Ecclesiastes 3

1 There is a right/correct time for everything, a time for everything that we do in this world.

‌ʻOku ai hono kuonga ʻoe meʻa kotoa pē, mo e ʻaho ki he ngāue kotoa pē ʻi he lalo langi:

2 There is a time to be born, and there is a time to die. There is a time to plant [seeds], and there is a time to harvest crops.

Ko e ʻaho ke fanauʻi ai, mo e ʻaho ke mate; ko e ʻaho ke tō, mo e ʻaho ke taʻaki ʻaia kuo tō;

3 There is a time to kill [people], and there is a time to heal [people]. There is a time to tear things down, and there is a time to build things.

Ko e ʻaho ke tāmateʻi, mo e ʻaho ke fakamoʻui; ko e ʻaho ke holoki hifo, mo e ʻaho ke langa hake;

4 There is a time to cry, and there is a time to laugh. There is a time to mourn, and there is a time to dance [joyfully].

Ko e ʻaho ke tangi, mo e ʻaho ke kata; ko e ʻaho ke tangilāulau, mo e ʻaho ke meʻe;

5 There is a time to throw away stones [from a field], and there is a time to gather stones [to build walls/houses]. There is a time to embrace [people], and there is a time to not embrace [people].

Ko e ʻaho ke liʻaki ʻae ngaahi maka, mo e ʻaho ke tānaki fakataha ʻae ngaahi maka; ko e ʻaho ke fāʻufua, mo e ʻaho ke vāmamaʻo;

6 There is a time to search for things, and there is a time to stop searching for things. There is a time to keep/save things, and there is a time to throw things away.

Ko e ʻaho ke maʻu, mo e ʻaho ke mole ai; ko e ʻaho ke kuku maʻu, mo e ʻaho ke liʻaki atu;

7 There is a time to tear [our old clothes], and there is a time to mend [clothes]. There is a time to say nothing, and there is a time when we should speak.

Ko e ʻaho ke mahaehae, mo e ʻaho ke tuitui; ko e ʻaho ke fakalongolongo, mo e ʻaho ke lea;

8 There is a time when we should love [things that people do], and there is a time when we should hate [things that people do]. There is a time for war, and there is a time for peace.

Ko e ʻaho ke ʻofa, mo e ʻaho ke fehiʻa; ko e ʻaho ke tau, mo e ʻaho ke melino.

9 (What do people gain from all the work that they do?/It seems that people gain very little from all the work that they do [RHQ]).

Ko e hā ʻae lelei ʻoku maʻu ʻe ia ʻoku ngāue ʻi he meʻa ʻoku ne ngāue ai?

10 I have seen the work that God has given people to do.

Kuo u mamata ki he feinga ʻaia kuo tuku ʻe he ʻOtua ki he fānau ʻae tangata ke ʻahiʻahi ʻaki ʻakinautolu.

11 God has appointed a time that is right/correct for everything to happen. He has [also] caused people to realize that there are things that will endure forever. But in spite of that, no one can completely understand everything that God has done, from the time that he starts doing things until he finishes them.

Kuo ngaohi ʻe ia ʻae meʻa kotoa pē ke fakaʻofoʻofa ʻi hono kuonga: pea kuo ne ʻai foki ʻae māmani ki honau loto, pea ko ia ʻoku ʻikai faʻa ʻilo ai ʻe ha tangata ʻae ngāue ʻoku fai ʻe he ʻOtua mei he kamataʻanga ʻo aʻu ki hono ngataʻanga.

12 I know that the best [LIT] thing for us people to do is to rejoice and to do good things [all] during the time that we are alive.

‌ʻOku ou ʻilo ʻoku ʻikai ha lelei ʻi ai, ka koeʻuhi ke fiefia ʻae tangata, pea ke fai lelei ʻi heʻene moʻui.

13 And I also know that everyone should eat and drink, and enjoy the work that they do. Those are things that God gives to us.

Pea ko e kai mo e inu ʻae tangata kotoa pē, mo e fiefia ʻi he lelei ʻo ʻene ngāue kotoa pē, ko e foaki ia ʻae ʻOtua.

