Biribiara Yɛ Adehuhuw
1Eyinom ne nsɛm a Ɔsɛnkafo, ɔhene Dawid babarima a ɔyɛ ɔhene wɔ Yerusalem se:
2“Ahuhude! Ahuhude!”
Ɔsɛnkafo no na ose.
“Ahuhude mu ahuhude
Biribiara yɛ ahuhude.”
3Dɛn na onipa nya fi nʼadwumayɛ nyinaa mu,
nea okum ne ho yɛ no owia so no?
4Awo ntoatoaso ba na ɛkɔ,
nanso asase tim hɔ daa.
5Owia pue na owia kɔtɔ,
na ɛyɛ ntɛm kɔ nea epue fii hɔ no.
6Mframa bɔ kɔ anafo fam
na ɛdan hwɛ atifi fam;
ekyinkyin kɔ baabiara,
na ɛsan bɔ fa ne kwan so.
7Nsubɔnten nyinaa sen kogu po mu,
nanso po nyɛ ma da.
Faako a nsubɔnten no fi no
hɔ na wɔsan kɔ bio.
8Biribiara yɛ ɔbrɛ
a ɛboro nea obi bɛka so.
Ani nhwɛ ade nwie da
na aso nso ntie nsɛm mma ɛnyɛ mma da.
9Nea aba no bɛba bio,
nea wɔayɛ no, wɔbɛyɛ bio;
ade foforo biara nni owia yi ase.
10Biribi wɔ hɔ a wobetumi aka wɔ ho se:
“Hwɛ! eyi yɛ ade foforo” ana?
Ɛwɔ hɔ dedaw fi tete nteredee;
ɛwɔ hɔ ansa na wɔwoo yɛn.
11Wɔnkae tetefo no,
na wɔn a wonnya nnwoo wɔn no nso,
wɔn a wobedi wɔn akyi no
renkae wɔn.
Nimdeɛ Yɛ Ahuhude
12Me, Ɔsɛnkafo, na meyɛ Israelhene wɔ Yerusalem. 13Mituu me ho sii hɔ sɛ mede nimdeɛ besua ayɛ nhwehwɛmu wɔ biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase ho. Adesoa duruduru a Onyankopɔn de ato adesamma so! 14Mahu biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase; ne nyinaa nka hwee, ɛte sɛnea obi tu mmirika taa mframa.
15Nea akyea no wontumi nteɛ;
na nea enni hɔ no wontumi nkan.
16Mekaa wɔ me tirim se, “Hwɛ, manyin na manya nimdeɛ bebree asen obiara a watena Yerusalem ahengua so ansa na merebedi ade. Manya nhumu ne nimdeɛ mu osuahu.” 17Afei meyɛɛ mʼadwene sɛ mɛhwehwɛ na mate nimdeɛ, ne adammɔsɛm ne nkwaseasɛm ase. Nanso mihuu sɛ eyi nso te sɛnea obi tu mmirika taa mframa.
18Nimdeɛ bebree de awerɛhow na ɛba;
nyansa dɔɔso a, awerɛhowdi dɔɔso.
Everything Is Meaningless
1The words of the Teacher,1:1 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 2 and 12 son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
4Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.
Wisdom Is Meaningless
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! 14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
15What is crooked cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.
16I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” 17Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
