A Common Destiny for All
1So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. 2All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad,9:2 Septuagint (Aquila), Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew does not have and the bad. the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
As it is with the good,
so with the sinful;
as it is with those who take oaths,
so with those who are afraid to take them.
3This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. 4Anyone who is among the living has hope9:4 Or What then is to be chosen? With all who live, there is hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
5For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing;
they have no further reward,
and even their name is forgotten.
6Their love, their hate
and their jealousy have long since vanished;
never again will they have a part
in anything that happens under the sun.
7Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. 10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
11I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.
12Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:
As fish are caught in a cruel net,
or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times
that fall unexpectedly upon them.
Wisdom Better Than Folly
13I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
17The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.
Nkrabea A Ɛwɔ Hɔ Ma Yɛn Nyinaa
1Enti medwenee eyinom nyinaa ho na mihuu sɛ atreneefo, anyansafo ne nea wɔyɛ wɔ Onyankopɔn nsam; nanso obiara nnim sɛ ɔdɔ anaasɛ ɔtan retwɛn no. 2Wɔn nyinaa nkrabea yɛ baako; atreneefo ne amumɔyɛfo, nnipa pa ne nnipa bɔne, wɔn a wɔn ho tew ne wɔn a wɔn ho ntew, wɔn a wɔbɔ afɔre ne wɔn a wɔmmɔ.
Sɛnea ɛte ma onipa pa no,
saa ara na ɛte ma ɔbɔnefo;
sɛnea ɛte ma wɔn a wɔka ntam no,
saa ara na ɛte ma wɔn a wosuro sɛ wɔbɛka ntam.
3Eyi ne bɔne a ɛwɔ biribiara a esi wɔ owia yi ase mu. Nkrabeakoro ba yɛn nyinaa so. Nea ɛka ho ne sɛ, bɔne ahyɛ nnipa koma mu ma na adammɔ nsɛm wɔ wɔn koma mu, bere a wɔwɔ nkwa mu, na akyiri no wɔkɔka awufo ho. 4Obiara a ɔka ateasefo ho no wɔ anidaso, mpo ɔkraman a ɔte ase ye sen gyata a wawu.
5Na ateasefo nim sɛ wobewu,
nanso awufo nnim hwee;
wonni akatua biara bio,
na wɔn ho nkae mpo ayera.
6Wɔn dɔ, ɔtan
ne ninkunu atu ayera dedaw;
wonni hwee yɛ wɔ
biribiara a esi wɔ owia yi ase mu.
7Enti kɔ, fa anigye di wʼaduan, na fa ahosɛpɛw koma nom wo nsa, efisɛ saa bere yi na Onyankopɔn pene nea woyɛ so. 8Bere biara ma wʼadurade nyɛ fitaa na fa ngohuam sra wo tirim. 9Wo ne wo yere, munnye mo ani, ɔbea a wodɔ no no, wɔ nna a ɛnka hwee a Onyankopɔn de ama mo wɔ owia yi ase, mo ahuhude nna no. Efisɛ ɛyɛ mo kyɛfa wɔ mo nkwanna mu, ne mo adwumaden wɔ owia yi ase. 10Nea wo nsa bɛso so biara, fa wʼahoɔden nyinaa yɛ, efisɛ ɔda a wɔrekɔ mu no, adwumayɛ, adwennwene, nhumu ne nimdeɛ nni hɔ.
11Mihuu biribi foforo wɔ owia yi ase:
Mmirikakansi nni hɔ mma nea ne ho yɛ hare
anaasɛ ɔko nni hɔ mma ɔhoɔdenfo,
aduan mma onyansafo nkyɛn
anaasɛ ahonya nnkɔ nhumufo hɔ,
na adom nnkɔ nimdefo nkyɛn;
nanso bere ne akwannya wɔ hɔ ma wɔn nyinaa.
12Bio, onipa biara nnim dɔn ko a ne bere bɛso:
Sɛnea asau buma mpataa,
ne sɛnea afiri yi nnomaa no
saa ara na mmere bɔne to nnipa
wɔ bere a wɔn ani nni wɔn ho so.
Nimdeɛ Ye Sen Nkwaseasɛm
13Bio, mihuu saa nimdeɛ ho nhwɛso yi wɔ owia yi ase ma mʼani gyee ho yiye: 14Bere bi na kuropɔn ketewa bi wɔ hɔ a mu nnipa yɛ kakraa bi. Ɔhene bi a ɔwɔ tumi tow hyɛɛ kuropɔn yi so, otwaa ho hyiae na osisii mpie akɛse tiaa no. 15Na ohiani bi a onim nyansa wɔ kuropɔn no mu, na ɔnam ne nimdeɛ so gyee kuropɔn no sii hɔ. Nanso obiara ankae saa ohiani no. 16Enti mekae se, “Nimdeɛ ye sen ahoɔden.” Nanso wobuu ohiani no nimdeɛ no animtiaa, na obiara ntie nʼasɛm bio.
17Ɛsɛ sɛ wotie onyansafo nsɛm a ɔka no brɛoo no
na ɛnyɛ nkwaseafo sodifo nteɛteɛmu.
18Nimdeɛ ye sen akode,
nanso ɔdebɔneyɛni baako sɛe nnepa bebree.
