatei, hot hai ahrawnghrang doeh.
2 [So] I said [to myself], “It is foolish to laugh [all the time], and continually doing what I enjoy does not seem to bring any lasting benefit.”
Thoumthainae heh pathunae doeh. Nawmnae haiyah bang ahawinae awm hoeh.
3 [So], after thinking a lot about it, I decided to (cheer myself/cause myself to be happy) by drinking [a lot of] wine. [So] while I was still trying to be wise, I decided to do things that [many] people do to be happy during the short time that they are alive on the earth.
Tami ni talai van kum kaduem ca a hring nathung vah hnokahawi a sak hane panue hanelah lungangnae lamthung dawn hoi thahmei nahanelah, yamu ngainae koelah a pâlei teh pathunae dawk khosak hanlah lungthin hoi ka tawng.
4 I did great things: I [caused] houses to be built for myself and vineyards to be planted.
Hno kalennaw hah ka sak. Kama hanlah im ka sak teh misur takha hai ka sak.
5 I [told my workers] to make gardens and parks. [Then] I [told them to] fill the gardens with many kinds of fruit trees.
Takha aphunphun ka sak teh a pawhik aphunphun ka ung.
6 I [told them to] build reservoirs to store water to irrigate the fruit trees.
Thingthai karoung lahun naw awi nahanelah tui imnaw hah ka sak.
7 I bought male and female slaves, and babies [who later became my slaves] were born in my palace. I also owned more livestock than any of the previous kings in Jerusalem had owned.
San ka tawn dueng tho laipalah sannu hoi sanpanaw hai bout ka ran sin. Ka tawn e saringnaw teh ka o hoehnahlan Jerusalem kaawm e naw hlak a pap.
8 I also accumulated large amounts of silver and gold [that were paid to me] from the treasures of kings and rulers of provinces. [I hired] men and women to sing for me, and I had many (concubines/slave wives) who gave me [much] pleasure [EUP].
Suingun hai thoseh, siangpahrang hoi kâkuen e hno hai thoseh, khocanaw koe cawng e hno hai thoseh ka pâkhueng toe. Ratoung tamawi ka tum e napui tongpa hai thoseh, taminaw ni nawmnae yupui yudonaw hai thoseh ka la toe.
9 So, I became greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was [very] wise.
Hottelah Jerusalem kho ouk kaawm tangcoungnaw hlak ka tawnta teh ka talue toe. Ka lungangnae hai a cak.
10 I got everything [LIT] that I [SYN] saw and wanted. I did everything [LIT] that I thought would enable me to be happy. All those things that I [SYN] enjoyed were [like] a reward for all my hard work.
Ka mit ni a noe e kangek hoeh. Ka lung ka nawm sak hane buet touh hai ka hnoun hoeh. Ka thawtawknae dawk lunghawinae ka hmu, hot teh ka tawkphu ka hmu e doeh.
11 [But] then I thought about all the hard work that I [SYN] had done [to get all those things], and none of it seems to bring any lasting benefit [DOU]. It was all [like] chasing the wind.
Hete hnonaw pueng heh ka pouk teh ka tawk e hoi ka sak e hnonaw pueng ka pouk navah, khenhaw! ahrawnghrang doeh. Kahlî man e patetlah la doeh ao ti ka panuecai. Kanî rahim talaivan, taminaw hanlah hnokahawi banghai awm hoeh.
12 Then I started to think about being wise, and [also about] being foolish [DOU]. [I said to myself, “I certainly do not think that] [RHQ] the next king will be able to do anything better than I can.”
Hahoi, lungangnae, pathunae hoi lunganghoehnae, naw ka pâkhing ka palang. Siangpahrang ni a sak tangcoung e hloilah a hnuklah ka tho e tami ni hai bang bout sak thai hoeh.
13 And I thought, “Surely it is better to be wise than to be foolish, like light is better than darkness,
Ka pakhingpalang hnukkhu, lungangnae teh pathunae hlak, angnae teh hmonae hlak ahawi ti ka panue.
14 [because] wise people [walk in the daylight and] [IDM] can see where they are going, but foolish people walk in the darkness [and cannot see where they are going].” But I [also] realized that both wise people and foolish people eventually die.
Tami a lungkaang e teh a lû dawk mit a tawn. Hatei, tamipathu teh hmonae dawk kho a sak. Hateiteh, tami pueng ni hno buet touh rip a kâhmo e hah ka hmu.