14 I [also] know that what God does endures forever. No one can add to what God does, and no one can take away from the things that God does. God does those things in order that people would revere him.

‌ʻOku ou ʻilo, ko e meʻa kotoa pē ʻoku fai ʻe he ʻOtua, ʻe tuʻumaʻu ia ʻo taʻengata: ʻe ʻikai faʻa fakalahi ia, pea ʻe ʻikai faʻa toʻo mei ai ha meʻa; pea ʻoku fai eni ʻe he ʻOtua koeʻuhi ke manavahē ʻae kakai ʻi hono ʻao.

15 Things that exist now have already existed previously, and things that will happen in the future have already happened previously; God causes the same things to happen many times.

Ko e meʻa naʻe ʻi ai, ʻoku ʻi ai ni; pea ko ia kuo tuʻutuʻuni ke hoko, kuo hili hono fai, pea ʻoku toe ʻomi ʻe he ʻOtua ʻae meʻa kuo mole atu.

16 Furthermore, I saw that on this earth [MTY], even in the courts where we expect judges to make right decisions about what people had done, they did many wicked [DOU] things.

Pea naʻaku mamata foki ʻi he lalo laʻā ki he potu ʻoe fakamaau, ʻoku ʻi ai ʻae angahala; mo e potu ʻoe māʻoniʻoni, ʻoku ʻi ai ʻae fai kovi.

17 [So] I said to myself [SYN], “God will judge [both] righteous [people] and wicked [people]; there is a time [for him to do that], because there is a time for him to do everything.”

Pea u pehē ʻi hoku loto, “ʻE fakamaau ʻe he ʻOtua ʻae māʻoniʻoni mo e angahala: he ʻoku ʻi ai pe hono ʻaho ki he tuʻutuʻuni kotoa pē mo e ngāue kotoa pē.”

18 And regarding humans, I [also] said to myself, “God is testing us, to show us that [in one way] people are no different than animals,

Pea naʻaku pehē ʻi hoku loto koeʻuhi ko e anga ʻoe fānau ʻae tangata, ke fakahā ia ʻe he ʻOtua kiate kinautolu, pea nau ʻilo ai ʻoku nau hangē ko e fanga manu.

19 because what happens to people happens to animals. Animals die, and people die. We all must breathe [to remain alive]. [With regard to that], people have no advantage over animals, so I have a difficult time understanding that.

He ko e meʻa ʻoku hoko ki he fānau ʻae tangata ʻoku hoko ia ki he fanga manu; ʻio, ko e meʻa pe taha ʻoku hoko ki ai fakatouʻosi: ʻo hangē ko e mate ʻae taha, ʻoku pehē pe ʻae mate ʻae taha; ʻio, ko e mānava pe taha ʻoku nau maʻu; pea ko ia ʻoku ʻikai māʻolunga ai ʻae tangata ʻi ha manu: he ʻoku vaʻinga ʻae meʻa kotoa pē.

20 [People and animals] all die and are buried. We are all made of soil, and [when we die], our corpses become soil again.

‌ʻOku lau kotoa pē ki he potu pe taha; he ʻoku mei he efu kotoa pē, pea ʻoku toe liliu kotoa pē ki he efu.

21 No one knows [RHQ] for sure that when we die, our souls/spirits go up to heaven and the souls/spirits of animals go down to the place where the dead are.”

Ko hai ʻoku ne ʻilo ʻae laumālie ʻoe tangata ʻoku ʻalu ki ʻolunga, mo e moʻui ʻae manu ʻoku ʻalu hifo ki he kelekele?

22 So I concluded that the best thing for [us] people to do is to be happy about the work that we do, because that is what God has given to us. I say that because no one of us [RHQ] knows what happens to us after we die.

Ko ia ʻoku hā mai kiate au, ʻoku ʻikai ha meʻa ʻoku lelei hake, ka ko e fiefia ʻae tangata ʻi heʻene ngaahi ngāue ʻaʻana; he ko hono ʻinasi ia: he ko hai te ne ʻomi ia ke ne mamata ki he meʻa ʻe hoko kimui ʻiate ia?