Ecclesiastes 1
1 Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
Dubbii lallabaa ilma Daawit, isa Yerusaalem keessaatti mootii taʼe sanaa:
2 “Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
Lallabichi, “Faayidaa hin qabu! Faayidaa hin qabu! Guutumaan guutuutti faayidaa hin qabu! Wanni hundinuu faayidaa hin qabu” jedha.
3 What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
Namni hojii isaa kan aduudhaa gaditti itti dadhabu hunda keessaa, buʼaa maalii argata?
4 People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
Dhaloonni ni dhufa; dhaloonni ni darba; lafti garuu bara baraan jiraatti.
5 The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
Biiftuun ni baati; biiftuun ni lixxi; gara baate sanatti deebiʼuufis ni ariifatti.
6 The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
Bubbeen gara kibbaatti bubbisa; gara kaabaattis ni deebiʼa; innis naannaʼuma naannaʼee deema; karaa isaa irras deddeebiʼa.
7 Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
Lagni hundi galaanatti yaaʼa; galaanni garuu hin guutu. Lageen garuma dhufanitti deebiʼanii yaaʼu.
8 Everything just keeps on going. You can't say all there is to say. You can't see all there is to see. You can't hear all there is to hear.
Wanni hundinuu hamma namni tokko dubbachuu dandaʼu caalaa dadhabsiisaa dha. Iji argee hin quufu; yookaan gurri dhagaʼee hin guutu.
9 Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
Wanni duraan ture ammas ni taʼa; wanni duraan hojjetame ammas ni hojjetama; aduudhaa gaditti wanni haaraan tokko iyyuu hin jiru.
10 There's nothing anyone can point to and say, “Look! Here's something new.” In fact it's been around for ages, long before our time.
Wanni namni tokko, “Ilaa! Wanni kun haaraa dha” jechuu dandaʼu kam iyyuu jiraa? Wanni kun duraanuu bara dheeraan dura as ture; bara keenyaan dura iyyuu asuma ture.
11 The problem is we don't remember people from the past, and people in the future won't remember those who came before them.
Namoonni bara durii hin yaadataman; kanneen dhufuuf jiranis warra isaan duubaan dhufaniin hin yaadataman.
12 I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
Ani Lallabaan, Yerusaalem keessatti mootii Israaʼelin ture.
13 I decided to focus my mind to explore, using wisdom, everything that happens here on earth. This is a tough assignment that God has given people to keep them busy!
Ani waan samii gaditti hojjetame hunda ogummaadhaan quʼadhee qoradhee bira gaʼuuf of kenneen ture. Waaqni baʼaa ulfaataa akkamii nama irra kaaʼe!
14 I examined everything people do here on earth, and discovered that it's all so temporary—trying to understand it is like trying to pin down the wind!
Ani waan aduudhaa gaditti hojjetame hunda argeera; hundi isaanii iyyuu faayidaa hin qaban; kun akkuma nama bubbee ariʼuu ti.
15 You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
Wanni jalʼifame tokko deebiʼee hin qajeelfamu; wanni hin jirres lakkaaʼamuu hin dandaʼu.
16 I thought to myself, “I've become very wise, wiser than all the kings of Jerusalem before me. My mind has gained a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.”
Anis akkana jedheen yaade; “Kunoo, ani nama anaan dura Yerusaalemin bulchaa ture kam iyyuu caalaa guddadhee ogummaas dabaladheera; ani muuxannoo ogummaatii fi beekumsaa guddaa argadheera.”
17 So I decided to use my mind to learn everything about wisdom, and madness and foolishness as well. But I found out that this is as hard as trying to catch hold of the wind.
Kanaafuu ani ogummaa, maraatummaa fi gowwummaa hubachuufin of kenne; garuu ani akka wanni kunis bubbee ariʼuu taʼe nan baradhe.
18 For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
Ogummaa guddaa keessa gadda baayʼeetu jiraatii; akkuma beekumsi dabalamuun gaddis dabalama.
