Ûib xa hâ ǂâidi
1 ǃGâi ǀons ge ǃgomǀgausa ǃgâihamxū-i ǃgâ-ai a ǃgâi;
tsîs ge sa ǁōtsēsa ǃnaets ge tsēs ǃgâ-ai a ǃgâi.
2 ǃOab hâ om-i ǁga ǃgûs ge
ǃgâiǃgâisens hâ ǃkhai-i ǁga ǃgûs ǃgâ-ai a ǃgâi,
ûib hoaǁae ǁō da nî ǃkhaisa ra ǂâiǂâiǃnâ da xui-ao.
3 ǃOas ge âis ǃgâ-ai a ǃgâi;
ais âtsa a ǃoaǃoa ǁkhā xawe ra ǁnâuǃāba ǀgaiǀgai.
4 Gā-ai khoe-i ge ǁōb di ǂâibasensa ra ǂâiǃgâ;
gân ra ǃgâiǃgâisens xa ǀgui ǂâi hîa.
5 Gā-ai khoe-i di ǃkhâikhomsa ǃgâs ge
gâ khoen di ǁnaeba ǃgâs ǃgâ-ai a ǃgâi.
6 Gâ khoe-i di âib ge ǁkhūn,
ǀaes ǃnâ ra ǂaninin khami ra ǀō.
Nēs ge a harebeoǃnâ.
7 ǁGâiǀāb ge gā-ai khoe-e ra gâ kai
tsî ǁamaǃkhunis ge ǂgaoba ra hîkākā.
8 Xū-i di ǀams ge ǁî-i di tsoatsoas ǃgâ-ai a ǃgâi.
ǃNūǃnâxasib ge ǃguriǃgurisens ǃgâ-ai a ǃgâi.
9 Tā ǃhaese ǁaixa,
ǁaixasib gân di ǂgaob ǃnâ ǀgui ǁan hâ xuige.
10 Tā “Tare-i ǃaroma di ǃkharu ge tsēde nēsi hâdi ǃgâ-ai ge ǃgâi i?”
ti dî re, nēs gā-ai dî tama xuige.
11 Gā-aisib ge ǀumisa ǃkhōǃoas khami ī
tsî ǁnān soresa ra mûna aiǂhanu-i ase a ība.
12 Gā-aisiba sâus ge
mari-e sâus ǁkhās khami ī.
Gā-aisib ra sâu xui-ao,
nēs ge a ǂans di aiǂhanu.
13 Elob sîsenna ǃgaoǃgâ re.
Mâti i khoe-e Elob gama kai hâ xū-e
a ǂhanuǂhanu ǁkhā?
14 Xūn ga ǃgâise ǃgûba tsi, o ǃgâiaǂgao re,
î ǃgomsin ga hāǂam tsi, o ǂâis ǃnâ ūhâ re:
Elob ge ǃgâin tsî tsūn hoana kuru hâ
tsîts ge a ǀū taren noxopa nî ī ǃkhaisa.
15 Hoaraga xūna ta ge ti harebeoǃnâ ûib ǃnâ ge mû.
ǂHanu-ai khoen ra ǂhanu-aisib ân ǃnâ ǁō
hîan ge ǂkhaba khoena ǁîn ǂkhabasib ǃnâ ra ûihâhâ.
16 Tā ǃnāsase ǂhanu-ai
î tā ǃnāsase gā-aikaisen.
Tare-i ǃaromats ra ǁî-aitsama hîkākāsen ǂgao.
17 Tā ǃnāsase ǂkhaba î tā gâ.
Tare-i ǃaromats sa ǁaeb aiǃâ nî ǁō ǂgao?
18 Nē ǀgam ǃkhâikhomra ǃkhōmâis ge a ǃgâi,
ǁnān Eloba ra ǃaoǃgân ǁîra hoara ǃnâ,
ǁguiǂams âna nî dīǀoaǀoa xui-ao.
19 Gā-aisib ge disi khoegu, ǃāsa ra ǂgaeǂguigu ǃgâ-ai
khoe-e ra gā-ai kai.
20 ǂHanu-ai khoe-i, ǃgâise ǀgui ra dī
tsî ǁore tama-i ge ǃhūbaib ai a ǀkhai.
