Ecclesiastes 8
1 Mwet lalmwetmet mukena pa etu lah mea na pwaye kalmen ma uh. Lalmwetmet uh oru elos israsr srisrik ac tia ngetnget in sulung.
Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
2 Oru ma tokosra el fahk, ac nik kom oru kutena wuleang ingunyar nu sin God.
I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.
3 Tokosra el ku in oru kutena ma el lungse, ke ma inge fahsr liki yen el muta we, ac nimet muta in acn sensen se inge.
Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,
4 Tokosra el orekma ke ku lun wal lal; wangin mwet ku in kusen siyuk ke ma el oru.
for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5 Ke lusen na pacl kom akos sap lal, wangin ma koluk ac sikyak nu sum; ac sie mwet lalmwetmet el etu lah pia pacl wo, ac el ac oru fuka ma inge.
Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure.
6 Oasr pacl wo se, ac inkanek pwaye se in oru kutena ma, tuh sriklana etu lasr!
For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.
7 Wangin sesr etu lah mea ac sikyak uh, ac wangin mwet in fahkma nu sesr.
For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?
8 Wangin sie mwet oasr ku la fin ngun, ac wangin sie ku in kolla len in misa lal. Pa inge sie mweun kut koflana kaingkunla. Kom ac tia ku in molla kom fin oru na ma koluk.
There is no man who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.
9 Nga liye ma inge nukewa ke nga sang insiuk in arulana nunku ke ma orek fin facl se inge — sie facl su kutu mwet uh funmweti kutu, ac kewana ac keok.
All this I have seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.
10 Aok, nga liye ke mwet koluk uh pukpuki in kulyuk lalos, sruk ke elos moul elos uti utyak nu in acn mutal. Na ke mwet uh folok liki kulyuk uh elos kaksakin mwet misa inge in siti se na ma elos tuh oru ma koluk we. Ma inge wangin sripa.
So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.
11 Efu ku mwet uh pulaikna in oru ma koluk? Mweyen kaiyen ma koluk uh pahtla in orek.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
12 Sie mwet koluk el ku in orala ma koluk pacl siofok ac loesna moul lal. Tusruktu nga etu na pwaye lah, “Elos su sangeng sin God ac akfulatyal pa ac wo nu se,
Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.
13 a ac tia wo nu sin mwet koluk uh. Moul lalos oana sie ohk, ac elos fah fusr na misa, mweyen elos tiana sangeng sin God.”
But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow, because he doesn’t fear God.
14 Tusruktu ma inge wangin pac sripa. Liyewin ma sikyak fin faclu: kutu pacl uh kaiyuk mwet suwoswos uh oana mwet koluk, ac mwet koluk elos eis mwe insewowo ma fal nu sin mwet suwoswos. Nga ku in fahk mu arulana wangin sripa.
There is a vanity which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.
15 Ke ma inge nga arulana akkeye tuh sie mwet in engan ke moul lal, mweyen pwayena mwe akwoyal in moul se inge pa in mongo, ac nim, ac insewowo ke ma su oasr yorol. Pa inge ma el ku in oru ke pacl el orekma in moul se inge su God El sang nu sel fin faclu.
Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat, to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
16 Pacl nukewa nga tuh srike in eis lalmwetmet ac lutlut ke ma orek fin faclu, nga akilenak lah mwet se ku in ngetngetna ac tia motul ke fong ac len,
When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (even though eyes see no sleep day or night),
17 ac tiana ku in kalem ke ma God El oru. Mwet se finne suk ke kuiyal, el tia ku in konauk. Mwet lalmwetmet uh ac ku in fahk mu elos etu, tusruktu elos tiana etu.
then I saw all the work of God, that man can’t find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it.
