Ecclesiastes 5
1 When you enter God’s temple, you should be sure to listen carefully. Doing that is better than offering sacrifices to God [and then not obeying him], which is foolish.
Pathen im la na caeh vaengkah bangla na kho neh na khokan te ngaithuen. Te dongah hnatun hamla n'tawn uh he aka ang kah hmueih nawn lakah then. Amih loh boethae a saii te khaw ming uh pawh.
2 Think carefully before you speak [MTY] or before you promise God that you will do something [IDM]. [Do not forget that] God is in heaven [and he is all-powerful] and you are here on the earth, so think carefully before you [make any promises to God].
Pathen mikhmuh ah ol aka thak la na ka te let sak boel lamtah na lungbuei loe boel saeh. Pathen tah vaan ah om tih nang tah diklai ah ni na om. Te dongah na ol yol saeh.
3 If you are continually thinking [and worrying] about things, you will have bad dreams about them and not rest [well]. And the more you talk, the more likely it will be that you will say things that are foolish.
Bibi a cungkuem vaengah mueimang khaw om tih olka a cungkuem vaengah hlang ang ol la poeh.
4 When you solemnly promise God that you will do something, do not be foolish by delaying in doing it, because God is not pleased with foolish people. Do [all] the things that you promise God that you will do.
Pathen taengah olcaeng na caeng vaengah na thuung ham uelh boeh. Na caeng bangla a thuung te aka ang kah kongaih moenih.
5 It is better to not promise [anything] than to promise to do something, and [then] not doing it.
Na caeng tih na thuung pawt lakah na caeng pawt te then.
6 Do not sin by promising to do something and then not doing it. And [when you promise God to do something and do not do it], do not say to God’s priest that it was a mistake for you to promise to do that. If you do that, God will certainly [RHQ] become very angry with you, and he will take from you everything that you [SYN] have worked to acquire.
Na pumsa te tholh sak hamla na ka te khueh boeh. Tohtamaeh kah te puencawn mikhmuh ah thui boeh. Na ol dongah balae tih Pathen thin a toek? Te dongah na kut dongkah bibi te a phae.
7 Promising to do something and not doing it is like [SIM] a dream that has no value; instead, revere God [by doing what you promised him that you would do].
Mueimang a yet vaengah a honghi neh ol khaw yet. Te dongah Pathen te rhih laeh.
8 Do not be surprised if you see poor [people] being (oppressed/treated cruelly) [by powerful/influential people], or if you see judges making unjust decisions throughout the land. [That happens] because the people who do that are supervised [and cheated by] more important officials [DOU],
Paeng ah khodaeng hnaemtaeknah khaw, tiktamnah neh duengnah lamloh pitnah na hmuh. Te te ngaihnah dongah khaw na ngaihmang sak boeh. A sang soah a sang la a dawn tih amih lakah sang lah ko.
9 and even the king forces the people to give him some of the crops that they harvest.
Amah khohmuen aka tawn manghai loh a cungkuem dongah khohmuen kah rhoeikhangnah te amah la a dang.
10 Everyone who tries to [get as much] money as they can will never think that they have enough. They will never be satisfied with the money that they have. That also is senseless.
Tangka aka lungnah khaw tangka hah pawt tih boeinah aka lungnah te khaw a vueithaih a dang moenih. He khaw a honghi mai ni.
11 The more money that we have, the more people want us to spend our money to buy things for them. So people who have a lot of money do not [RHQ] benefit from it; they see [MTY] it when they get it, but it soon (disappears/is completely spent).
Hnothen a ping ham vaengah te te aka ca rhoek khaw pungtai uh. Te dongah a kungmah te tah a mik loh danyoe sawthong phoeiah tah balae a thoemthainah voel.
12 Those who work hard sleep peacefully [at night], even if they do not have much food to eat. But rich [people] do not sleep well, because [they worry] about their money.
Aka thotat tah a yol akhaw, a yet a caak akhaw a ih tui. Tedae hlanglen kah khobuh long tah amah te ih sak ham pataeng duem sak pawh.
13 I have seen [another] terrible thing that happens here on the earth [MTY]: People save [up all] their money and become rich, [but] they are not helped by saving a lot of money,
Boethae a om he khomik hmuiah a tloh la ka hmuh. Khuehtawn he a kungmah loh a ngaithuen akhaw amah yoethaenah ham ni.
14 [because] something happens that causes their money to be gone, and when they die, there is no money for their children to get/inherit.
Khuehtawn he bibi thae ah a paltham mai. Te dongah capa a sak akhaw a kut dongah pakhat pataeng a om moenih.
15 When we are born, we do not bring anything with us, and when we die, we take nothing with us from all that we have earned by our working hard.
A manu bung lamloh pumtling ha thoeng tih a caeh vaengah khaw a thoeng vaengkah banglam ni a. mael. A thakthaenah lamkah te pakhat pataeng a kut dongah a khuen hamla a phueih moenih.
16 That also seems senseless. People bring nothing [into the world when they are born], and they leave [this world] taking nothing with them. They have worked hard, but they receive no lasting benefit [MET].
Ha thoeng vaengkah bangla voeivang a caeh he khaw boeih thae tih tlo bal. Te dongah khohli hamla a thakthae he anih ham balae a rhoeikhangnah.
17 [Furthermore, rich people] are always miserable [MET] and sad, and depressed/discouraged and often sick and (resentful/thinking that what has happened to them is unfair).
Amah tue khuiah khaw hmaisuep ah a caak tih a tlohtat neh a thinhul ah muep hue a sak.
18 So, the best thing for people to do here on the earth during the few years that God allows them to be alive is to eat and drink and to enjoy their work, because those are the things that God has given to them.
Sakthen la caak ham neh ok ham khaw, hnothen a hmuh ham khaw a then la ka hmuh coeng ne. Khomik hmui kah a hingnah khohnin tarhing la a thakthaenah cungkuem neh thakthae. A hingnah te Pathen loh anih taengah amah kah hamsum la a paek.
19 If people are rich and have a lot of possessions, and are able to (enjoy/be happy with) the things that they have and to enjoy their work, those things are [also] gifts from God.
Pathen loh hlang boeih te a taengkah khuehtawn neh koeva a paek pai. Te dongah te lamloh a caak ham neh a hamsum a duen ham khaw, a thakthaenah khui lamloh kohoe sak ham khaw a taemrhai. He tah Pathen kah kutdoe rhoe ni.
20 Those people do not worry much about [everything that has happened] during the time that they have been alive, because God enables them to be happy doing everything that they do.
Pathen loh kohoenah neh a lungbuei a phaep pah dongah a hingnah khohnin te puet poek pawh.
