Ecclesiastes 1
1 Pa inge kas lun sie Mwet Luti Lalmwetmet, wen natul David, su tuh tokosra in Jerusalem.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Mwet Luti Lalmwetmet el fahk lah ma nukewa ma lusrongten na lusrongten! Moul uh wangin sripama na lusrongten se.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 Kom orekma ac kemkatu in moul lom nufon, na mea oasr ma kom konauk kac?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 Sie fwil uh somla ac sie fwil sifil tuku, a faclu nuna ouiya ah na.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 Faht ah srakna tak ac srakna tili, na sa na in folok nu ke acn se ma el ac sifil takak we.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 Eng uh tuh eir me ac som nu epang, ac sifil tuk — raun na raun.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 Infacl nukewa sororla nu meoa, a meoa soenna sessesla. Kof uh folok nu yen infacl uh mutawauk we, ac sifilpa sororma.
All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
8 Saflaiyen ma nukewa pa totola — sie totola na yohk su wangin kas fal in aketeya. Mutasr tia muti ke ma kut liye, ac insresr tia muti ke ma kut lohng.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 Ma sikyak meet ac sifilpa sikyak. Ma orekla tari ac sifilpa orek. Wangin ma sasu in faclu nufon.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Mwet uh fahk, “Liye, ma sasu se pa inge!” Tusruktu sutuu, sikyak tari meet, oemeet liki na kut isusla ah.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 Wangin mwet esam ma tuh sikyak in pacl meet ah, ac in pacl fahsru wangin mwet fah esam ma sikyak in len ingela.
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12 Nga, Mwet Luti Lalmwetmet, su tuh muta Jerusalem ac tokosra fin acn Israel nufon.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 Nga nunkala ku sik mu nga ac tuni ac lutlut ke ma nukewa ma mwet uh oru fin faclu. God El ase orekma na toasr nu sesr mwet uh in oru.
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
14 Nga liye tari ma nukewa ma orek faclu, ac nga fahk nu sum, nufonna wangin sripaoana ukweyen eng uh.
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15 Kom tia ku in aksuwosyela ma kihla; kom tia pac ku in oek ma wangin uh.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 Nga fahk nu sik sifacna, “Nga sie mwet na fulat, ac nga arulana lalmwetmet liki kutena mwet su leumi Jerusalem meet likiyu. Nga etu na pwaye lah mea lalmwetmet ac etauk.”
I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 Nga tuh sulela ku sik in etu ke kalmen etauk ac kalmen lalfon, oayapa ke lalmwetmet ac wel. Tusruktu nga konauk lah ma inge oana ukweyen eng uh.
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18 Lalmwetmet lom fin yokelik, na fosrnga lom ac yokelik pac. Fin yokelik etauk lom, ac yokelik pulakinyen keok sum.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
