2

¹Kuv xav hais tias cia kuv sim kev lomzem saib yuav zoo siab npaum li cas. Tiamsis kuv pom hais tias tej ntawd kuj tsis muaj qabhau li thiab. ²Kuv pom hais tias kev luag yog ib yam uas ruam kawg, thiab tej kev lomzem yeej coj tsis tau ib yam dabtsi los rau yus li. ³Kuv xav muaj tswvyim heev, kuv thiaj sim haus cawv thiab ua kev lomzem. Kuv xav hais tias qhov no yog yam zoo tshaj plaws rau neeg ua nws lub neej uas nyob ib nyuag ntu hauv ntiajteb no.
⁴Kuv ua ntau tes haujlwm tseemceeb kawg li. Kuv ua tau ntau lub tsev thiab ua ntau daim teb txiv hmab. ⁵Kuv ua ntau daim teb cog txiv ntoo, thiab kuv cog ntau yam txiv rau hauv. ⁶Kuv khawb ntau lub pasdej thiaj tau dej ywg kuv tej txiv hmab txiv ntoo. ⁷Kuv yuav tubqhe thiab nkaujqhe coob heev, kuv muaj tej tubqhe uas yug hauv kuv tsev. Kuv muaj nyuj, muaj tshis, thiab muaj yaj coob dua cov vajntxwv uas xub nyob ua ntej kuv hauv lub nroog Yeluxalees no. ⁸Kuv muaj nyiaj thiab muaj kub ntau kawg li; tej ntawd yog kuv sau cov vajntxwv nyob hauv cov tebchaws uas kuv kav tej nyiaj los khaws cia. Kuv muaj cov tub thiab cov ntxhais hu nkauj ua rau kuv zoo siab, thiab kuv muaj ntau tus pojniam txaus kuv siab kawg li.
⁹Kuv tau ua tus loj dua cov neeg uas xub nyob ua ntej kuv hauv lub nroog Yeluxalees no, thiab kuv tej tswvyim kuj nyob nrog nraim kuv. ¹⁰Txhua yam uas kuv xav yuav los kuv kuj tau; kuv xav ua kev lomzem los kuv yeej tsis tswj kuv lub siab li. Kuv txaus siab rau tej haujlwm uas kuv ua, thiab tej no yog kuv tej nqi zog. ¹¹Kuv xav txog txhua yam haujlwm hnyav uas kuv tau sib zog khwv nyob hauv qab ntuj no, mas kuv pom hais tias txhua yam ntawd tsis muaj qabhau li, tsuas zoo ib yam li caum cua xwb.
¹²Tus vajntxwv twg los tsuas ua tej uas cov vajntxwv uas xub nyob ua ntej nws los lawm ua xwb.
Ces kuv thiaj ua tib zoo xav txog kev txawj ntse, kev vwm, thiab kev ruam saib zoo li cas. ¹³Kuv pom hais tias, “Kev ntse zoo dua kev ruam ib yam li qhov pom kev zoo dua qhov tsaus ntuj. ¹⁴Cov neeg ntse pom lawv txoj haukev, tiamsis cov neeg ruam xuas dub mus kev xwb.” Txawm yog li ntawd los kuv pom hais tias thaum kawg lawv cov ntawd lub neej zoo ib yam nkaus. ¹⁵Kuv xav txog kuv hais tias, “Thaum kawg cov neeg ruam lub neej zoo li cas, ces kuv lub neej yuav zoo ib yam nkaus li ntawd. Yog li ntawd, tej kev txawj ntse uas kuv muaj yuav zoo dabtsi?” Tej kev txawj ntse no los yeej tsis muaj qabhau rau kuv li. ¹⁶Tsis muaj leejtwg yuav nco txog cov neeg txawj ntse thiab cov neeg ruam. Ib hnub tom ntej luag kuj yuav tsis nco txog peb ib yam nkaus. Cov neeg ntse los yuav tuag ib yam li cov neeg ruam thiab. ¹⁷Kuv xav hais tias kev ua neej tsis muaj qabhau, rau qhov txhua yam xwm uas kuv raug tas los ua rau kuv ntxhov siab kawg li. Txhua yam ntawd puavleej tsis muaj qabhau, tsuas zoo ib yam li caum cua xwb.
¹⁸Tej haujlwm uas kuv ua thiab tej uas kuv khwv tau nyob hauv qab ntuj no, yeej tsis muaj qabhau rau kuv, rau qhov kuv yeej paub hais tias kuv yuav muab tej ntawd tso tseg rau tus uas yuav los hloov kuv chaw, ¹⁹thiab leejtwg yuav paub hais tias tus uas yuav los ntawd nws yog tus ntse lossis yog tus ruam? Txawm yog nws yuav zoo li cas los xij, nws yeej yuav tau tej uas kuv lub tswvyim khwv tau rau hauv qab ntuj no. Tej ntawd los tsis muaj qabhau li. ²⁰Yog li ntawd, kuv thiaj li rov khuvxim txog tej haujlwm hnyav uas kuv tau ua nyob hauv qab ntuj no. ²¹Neeg siv tswvyim, kev paub, thiab kev txawj ntse ua haujlwm tau nyiaj thiab ib puas tsav yam khaws cia, tiamsis kuj muab tej ntawd tso tseg rau lwm tus uas tsis tau siv dag siv zog khwv li yuav. Tej ntawd kuj tsis muaj qabhau thiab tsis tsimnyog li. ²²Yus yuav tau dabtsi los ntawm qhov uas yus sib sib zog khwv thiab huas ua ntxhov siab hnyo hauv qab ntuj no? ²³Yus txojsia yuav nyob ntev li cas los xij, txhua yam uas yus ua tsuas yog coj kev txhawj xeeb thiab kev ntxhov siab los rau yus xwb. Txawm yog ntuj teb tag hmo los yus lub siab yeej tsis tau so li. Tej no los tsis muaj qabhau li.
²⁴Yam uas zoo tshaj plaws rau tibneeg yog kev noj kev haus, thiab txaus siab rau tej uas nws khwv tau los ntawd. Txawm li ntawd los kuv pom hais tias tej ntawd puavleej yog los ntawm Vajtswv. ²⁵Yog tsis los ntawm Vajtswv los leejtwg yuav tau tej ntawd noj thiab muaj kev zoo siab? ²⁶Vajtswv pub tswvyim, kev txawj ntse, thiab kev kaj siab rau tus uas ua haum nws siab, tiamsis Vajtswv kom cov neeg txhaum ua haujlwm hnyav, Vajtswv thiaj tau tej ntawd pub rau cov neeg uas ua haum Vajtswv siab. Tej no kuj tsis muaj qabhau li, tsuas yog zoo ib yam li caum cua xwb.