21 Tā khoen ra mî xū-i hoa-e ǃgâ,
îts tā sa ǃgā-i ra ǃkhāǃkhā tsi ǀgausa ǁnâu;
22 aitsamats sats tsîna ǂan
mâtikō khoenats ge ǂgui ǃnāde ǃkhāǃkhā ǃkhaisa xuige.
23 Nēn hoana ta ge gā-aisib ǀkha ǃâitsâ tsî
“A ta gā-ai re” ti ge mî,
xawes ge ǁîsa tita xu ge ǃnū i.
24 ǁNān hîa hân ge sada nî ǁnâuǃās ǃgâ-ai hâ
tsî kaise a ǃgam.
Khoe-e xare nēsa a ǁnâuǃā ǁkhā?
25 Tita ge ti ǂgaoba gā-aisibab nî ǂan tsî ôaǃnâse ge ǃammâi,
mîǃā tsîb ǂkhabasib, gâresib di gâsib diba nî ǂanse.
26 Tsî ta ge ǁōb xa a au xū-e ge mû
tarekhoes, ǂgaob âs ǁnoa
tsî a ǂhaosa.
ǂGaob âs ge a ǃkhōsis di khede.
Ob ge Elob aiǃâ a ǃgâi khoeba ǁîsa xu ra ǁhâ
xaweb ge ǁore-aoba ǁîs ǃkhōsis ǃnâ ra hâ.
27 Nēn ge ǂkhariǂkharibese ta ge ǂanǂui tsî ǀaro xūna, tib ge Aoǁnâ-aoba ra mî.
28 ǀNî ǃereamna ta ge gere ôa
xawe ta ge ǁîna hō tama ge i.
ǀOadisi aorekhoegu ǁaegu ta ge ǀgui khoeba ge hō,
xawe tarekhoedi xa ta ge ǀguis tsîna hō tama hâ.
29 Nēn ge hoaraga xūn ǁkhāǁkhāsen ta gena:
Elob ge khoesiba ǂhanu-ai tsî ama-aise ge kuru.
Thoughts about Life
1 A good reputation is better than expensive perfume; and the day you die is better than the day you are born.
2 It is better to go to a home where there is mourning than to one where there is a party, because the living should always remind themselves that death is waiting for us all.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter; it may sadden your face, but it sharpens your understanding.
4 Someone who is always thinking about happiness is a fool. A wise person thinks about death.
5 It is better to have wise people reprimand you than to have stupid people sing your praises.
6 When a fool laughs, it is like thorns crackling in a fire. It doesn't mean a thing.
7 You may be wise, but if you cheat someone, you are acting like a fool. If you take a bribe, you ruin your character.
8 The end of something is better than its beginning.
Patience is better than pride.
9 Keep your temper under control; it is foolish to harbor a grudge.
10 Never ask, “Oh, why were things so much better in the old days?” It's not an intelligent question.
11 Everyone who lives ought to be wise; it is as good as receiving an inheritance 12 and will give you as much security as money can. Wisdom keeps you safe—this is the advantage of knowledge.
13 Think about what God has done. How can anyone straighten out what God has made crooked? 14 When things are going well for you, be glad, and when trouble comes, just remember: God sends both happiness and trouble; you never know what is going to happen next.
15 My life has been useless, but in it I have seen everything. Some good people may die while others live on, even though they are evil. 16 So don't be too good or too wise—why kill yourself? 17 But don't be too wicked or too foolish, either—why die before you have to? 18 Avoid both extremes. If you have reverence for God, you will be successful anyway.
19 Wisdom does more for a person than ten rulers can do for a city.
20 There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake.
21 Don't pay attention to everything people say—you may hear your servant insulting you, 22 and you know yourself that you have insulted other people many times.
23 I used my wisdom to test all of this. I was determined to be wise, but it was beyond me. 24 How can anyone discover what life means? It is too deep for us, too hard to understand. 25 But I devoted myself to knowledge and study; I was determined to find wisdom and the answers to my questions, and to learn how wicked and foolish stupidity is.
26 I found something more bitter than death—the woman who is like a trap. The love she offers you will catch you like a net, and her arms around you will hold you like a chain. A man who pleases God can get away, but she will catch the sinner. 27 Yes, said the Philosopher, I found this out little by little while I was looking for answers. 28 I have looked for other answers but have found none. I found one man in a thousand that I could respect, but not one woman. 29 This is all that I have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.
