Ecclesiastes 9
1 Nga nunak yohk ke ma inge nukewa ke pacl na loeloes, ac nga liye lah God pa nununku mukuikui lun mwet lalmwetmet ac mwet suwoswos, finne nu ke lungse lalos ac srunga lalos. Wangin sie mwet etu lah mea oan meeto.
I had my mind consider all this. Wise and good people and everything they do are in God's hands. Love or hate—who knows what will happen to them?
2 Oana sie ma nukewa. Lumah sefanna ac tuku nu sin mwet suwoswos ac mwet sesuwos, nu sin mwet wo ac nu sin mwet koluk, nu sin mwet alu ac nu sin mwet tia alu, nu sin mwet orek kisa ac mwet tia orek kisa. Ma su sikyak nu sin sie mwet wo ac sikyak pacna nu sin sie mwet koluk. Sie mwet su orek wulela nu sin God el oapana mwet se ma tia orek wulela nu sin God.
Yet we all share the same destiny—those who do right, those who do evil, the good, the religiously-observant and those that are not, those who sacrifice and those who don't. Those who do good are as those who sin, those who make vows to God are as those who don't.
3 Saflaiyen moul lun mwet nukewa ac oana sie, ac ma se inge tiana suwohs. Ke lusenna moul lun mwet uh, nunak lalos sessesla ke nunak koluk ac wel, na elos misa.
This is just so wrong—that everyone here on earth should suffer the same fate! On top of that, people's minds are filled with evil. They spend their lives thinking about stupid things, and then they die.
4 Tusruktu kutena mwet su moul inmasrlon ma moul uh, oasr finsrak yorolos. Soko kosro ngalngul ma moul, wo liki soko lion ma misa.
But the living still have hope—a live dog is better than a dead lion!
5 Aok, mwet moul etu lah elos ac misa, a mwet misa wangin ma elos etu. Wangin mwe usru elos ac sifil eis. Mulkinyukla na pwaye elos.
The living are conscious of the fact that they're going to die, but the dead have no consciousness of anything. They don't receive any further benefit; they're forgotten.
6 Lungse lalos, srunga lalos, kena lalos, nufonna welulos na misa. Ac fah tia sifilpa oasr ma kunalos ke kutena ma su sikyak fin faclu.
Their love, hate, and envy—it's all gone. They have no further part in anything that happens here on earth.
7 Ouinge kom in kang mongo nom ac engan. Nim wain nimom ke inse pwar. God El nuna oaki in ouinge.
So go ahead and eat your food, and enjoy it. Drink your wine with a happy heart. That's what God intends that you should do.
8 Pacl nukewa kom in naweyukla ac akmusrala in fal nu ke pacl in engan.
Always wear smart clothes and look good.
9 Engankin moul lom yurin mutan kiom su kom lungse, ke lusenna moul lusrongten ma God El sot nu sum fin faclu. Engankin kais sie len lusrongten inge, mweyen pa na ingan ma kom ac eis ke orekma kemkatu nukewa lom.
Enjoy life with the wife that you love—the one God gave you—during all the days of this brief life, all these passing days whose meaning is so hard to understand as you work here on earth.
10 Kutena ma kom oru, oru ke kuiyom mweyen ac fah wangin mukuikui, wangin nunak, wangin etauk, wangin lalmwetmet in facl sin mwet misa, tuh pa ingan acn se kom ac som nu we uh. (Sheol h7585)
Whatever you do, do it with all your strength, for when you go to the grave there's no more working or thinking, no more knowing or being wise. (Sheol h7585)
11 Oasr sie pac ma nga akilen ke moul lasr faclu: mwet mui uh tia eis kutangla pacl nukewa, ac mwet pulaik uh tia eis kutangla ke mweun pacl nukewa. Mwet lalmwetmet uh tia eis kasrpalos pacl nukewa, mwet usrnguk uh tia kasrup pacl nukewa, ac mwet ma fas ke orekma tia eis wal fulat pacl nukewa. Ma ongla ouiya uh sikyak nu sin mwet nukewa.
I thought about other things that happen here on earth. Races are not always won by the fastest runner. Battles are not always decided by the strongest warrior. Also, the wise do not always have food, intelligent people do not always make money, and those who are clever do not always win favor. Time and chance affect all of them.
12 Kom tia ku in etu lah pacl lom uh ac tuku ngac. Oana won ma sremla ke sruhf in kitin pacl na, ku oana ik ma sremla ke kwa, kut ac sremla pac ke sie pacl na koluk ma kut tiana etu kac.
You can't predict when your end will come. Just like fish caught in a net, or birds caught in a trap, so people are suddenly caught by death when they least expect it.
13 Oasr pac sie ma nga liye, sie mwe srikasrak na wo ke nunkeyen lalmwetmet uh sin mwet faclu.
Here's another aspect of wisdom that impressed me about what happens here on earth.
14 Oasr sie siti srisrik ma mwet na pu muta we. Na sie tokosra na ku tuku mweuni acn sac. El kuhlusya ac akoo in fokolak pot uh ac utyak.
Once there was a small town with only a few inhabitants. A powerful king came and besieged the town, building great earth ramps against its walls.
15 Oasr sie mukul wi muta in acn sac. El sukasrup, tuh el lalmwetmet, ac el ku na in molela siti sac. Tusruktu wanginna mwet lohang nu sel.
In that town lived a man who was wise, but poor. He saved the town by his wisdom. But no one remembered to thank that poor man.
16 Nga fahk pacl nukewa lah lalmwetmet uh wo liki ku, tusruktu wangin mwet nunku mu mwet sukasrup ku in lalmwetmet, pwanang elos tiana lohang nu ke ma mwet sukasrup uh fahk.
As I've always said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” Yet the wisdom of that poor man was dismissed—people didn't pay attention to what he said.
17 Wo in porongo pusra fisrasr lun sie mwet lalmwetmet, liki pusren wowoyak lun sie mwet kol inmasrlon mwet lalfon.
It's better to listen to the calm words of a wise person than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Yohk ma wo tuku ke lalmwetmet liki na kufwen mwe mweun, tusruk sie mwet koluk el ku in forteya ma wo puspis.
It's better to have wisdom than weapons of war; but a sinner can destroy a lot of good.
