Ecclesiastes 1
1 Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
Eyinom ne nsɛm a Ɔsɛnkafo, ɔhene Dawid babarima a ɔyɛ ɔhene wɔ Yerusalem se:
2 “Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
“Ahuhude! Ahuhude!” Ɔsɛnkafo no na ose. “Ahuhude mu ahuhude Biribiara yɛ ahuhude.”
3 What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
Dɛn na onipa nya fi nʼadwumayɛ nyinaa mu, nea okum ne ho yɛ no owia so no?
4 People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
Awo ntoatoaso ba na ɛkɔ, nanso asase tim hɔ daa.
5 The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
Owia pue na owia kɔtɔ, na ɛyɛ ntɛm kɔ nea epue fii hɔ no.
6 The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
Mframa bɔ kɔ anafo fam na ɛdan hwɛ atifi fam; ekyinkyin kɔ baabiara, na ɛsan bɔ fa ne kwan so.
7 Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
Nsubɔnten nyinaa sen kogu po mu, nanso po nyɛ ma da. Faako a nsubɔnten no fi no hɔ na wɔsan kɔ bio.
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.
Biribiara yɛ ɔbrɛ a ɛboro nea obi bɛka so. Ani nhwɛ ade nwie da na aso nso ntie nsɛm mma ɛnyɛ mma da.
9 Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
Nea aba no bɛba bio, nea wɔayɛ no, wɔbɛyɛ bio; ade foforo biara nni owia yi ase.
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.
Biribi 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.
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.
Wɔnkae tetefo no, na wɔn a wonnya nnwoo wɔn no nso, wɔn a wobedi wɔn akyi no renkae wɔn.
12 I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
Me, Ɔsɛnkafo, na meyɛ Israelhene wɔ Yerusalem.
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!
Mituu 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!
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!
Mahu biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase; ne nyinaa nka hwee, ɛte sɛnea obi tu mmirika taa mframa.
15 You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
Nea akyea no wontumi nteɛ; na nea enni hɔ no wontumi nkan.
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.”
Mekaa 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.”
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.
Afei meyɛɛ mʼadwene sɛ mɛhwehwɛ na mate nimdeɛ, ne adammɔsɛm ne nkwaseasɛm ase. Nanso mihuu sɛ eyi nso te sɛnea obi tu mmirika taa mframa.
18 For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
Nimdeɛ bebree de awerɛhow na ɛba; nyansa dɔɔso a, awerɛhowdi dɔɔso.