2

The Vanity of Pleasure

¹I said ⚓in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with ⚓mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, ⚓this also was vanity. ²I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?” ³⚓I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was⚓good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.
⁴I made my works great, I built myself ⚓houses, and planted myself vineyards. ⁵I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. ⁷I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. ⁸⚓I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds.
⁹⚓So I became great and excelled ⚓more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
¹⁰Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And ⚓this was my reward from all my labor.
¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was⚓vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun.

The End of the Wise and the Fool

¹²Then I turned myself to consider wisdom ⚓and madness and folly;
For what can the man do who succeeds the king?—
Only what he has already ⚓done.
¹³Then I saw that wisdom ⚓excels folly
As light excels darkness.
¹⁴⚓The wise man’s eyes are in his head,
But the fool walks in darkness.
Yet I myself perceived
That ⚓the same event happens to them all.
¹⁵So I said in my heart,
“As it happens to the fool,
It also happens to me,
And why was I then more wise?”
Then I said in my heart,
“This also is vanity.”
¹⁶For there is⚓no more remembrance of the wise than of the fool forever,
Since all that now is will be forgotten in the days to come.
And how does a wise man die?
As the fool!
¹⁷Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
¹⁸Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because ⚓I must leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. ²¹For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²²⚓For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? ²³For all his days are⚓sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity.
²⁴⚓Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. ²⁵For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I? ²⁶For God gives ⚓wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that ⚓he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.