1 Tari-e amabes ǃnâ a gā-ai?
Tari-e xūn di ǂâibasende a ǁguiǃā ǁkhā?
Gā-aisib ge khoe-i di aisa ra ǂkhai kai
tsî karosasib ai-īsib diba ra ǀkharaǀkhara.
Gao-aoba ǁnâuǀnam
2 Gao-aob ra mîna ǁnâuǀnam, Elob di nūs ai. 3 ǁÎb aisa xu bēs tamas ka io ǁîb ǃoagu hâ mâǃoadi ǃnâ ǁhaos ai tā ǃhae. ǂGaob ra xū-i hoa-eb ǁîba dī ǁkhā xuige. 4 Mîs gao-aob dis ge ǀgaiba ūhâ. O tari-e ǁîba “Tare-ets ra dī?” ti a dî ǁkhā.
5 ǁNā-i hîa mîmāde ra ǁnâuǀnam-i ge ǂkhababa ǂan tide
tsî gā-ai khoe-i ge ǂhanu ǁaeb tsî ǀgaub tsîna nî ǂan.
6 Mâ xū-i hoa-i ge ǂhanu ǁaeb tsî ǀgaub tsîna ūhâ,
xaweb ge khoesiba ǃgomsiga nēs ǃnâ nî tsâ.
7 ǀGui khoe-i tsîn ge ǃgoaxaǁaeb ǃnân tarena nî ī ǃkhaisa a ǀū,
o tari-e ǁnā ǃgoaxaǁaeb xa tare-e a mîba da ǁkhā?
8 Khoe-i xare-i ge ûib di ǂoaba ǃkhō-oas ǀgaiba ūhâ tama hâ,
tsî i ge khoe-i xare-e ǁōtsēs ai ǀgaiba ūhâ tama hâ.
ǁNās ge ǃkhams ǀgui khoe-i tsîn ûiǂoaxū ǁoasa
ǃkhais ǁkhās khamib ge ǂkhababa ǁnān ǁîb ǃomǁae māhe hâna ore tide.
ǂKhaban tsî ǂhanu-ain
9 Nē xūn hoana ta ge ge ǂâi nē ǃhūbaib, ǁîb ǃnân ǀnî khoena ǀgaiba ūhâ tsîn ǀnîna ǁîn ǃnaka ra ǃgamǃgamsenni ǃnâ ra ī xūna ta ge mûo. 10 Tsî ta ge ǂkhaba khoen ge ǁkhōhe ǃkhaisa ge mû. ǁÎn ge khoen xa ǃās, ǁîs ǃnân ǁîn ǂkhaba sîsenga gere dīs ǃnâ gere koahe. Nēn hoan ge a harebeoǃnâ.
11 Khoen dīn ra ǂkhabab ǃaroman ga ǁkharahe tama io, ǂkhababa dīs ǃnâ i tsū xū-e ǀkhai ti ra ǂâi xui-ao. 12 ǁOre-ao-i ge mâtikō kaise iga ǂkhaba xawe gaxuse ra ûi. Tita ge ǂgomǁapo hâ ǁnān Eloba ra ǁnâuǀnamn nî ǁîban ra ǃgôa amaga gaxuse ûi ǃkhaisa. 13 Xawes ge nēsa ǁnān hîa a ǂkhaban ǀkha ī tide. ǁÎn di ûib ge sommi khami ī tsîn ge ǁîna kaisen ǂkham hîa Eloban ǁnâuǀnam tama amaga nî ǁō. 14 ǁNāpa i ge ǁnâuǃāhe ǁoa xū-e ǃhūbaib ai ra ī: ǂHanu-ai khoen ge ǂkhaba khoen nî sîsenūhe khami ra sîsenūhe tsîn ge ǂkhaba khoena hâ, ǂhanu-ai khoen nî sîsenūhe khami ra sîsenūhena. Nēn hoan ge a harebeoǃnâ ti ta ge ra mî.
15 ǁNā-amaga ta ge a-i khoe-e ǃgâiaǂgao, ās, ǂûs tsî ǃgâiǃgâisens ǀguis ose i ǀnî xū-i ǃhūbaib ai i khoe-e nî dī-e ǀkhai xuige. Nēs ge khoe-i ǀkha ǁî-i di sîsenni, ǃhūbaib ai-i ûi hâ tsēdi, Elob ge ǁî-e mādi hoade nî hâ.
16 Gā-aisib tsî ǃhūbaib hoaragab ain khoena tarena ra dīsa ta nî ǂan ǃkhaisa ta ge ǁgui-aisen, o ta ge tsēa tsî tsuxuba ge ǁom ǁoa i. 17 Tsî ta ge hoaraga xūn Elob ge kuruna ge ǂâiǂâisen. Amabes ǃnâb ge khoesiba ǀoasase nē xūna a ǁnâuǃā ǁoa. Tsîts ga gā-ai khoe-i, hoaraga xūn Elob ra ǃhūbaib ai dīna i ǂan ti ra mî-e hō, o-i ge ǁî-e ǂans ǃaroma khoesi ǁnâuǃāba ǃnā hâse ra dīsen.
1 Who is smart enough
to explain everything?
Wisdom makes you cheerful
and gives you a smile.
Obey the King
2 If you promised God that you would be loyal to the king, I advise you to keep that promise. 3 Don't quickly oppose the king or argue when he has already made up his mind. 4 The king's word is law. No one can ask him, “Why are you doing this?” 5 If you obey the king, you will stay out of trouble. So be wise and learn what to do and when to do it. 6 Life is hard, but there is a time and a place for everything, 7 though no one can tell the future. 8 We cannot control the wind or determine the day of our death. There is no escape in time of war, and no one can hide behind evil. 9 I noticed all this and thought seriously about what goes on in the world. Why does one person have the power to hurt another?
Who Can Understand the Ways of God?
10 I saw the wicked buried with honor, but God's people had to leave the holy city and were forgotten. None of this makes sense. 11 When we see criminals commit crime after crime without being punished, it makes us want to start a life of crime. 12 They commit hundreds of crimes and live a long time, in spite of the saying:
Everyone who lives right
and respects God
will prosper,
13 but no one who sins
and rejects God
will prosper or live very long.
14 There is something else that doesn't make sense to me. Good citizens are treated as criminals, while criminals are honored as though they were good citizens. 15 So I think we should get as much out of life as we possibly can. There is nothing better than to enjoy our food and drink and have a good time. Then we can make it through this troublesome life that God has given us here on earth.
16 Day and night I went without sleep, trying to understand what goes on in this world. 17 I saw everything God does, and I realized no one can really understand what happens. We may be very wise, but no matter how much we try or how much we claim to know, we cannot understand it all.
