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.
I IHO la au i ko'u naau iho, Ina kaua, e hoao iho au ia oe ma ka lealea, a e ike i ka olioli malaila; aia ka, he mea lapuwale keia.
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.”
I iho la au no ka akaaka, He hehena ia; a no ka lealea, Heaha ka mea ana i hana'i?
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.
Ua imi au iloko o ko'u naau e hooikaika i ko'u kino i ka waina, e pili ana no nae ko'u naau i ke akamai; a e lalau hoi au i ka mea lapuwale, a ike au i ka maikai no na keiki a kanaka e hana'i malalo iho o ka lani, i na la a pau loa o ko lakou ola ana.
4 I did great things: I [caused] houses to be built for myself and vineyards to be planted.
Hoonui au i ka'u mau mea i hana'i; kukulu iho la au i na hale no'u, a kanu iho la au no'u i na mala waina;
5 I [told my workers] to make gardens and parks. [Then] I [told them to] fill the gardens with many kinds of fruit trees.
Ua hana aku la au no'u i na kihapai a me na wahi ululaau, a ua kanu iho la au iloko o ia mau wahi i na laau hua a pau;
6 I [told them to] build reservoirs to store water to irrigate the fruit trees.
Ua eli iho la au no'u i na punawai e hoopulu i kahi e ulu ai na laau;
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.
Ua imi a loaa ia'u na kauwakane a me na kauwawahine, a ua hanau hoi iloko o ko'u hale na kauwa; a ia'u no hoi na holoholona nui a me na holoholona liilii he lehulehu, a oi aku i ka poe mamua ma Ierusalema.
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].
Ua hooiliili no hoi au no'u i ke kala, a me ke gula a me ka waiwai o na'lii a o na aina hoi; ua imi ia'u a loaa kekahi poe kane mele, a me kekahi poe wahine mele, a me na mea e olioli ai na keiki a kanaka, he wahine a me na haiawahine.
9 So, I became greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was [very] wise.
Pela, ua lilo au i mea nui a oi aku i na mea a pau i noho mamua ma Ierusalema; a o ko'u naauao, ua mau ia mea ia'u.
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.
O na mea a pau a ko'u mau maka i makemake ai, aole au i hoole ia lakou; aole aua au i ko'u naau i ka olioli a pau, no ka mea, olioli ko'u naau i ka'u hana a pau; a oia ka uku no'u i ka'u hana a pau.
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.
Ua nana au i na mea a pau a ko'u mau lima i hana'i, a me ka hana a'u i hooluhi ai ia'u iho; aia hoi, he mea lapuwale a pau a me ka luhi hewa, aohe mea e pono ai malalo iho o ka la.
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.”
A haliu au e ike i ka naauao, a me ka uhauha, a me ka lapuwale; no ka mea, heaha ka mea a ke kanaka [e hana'i] i kiki mai mahope o ke alii? O ka mea wale no i hanaia mamua.
13 And I thought, “Surely it is better to be wise than to be foolish, like light is better than darkness,
Alaila, ike iho la au, ua oi aku ka naauao mamua o ka naaupo, me he malamalama la mamua o ka pouli.
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.
O ka mea naauao, aia kona mau maka i kona poo, aka, e hele ana ka mea naaupo ma ka pouli; a ike no hoi au e loaa ia lakou a pau ka hopena hookahi.
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.
I iho la au iloko o ko'u naau, E like me ka mea i loaa i ka mea naaupo, pela no ka mea i loaa mai ia'u. A no ke aha la i oi kuu naauao? I iho la au iloko o ko'u naau, He mea lapuwale hoi keia.
16 Wise people and foolish people all die. And after we die, we will all eventually be forgotten [DOU].”
A ma neia hope aku, aole i hoomanaoia ke kanaka naauao mamua o ka mea naaupo, no ka mea, o na mea e noho nei, i na la e hiki mai ana, e pau ia i ka hoopoinaia. A pehea ka make ana o ka mea naauao? Ua like no me ko ka mea naaupo.
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.
No ia mea, ua hoopailua au i ko'u ola ana, no ka mea, ua kaumaha au i ka hana i hanaia malalo iho o ka la; no ka mea, ua pau na mea i ka lapuwale a me ka luhi hewa.
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.
Ua hoopailua hoi au i ka hana a pau a'u i hana'i malalo iho o ka la; no ka mea, e waiho auanei au ia mea no ke kanaka e hiki mai ana mahope o'u.
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.
A owai la ka mea i ike, he mea naauao paha oia, he mea naaupo paha? aka, oia no ia maluna o na mea a pau a'u i hana naauao ai malalo iho o ka lani. He mea lapuwale keia.
20 I thought about all the hard work that I had done. [It seemed useless], and I became depressed/discouraged.
Alaila imi iho la au e hoopauaho i kuu naau i ka hana a pau a'u i hana'i malalo iho o ka la.
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.
No ka mea, aia no ke kanaka nana e hana ma ka naauao, a me ke akamai, a me ka pomaikai, aka, e waiho no oia i kana i ke kanaka nana i hana ole i keia mau mea, i hooilina nona. He mea lapuwale keia, a me ka luhi hewa.
22 So, it seems that people do not [RHQ] get much for all the hard work that they do and for worrying.
No ka mea, heaha ka mea i loaa i ke kanaka i kana hana a pau, a me ka makemake o kona naau, ka mea ana i hana'i malalo iho o ka la?
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.
No ka mea, ua kaumaha kona mau la a pau loa, a ua luhi kana hana ana, aole nae i maha kona naau i ka po. He mea lapuwale keia.
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.
Aohe mea maikai i ke kanaka e like me keia, e ai ai oia, a e inu ai hoi, a e hoohauoli ai i kona naau iho i ka maikai ma kana hana ana. Ua ike au, no ko ke Akua lima mai no ia.
25 There is absolutely no one [RHQ] who is able to enjoy those things if God does not give those things to him.
No ka mea, owai ka mea e ai ai, a owai ka mea e lealea ai malaila, i ole au?
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.
No ka mea, ua haawi mai ke Akua i ke kanaka maikai imua ona, i naauao, a me ke akamai, a me ka olioli; aka, i ke kanaka hewa haawi mai ia i ka hana kaumaha, nana e hooiliili a e hoahu hoi, e haawi aku i ke kanaka maikai imua o ke Akua. He mea lapuwale keia, a me ka luhi hewa.
