Ecclesiastes 1
1 Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
Yeinom ne nsɛm a Ɔsɛnkafoɔ, ɔhene Dawid babarima a ɔyɛ ɔhene wɔ Yerusalem seɛ:
2 “Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
“Ahuhudeɛ! Ahuhudeɛ!” Ɔsɛnkafoɔ no na ɔseɛ. “Ahuhudeɛ mu ahuhudeɛ Biribiara yɛ ahuhudeɛ.”
3 What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
Ɛdeɛn na onipa nya firi nʼadwumayɛ nyinaa mu? Deɛn na ɔnya firi deɛ enti ɔkum ne ho yɛ no awia so no?
4 People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
Awoɔ ntoatoasoɔ 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 deɛ ɛpue firiiɛ hɔ.
6 The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
Mframa bɔ kɔ anafoɔ fam na ɛdane hwɛ atifi fam; ɛkyinkyini kɔ baabiara na ɛsane 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.
Nsubɔntene nyinaa tene kɔgu ɛpo mu, nanso ɛpo nyɛ ma da. Baabi a nsubɔntene no firie no ɛhɔ na wɔsane 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 deɛ obi bɛka soɔ. Ani nhwɛ adeɛ nwie da na aso nso ntie nsɛm mma ɛmmu so da.
9 Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
Deɛ aba no bɛba bio, deɛ wɔayɛ no, wɔbɛyɛ bio; adeɛ foforɔ 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 wɔbɛtumi aka wɔ ho sɛ: “Hwɛ! Yei yɛ ade foforɔ” anaa? Ɛwɔ hɔ dada firi 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.
Wɔnnkae tetefoɔ no, na wɔn a wɔnnya nnwoo wɔn no nso wɔn a wɔbɛdi wɔn akyi no renkae wɔn.
12 I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
Me, Ɔsɛnkafoɔ, 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!
Metuu 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!
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!
Mahunu biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase; ne nyinaa nka hwee, ɛte sɛ deɛ obi de mmirika taa mframa.
15 You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
Deɛ akyea no, wɔntumi ntene; na deɛ ɛnni hɔ no, wɔntumi 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 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.”
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 ase, ɛne abɔdamsɛm ne nkwaseasɛm. Nanso mehunuu sɛ yei nso te sɛ deɛ obi di mmirika taa mframa.
18 For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
Nimdeɛ bebree de awerɛhoɔ na ɛba; nyansa bebree de ahohiahia bebree ba.
