< 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.
Ne aparo e chunya niya, “Bi sani, abiro temi gi gik ma moro wangʼ mondo afwenyie gima ber.” To mano bende ne ayudo kaonge tiende.
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.”
Ne awacho niya, “Nyiero en fuwo kendo en angʼo ma mor makamano konyo?”
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.
Ne atemo bedo mamor kuom madho kongʼo, kendo bedo mofuwo, ka pacha pod telona gi rieko. Ne adwaro fwenyo ni en angʼo mowinjore mondo ji otim e bwo polo e ndalo matin mar ngimani.
4 I did great things: I [caused] houses to be built for myself and vineyards to be planted.
Ne achako tije madongo kaka: Ne agero ute ne an awuon kendo apidho mzabibu e puothe.
5 I [told my workers] to make gardens and parks. [Then] I [told them to] fill the gardens with many kinds of fruit trees.
Kendo ne aloso puothe mamoko kod puothe mopidhie yiende mar yweyo mi apidho kit olembe mopogore opogore eigi.
6 I [told them to] build reservoirs to store water to irrigate the fruit trees.
Ne akunyo yewni ma pi gudore mondo yiendego oyud pi.
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.
Ne angʼiewo jotich machwo kod mamon kendo ne an gi jotije mamoko mane onywol e oda. Bende ne an gi kweth mangʼeny mag dhok kod rombe moloyo ngʼato angʼata mane okuongona bedo jatelo e Jerusalem.
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].
Ne achoko fedha gi dhahabu, kod girkeni mag ruodhi gi gwenge. Ne abedo bende gi jower machwo kod mamon, kendo gi mon duto mane nyalo moro chuny dichwo.
9 So, I became greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was [very] wise.
Ne abedo ngʼama lich miwuoro moloyo ngʼato angʼata mane okuongona bedo jatelo e Jerusalem. E magi duto riekona matut nosiko koda.
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.
Ne ok atuono wangʼa gimoro amora mane onyalo gombo, kendo chunya bende ne ok atuono mor. Chunya nobedo gi mor kuom tijena duto mane atimo, kendo mano ema nobedo pok mar tijena duto.
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.
To kata kamano kane anono duto mane lweta osetiyo kod gino mane asenyagora mondo ayudi, gik moko duto ne onge tiendgi, mana kalawo bangʼ yamo; onge ohala mane ayudo e bwo wangʼ chiengʼ.
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.”
Bangʼe ne aketo pacha mondo angʼe pogruok manie kind rieko, memruok kod fuwo. En angʼo ma ruoth mokawo kar ruoth machielo nyalo timo moloyo mano mosetim?
13 And I thought, “Surely it is better to be wise than to be foolish, like light is better than darkness,
Ne afwenyo ni rieko matut ber moloyo fuwo, mana kaka ler ber moloyo mudho.
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.
Ngʼatno man-gi rieko neno kuma odhiye, to ngʼama ofuwo to wuotho e mudho, to kata kamano ne afwenyo ni gimoro achiel ema timore ni ji ariyogi.
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.
Eka ne aparo e chunya niya, “Gima yudo ngʼama ofuwo biro yuda an bende. Koro en ohala mane ma abiro yudo kuom bedo gi rieko?” Bangʼe ne awacho e chunya niya, “Kata mana ma bende onge tiende.”
16 Wise people and foolish people all die. And after we die, we will all eventually be forgotten [DOU].”
Mana kaka ngʼama ofuwo ok par, e kaka ngʼama nigi rieko bende ok par; nikech e ndalo mabiro ok nopargi giduto. Ngʼama ofuwo gi ngʼama riek, giduto gibiro tho machalre!
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.
Omiyo ne asin gi ngima, nikech tich mitimo e bwo wangʼ chiengʼ ne pek mohewa. Magi duto onge tiendgi, gichalo gi lawo bangʼ yamo.
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.
Ne asin gi gik moko duto mane asenyagora godo e bwo wangʼ chiengʼ, nikech nyaka ne awegi ne ngʼatno mabiro bangʼa.
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.
To ere ngʼama ongʼeyo ni ngʼat mabiro luwano nobed ngʼama ofuwo kata ngʼama riek? Kata obed mariek kata mofuwo, to obiro kawo gimoro amora mane aloso gi lucha. Ma bende ne ayudo ni onge tiende.
20 I thought about all the hard work that I had done. [It seemed useless], and I became depressed/discouraged.
Omiyo chunya nochako hum nono kuom tije duto mane asenyagorago e bwo wangʼ chiengʼ.
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.
Nimar dhano nyalo tiyo tije gi rieko, gi ngʼeyo kod lony mar tich, to bangʼe nyaka owe gik moko duto ma en godo ne ngʼato nono mane ok otiyo tijego. Ma bende onge tiende kendo en hawi marach miwuoro.
22 So, it seems that people do not [RHQ] get much for all the hard work that they do and for worrying.
En angʼo ma ngʼato yudo kuom tije matek motimo e bwo wangʼ chiengʼ?
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.
Ndaloge duto mag tich en lit gi kuyo; kata mana gotieno pache onge gi kwe. Ma bende ne ayudo ni onge tiende.
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.
Onge gima ber ma dhano nyalo timo moloyo chiemo kod metho mi oyud mor e tije. Ma bende, aneno ni oa mana e lwet Nyasaye.
25 There is absolutely no one [RHQ] who is able to enjoy those things if God does not give those things to him.
Nikech ka ok en Nyasaye, to en ngʼa manyalo chiemo kendo yudo mor?
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.
Ngʼatno ma Nyasaye morgo, omiyo rieko, ngʼeyo kod mor, to jaricho omiyo tich mar choko kendo kano mwandu mondo omi ngʼatno ma Nyasaye morgo. Ma bende ne ayudo ni onge tiende, mana ka ngʼama lawo bangʼ yamo.

< Ecclesiastes 2 >