Eklezyas 1
1 Men pawòl pitit David la, filozòf la, ki te wa nan lavil Jerizalèm.
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 Nan lavi a anyen pa vo anyen. Se sa filozòf la di. Non, anyen pa vo anyen nan lavi a. Tout bagay gen pou pase.
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 Yon moun te mèt pase tout lavi l' ap travay di, ap bay kò l' traka sou latè beni, kisa sa rapòte l'?
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 Moun fèt, moun mouri. Men sa pa deranje anyen sou latè.
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 Solèy leve, solèy kouche. L'ap kouri tounen kote pou l' leve a ankò.
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
6 Van an soufle soti nan nò desann nan sid. Apre sa, li vire soti nan sid moute nan nò. Konsa, l'ap vire tounen nan menm chemen an san rete.
The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
7 Tout dlo larivyè desann nan lanmè, men lanmè pa janm plen. Dlo a tounen kote larivyè a te soti a. Konsa, larivyè a pa janm sispann koule.
Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
8 Tout bagay ap vire won san rete. Pa gen pawòl ki ka di jan sa ye. Je pa janm bouke wè. Zòrèy pa janm bouke tande.
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 Sa ki te rive anvan, se sa ki va rive apre. Sa yo te fè anvan an, se sa y'ap toujou fè. Pa gen anyen ki chanje sou latè beni.
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
10 Menm lè nou di: Gade! Men yon bagay ki nèf, bagay la te la deja depi nan tan lontan anvan nou te fèt.
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 Pesonn pa chonje sa ki te pase nan tan lontan. Konsa tou, pita, pesonn p'ap chonje sa k'ap pase koulye a.
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 Mwen menm, nèg fò, mwen te wa peyi Izrayèl nan lavil Jerizalèm.
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
13 Mwen te soti pou m' te fouye, pou m' te egzaminen tou sa k'ap fèt sou latè nan tout ti detay yo. Travay Bondye bay moun fè sou latè a pa manke rèd.
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 Mwen wè tou sa k'ap fèt sou latè. Anyen pa vo anyen! Anyen pa rapòte anyen.
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 Ou pa ka drese sa ki fin kwochi. Ou pa ka konte sa ou pa genyen.
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
16 Mwen di nan kè mwen: Mwen vin grannèg. Mwen vin pi fò pase tout wa ki t'ap gouvènen lavil Jerizalèm anvan m' yo. Mwen konnen sa ki rele gen konprann ak konesans.
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 Mwen te soti pou m' te konnen diferans ki genyen ant moun ki gen konprann ak moun egare, ant moun ki gen konesans ak moun sòt. Men, la ankò, mwen wè anyen pa rapòte anyen.
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 Paske plis ou gen konprann, se plis ou nan tèt chaje. Plis ou konnen, se plis ou soufri.
For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
