Biribiara Yɛ Adehuhuo
1Yeinom ne nsɛm a Ɔsɛnkafoɔ, ɔhene Dawid babarima a ɔyɛ ɔhene wɔ Yerusalem seɛ:
2“Ahuhudeɛ! Ahuhudeɛ!”
Ɔsɛnkafoɔ no na ɔseɛ.
“Ahuhudeɛ mu ahuhudeɛ
Biribiara yɛ ahuhudeɛ.”
3Ɛdeɛn na onipa nya firi nʼadwumayɛ nyinaa mu?
Deɛn na ɔnya firi deɛ enti ɔkum ne ho yɛ no awia so no?
4Awoɔ ntoatoasoɔ ba na ɛkɔ,
nanso asase tim hɔ daa.
5Owia pue na owia kɔtɔ,
na ɛyɛ ntɛm kɔ deɛ ɛpue firiiɛ hɔ.
6Mframa bɔ kɔ anafoɔ fam
na ɛdane hwɛ atifi fam;
ɛkyinkyini kɔ baabiara
na ɛsane bɔ fa ne kwan so.
7Nsubɔntene nyinaa tene kɔgu ɛpo mu,
nanso ɛpo nyɛ ma da.
Baabi a nsubɔntene no firie no
ɛhɔ na wɔsane kɔ bio.
8Biribiara yɛ ɔbrɛ
a ɛboro deɛ obi bɛka soɔ.
Ani nhwɛ adeɛ nwie da
na aso nso ntie nsɛm mma ɛmmu so da.
9Deɛ aba no bɛba bio,
deɛ wɔayɛ no, wɔbɛyɛ bio;
adeɛ foforɔ biara nni owia yi ase.
10Biribi wɔ hɔ a wɔbɛtumi aka wɔ ho sɛ:
“Hwɛ! Yei yɛ ade foforɔ” anaa?
Ɛwɔ hɔ dada firi tete nteredee;
ɛwɔ hɔ ansa na wɔwoo yɛn.
11Wɔnnkae tetefoɔ no,
na wɔn a wɔnnya nnwoo wɔn no nso
wɔn a wɔbɛdi wɔn akyi no
renkae wɔn.
Nimdeɛ Yɛ Ahuhudeɛ
12Me, Ɔsɛnkafoɔ, na meyɛ Israelhene wɔ Yerusalem. 13Metuu me ho sii hɔ sɛ mede nimdeɛ bɛsua ayɛ nhwehwɛmu wɔ biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase ho. Adesoa duruduru bɛn na Onyankopɔn de ato adasamma soɔ yi! 14Mahunu biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase; ne nyinaa nka hwee, ɛte sɛ deɛ obi de mmirika taa mframa.
15Deɛ akyea no, wɔntumi ntene;
na deɛ ɛnni hɔ no, wɔntumi nkan.
16Mekaa wɔ me ho sɛ, “Hwɛ, manyini na manya nimdeɛ bebree asene obiara a watena Yerusalem ahennwa so ansa na merebɛdi adeɛ. Manya nhunumu ne nimdeɛ mu osuahunu.” 17Afei, meyɛɛ mʼadwene sɛ mɛhwehwɛ na mate nimdeɛ ase, ɛne abɔdamsɛm ne nkwaseasɛm. Nanso mehunuu sɛ yei nso te sɛ deɛ obi di mmirika taa mframa.
18Nimdeɛ bebree de awerɛhoɔ na ɛba;
nyansa bebree de ahohiahia bebree ba.
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 of Jerusalem:
2‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’
says the Teacher.
‘Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.’
3What do people gain from all their labours
at which they toil under the sun?
4Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains for ever.
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.
