Nyagblɔla 1
1 Esiawoe nye Nyagblɔla Solomo, Fia David si nɔ Yerusalem la ƒe viŋutsu ƒe nyawo:
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 Le nye nugɔmesese nu la, viɖe aɖeke mele naneke ŋu o; nu sia nu nye tofloko ko.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 Viɖe kae ame kpɔna tso agbagba siwo katã wòdzena le ɣea te la me?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 Dzidzime ɖeka nu va yina eye bubu vana, ke anyigba ya ganɔa anyi nenema ko tegbee.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 Ɣe hã dzena eye wòɖoa to; eɖea abla yia afi si wòdze tso.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 Ya ƒona ɖoa ta dziehe eye wòtrɔna yia anyiehe. Etrɔna toa eme madzudzɔmadzudzɔe eye wògatrɔna yia afi si wòdze egɔme tsoe.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 Tɔsisiwo katã sina yia atsiaƒu me, ke atsiaƒu la meyɔna gbeɖe o. Tsi la gatrɔna yia tɔsisiawo me eye wògatsana yia atsiaƒu la me.
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.
8 Nuwo katã le dagbadagba dzi eye amegbetɔ mate ŋu aƒo nu le eŋu wòade edeƒe o: nukpɔkpɔ meɖia kɔ na ŋku o abe ale si nyasese meɖia ƒo na to o ene.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 Nu siwo nɔ anyi va yi la, woawo ke koe agatrɔ ava eye nu siwo wowɔ kpɔ la, woawo ke ko woagawɔ. Nu yeye aɖeke mele ɣe la te o.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Nane koŋ li si ŋu woate ŋu agblɔ le be, “Kpɔ ɖa, nu sia ya nye nu yeye” mahã? Enɔ anyi kpɔ le blema ke, do ŋgɔ na mí.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 Womegaɖoa ŋku blematɔwo dzi o; nenema ke ame siwo woava dzi la, maɖo ŋku nu siwo dzɔ do ŋgɔ na woƒe dzidzi dzi o.
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12 Nye, Nyagblɔla, meɖu fia ɖe Israel dzi le Yerusalem.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 Medze agbagba be manya nu tso nu siwo katã wowɔna le ɣea te la ŋu. Medze sii be dzidzɔkpɔkpɔ aɖeke mele nu si Mawu ɖo na amegbetɔ be wòawɔ la me o.
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!
14 Mekpɔ dɔ siwo katã wowɔna le ɣea te eye kpɔ ɖa, esiawo katã nye tofloko kple dagbadagba ɖe yame ko.
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.
15 Nu si glɔ̃ da ɖi la, womagate ŋu adzɔe o eye nu si meli o la, womate ŋu axlẽe o.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 Megblɔ le nye dzi me be, “Kpɔ ɖa, menya nu wu ame siwo katã ɖu fia le Yerusalem do ŋgɔ nam. Ɛ̃, nuteƒekpɔkpɔ, nunya kple gɔmesese yɔ nye dzi me fũu wu wo.”
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.”
17 Meɖo ta me be madze si nunya, eye manya nu tso tsukuku kple bometsitsi ŋu, ke meva dze sii be esiawo katã nye dagbadagba dzodzro ɖe yame ko;
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18 elabena nuxaxa sɔ gbɔ ɖe nunya geɖe me, eye ame sia ame si dzia sidzedze ɖe edzi la, dzia nuxaxa ɖe edzi.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
