Ecclesiastes 1
1 These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
Ko nga kupu a te Kaikauwhau, ara a te tama a Rawiri, i kingi nei ki Hiruharama.
2 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
He tino horihori rawa, e ai ta te Kaikauwhau, he tino horihori rawa; he horihori katoa.
3 What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
He aha te pai ki te tangata o tona mauiui katoa e mauiui ai ia i raro i te ra?
4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
Ko tenei whakatupuranga e haere atu ana, ko tera whakatupuranga e haere mai ana: ko te whenua ia, mau tonu.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
E whiti ana hoki te ra, e heke atu ana te ra, hohoro tonu atu ki tona wahi whiti mai ai.
6 The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
E anga ana te hau ki te tonga, na ka taka ki te raki; he hanga takataka tonu tana i tona ara, a ka hoki mai ano te hau ki ona takatakanga.
7 All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
E rere ana nga awa katoa ki te moana, heoi kahore e ki te moana: ko te wahi i rere mai ai nga awa, ka hoki atu ano ratou ki reira.
8 All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
Mauiui rawa nga mea katoa, e kore e taea e te tangata te korero: e kore te kanohi e ngata i te matakaitaki, e kore te taringa e ki i te whakarongo.
9 What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
Ko to mua mea koia ano hei mea aianei; a ko te mea i mahia i mua ka mahia ano aianei; kahore hoki he mea hou i raro i te ra.
10 Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
Tera ano ranei he mea e ki ai tetahi, Titiro, he mea hou tenei? He mea ia no nga wa o mua, no era i mua atu i a tatou.
11 There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
Kahore he mahara ki nga whakatupuranga o mua; kahore hoki e maharatia nga whakatupuranga e haere mai a muri nei e te hunga o muri atu.
12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
Ko ahau, ko te Kaikauwhau, te kingi o Iharaira i Hiruharama.
13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
Na ka whakaangahia e ahau toku ngakau ki te whakaaro nui hei rapu, hei kimi i nga mea katoa e mahia ana i raro i te rangi: na te Atua tenei whakararuraru kino i homai ki nga tama a te tangata hei whakararu i a ratou.
14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
Kua kite ahau i nga mea katoa e mahia ana i raro i te ra. Nana, he horihori katoa, he whai hoki i te hau.
15 What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
Ko te mea piko e kore e taea te whakahangai: ko te mea koha e kore e taea te tatau.
16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
I korerorero ahau ki toku ngakau, i mea, Nana, kua whiwhi rawa ahau i te whakaaro nui ki runga ake i o te hunga katoa i mua atu i ahau i Hiruharama: ae ra, he maha nga mea kua kitea e toku ngakau o te whakaaro nui, o te matauranga.
17 So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
Na ka whakaangahia e ahau toku ngakau kia mohio ki te whakaaro nui, kia mohio ki te haurangi, ki te wairangi: a kua kite ahau he whai ano hoki tenei i te hau.
18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
Ma te nui hoki o te whakaaro ka nui ai te pouri: a ko te tangata e whakaneke ake ana i te matauranga e whakaneke ake ana i te mamae.
