Ecclesiastes 8
1 [I will tell you about] those who are truly wise [RHQ] with the result that they can explain why everything happens. Being wise enables people to be happy [MTY] and enables them to smile.
Unim hlang cueih bangla aka om? Olka te thuingaihnah aka ming te unim? Hlang he cueihnah loh a maelhmai a sae sak tih a maelhmai khaw sarhi a tho.
2 You solemnly promised God that you would obey what the king commands, so do that.
Kamah manghai ka dongkah he Pathen olhlo dongkah dumlai la a om dongah ngaithuen.
3 Do not quickly disobey the king. And do not join those who want to rebel against him, because the king will do what he wants to do.
A mikhmuh lamloh na caeh vaengah let boeh. Boethae ol dongah pai boeh. A cungkuem te a ngaih bangla a saii bitni.
4 We need to obey what the king says more than we need to obey what anyone else says; no one can say to the king, “(Why are you doing that?/You should not be doing that.) [RHQ]”
Manghai ol dongah a khuet om tih anih te ulong, “Balae na saii?” a ti nah.
5 If you obey what the king commands, he will not harm you. [So] be wise, and know the correct/right time to do things and the right way to do them.
Olpaek aka tuem tah boethae ol a ming moenih. Aka cueih kah lungbuei tah a tue neh laitloeknah khaw a ming.
6 Although people experience many troubles/difficulties, there is a right/correct time to do things, and there is a right/correct way [to do them].
Hlang kah boethae he amah soah ping cakhaw ngaihnah cungkuem ham he a tuetang neh a khosing om.
7 No one knows what will happen in the future, so there is no one [RHQ] who can tell us what is going to happen.
Anih te metla a om te khaw a ming moenih. Te vanbangla mebang a om ham khaw te anih taengah ulong a thui thai?
8 We cannot control the wind, and we cannot control when we will die. Soldiers are not permitted to go home during a battle, and evil people will not be saved by [doing what is] evil.
Khohli te hloh hamla khohli soah hlang a boei moenih. Dueknah khohnin soah a khuet aka khueh khaw om pawh. Caemtloeknah khuiah khaw paanah a om moenih. Te dongah halangnah loh a boei te loeih sak mahpawh.
9 I thought about all those things, and I thought about all [HYP] the other things that happen on this earth. I saw that [sometimes] people cause those whom they control to suffer.
A cungkuem he ka sawt tih khomik hmuikah a saii bibi boeih he ka lungbuei ah ka dueh. Hlang loh hlang soah amah kah a yoethae ham duela a taemrhai tue khaw om.
10 I also saw that [sometimes] after evil [people] die, they are highly honored at their funerals by the people in the cities where they had done [evil] deeds. It seemed to be difficult to understand why that happens.
Halang rhoek a up uh he ka sawt vaengah hmuen cim lamloh aka thoeng tih aka pongpa rhoek ni. Tedae te bang a saii nah khopuei ah a hnilh uh coeng. He khaw a honghi coeng ni.
11 If evil people are not immediately punished, it causes [other] people [SYN] to [also] want to do evil things.
Khoboe thae khaw oltloeknah hat a saii hae moenih. Te dongah ni hlang koca kah lungbuei tah a khuiah thae saii hamla a hah.
12 But even if sinful people commit 100 crimes, and [even if they] live for a long time, I know that things will go better for those who greatly respect and revere God.
Aka tholh khaw boethae yakhat a saii tih anih te nguel mai cakhaw Pathen aka rhih tih a mikhmuh ah aka rhih taengah ni hnothen a om eh tila ka ming.
13 [I also know] that things will not go well go for those who are evil, because they do not revere God. Shadows [do not last a long time]. Similarly [SIM], evil people will not live a long time.
Tedae hnothen he halang taengah om mahpawh. Anih te Pathen mikhmuh ah a rhih pawt dongah khokhawn bangla a khohnin vang mahpawh.
14 Another thing that [sometimes] happens on this earth is that bad things happen to righteous people, and good things happen to evil people. It is difficult to understand why that happens.
Diklai ah aka thoeng he a honghi mai ni. Aka dueng khaw a soah halang kah khoboe bangla aka thoeng te om tih, halang khaw a taengah aka dueng kah khoboe bangla a thoeng pah te om bal. He khaw a honghi mai la ka ti.
15 [So] I decided that I would recommend that people be happy while they are alive, because the best thing that people can do here on this earth is to eat and drink and be happy. Enjoying doing those things will help people while they do their work, all the time that God has given to them to remain alive here on the earth.
Te dongah kai tah kohoenah he ni ka domyok sak mai. Khomik hmuiah a caak, a ok tih ko a hoe mak atah hlang ham hnothen a om moenih. Te dongah anih te a hingnah tue vaengah tah a thakthaenah nen khaw a naem coeng. Te te Pathen loh anih taengla khomik hmuiah a paek coeng.
16 I thought about being wise and about people who work very hard, working day and night and not taking time to sleep.
Cueihnah ming ham neh bibi hmuh ham ka lungbuei te ka paek coeng. Te long te diklai hman ah tah khothaih ah khaw, khoyin ah khaw, a mik te ih sak pawt tih hmuh sak pawt ham a saii.
17 Then I thought about everything [HYP] that God has done, and I realized that no one can understand everything that happens here on this earth. Truly, people are not able to fully understand everything [that God understands], even if they try hard to do that. Even if wise people claim that they understand it all, they cannot.
Pathen bibi boeih te ka hmuh. Te bibi te hlang loh a hmuh ham a noeng moenih. Khomik hmuiah a saii te hlang loh tlap hamla thakthae sitoe mai cakhaw a hmuh moenih. Aka cueih loh ming hamla a ti van akhaw a hmuh hamla a noeng moenih.