15 So I said to myself, “I am very wise, but I will [die at the end of my life], like foolish people do. So (how has it benefited me to be very wise?/it certainly has not benefited me to be very wise [RHQ]). I do not understand why [people consider that] it is valuable to be wise.
Tamipathu ni a kâhmo e hno ka kâhmo van boipawiteh, ahni hlak lungkaang ka tie haiyah ahrawnghrang pui doeh.
16 Wise people and foolish people all die. And after we die, we will all eventually be forgotten [DOU].”
A tu kaawm e hnonaw pueng heh hmalah pahnim lah ao han. Tamipathu ni a pahnim thai e patetlah tami lungkaang ni hai a pahnim thai. Tamipathu a due e patetlah tami lungkaang hai a due van.
17 So I hated being alive, because everything that we do here on the earth [MTY] distresses me. It all seems to be useless [like] chasing the wind.
Hatdawkvah, hringnae kahmawt toe. Kanî rahim e hnonaw pueng ni runae duengdoeh a thokhai. Hnonaw pueng teh ahrawnghrang doeh. Hnonaw pueng heh ahrawnghrang lah ao. Kahlî ka man e patetlah doeh ao.
18 I [also began to] hate all the hard work that I had done, because [when I die], everything [that I have acquired] will belong to the next king.
Kanî rahim ka sak e hoi ka tawk e hnonaw pueng ka panuet. Ka hnuklah ka tho hane naw hanlah ka ceitakhai han ti ka panue.
19 And (who/no one) knows [RHQ] whether he will be wise or whether he will be foolish. But even if he is foolish, he will acquire all the things that I worked very hard and wisely to get.
Ahni teh tami lungkaang e maw, ka pathu e maw tie apinimaw a panue thai han. Ahni ni ka kâyawm laihoi ka tawk e pueng, kanî rahim ka lungangnae kamnue sak e pueng koe kâ a tawn han. Hatei hotnaw haiyah ahrawnghrang doeh.
20 I thought about all the hard work that I had done. [It seemed useless], and I became depressed/discouraged.
Hatdawkvah, Kanî rahim vah panki laihoi ka tawknae dawk ngaihawinae awm hoeh. Lungpoutnae lah ka pouk.
21 Some people work wisely and skillfully, using the things that they have learned. But [when they die], they leave everything, and someone who has not worked hard acquires those things. And that also [seemed to] be senseless and caused me to be discouraged.
Bangkongtetpawiteh, banghai ka tawk hoeh hanelah lungangnae, panuethainae, thoumthainae hoi thaw ka tawk e ni a ceitakhai hanlah ao. Hot hai thoseh, banghai ahawinae awm hoeh. Hoe kathoute hno lah ao.
22 So, it seems that people do not [RHQ] get much for all the hard work that they do and for worrying.
Kanî rahim kaawm e tami ni panki laihoi a tawk e thaw, a lungthin hoi a lungpennae naw pueng hai bangmaw aphu kaawm.
23 Every day the work that they do causes them to experience pain and to be worried. And during the night, their minds are not able to rest. That also is very frustrating.
Ahnie a hnintha teh lungmathoenae hoi akawi. A tawk e dawk hai reithainae lah ao. Tangmin haiyah ip thai hoeh. Hot haiyah ahrawnghrang doeh.
24 [So I decided that] the best thing that we can do is to enjoy what we eat and drink, and [also] enjoy our work. And I realized that those things are what God intends for us.
Tami hane teh canei hoi a thawtawknae dawk hoi nawmnae a hmu e heh hnokahawi lah ao. Hot haiyah, Cathut koehoi a hmu awh e ti ka panue.
25 There is absolutely no one [RHQ] who is able to enjoy those things if God does not give those things to him.
Cathut laipalah apimaw ka cat thai ni teh ka nawm thai.
26 God enables those who please him to be wise, to know [many things], and to enjoy [many things]. But if sinful people work hard and become rich, God [can] take their money away from them and give it to those who please him. But that also is something that is difficult for me to understand. [Their working hard seems] useless, [like] chasing the wind.
Cathut lung ka youk e taminaw koevah lungangnae, panuethainae hoi lunghawinae a poe. Hatei, yon ka sak naw teh patang laihoi a tawknae dawk yawhawinae a poe. Hatdawkvah, hot hai ahrawnghrang lah doeh ao.
