Nyagblɔla 1
1 Esiawoe nye Nyagblɔla Solomo, Fia David si nɔ Yerusalem la ƒe viŋutsu ƒe nyawo:
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 Le nye nugɔmesese nu la, viɖe aɖeke mele naneke ŋu o; nu sia nu nye tofloko ko.
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 Viɖe kae ame kpɔna tso agbagba siwo katã wòdzena le ɣea te la me?
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 Dzidzime ɖeka nu va yina eye bubu vana, ke anyigba ya ganɔa anyi nenema ko tegbee.
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 Ɣe hã dzena eye wòɖoa to; eɖea abla yia afi si wòdze tso.
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
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 south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
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.
Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
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.
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.
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.
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
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.
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.
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.
The problem is we don't remember people from the past, and people in the future won't remember those who came before them.
12 Nye, Nyagblɔla, meɖu fia ɖe Israel dzi le Yerusalem.
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from 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.
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!
14 Mekpɔ dɔ siwo katã wowɔna le ɣea te eye kpɔ ɖa, esiawo katã nye tofloko kple dagbadagba ɖe yame ko.
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!
15 Nu si glɔ̃ da ɖi la, womagate ŋu adzɔe o eye nu si meli o la, womate ŋu axlẽe o.
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
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 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.”
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 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.
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 great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
