Eklezyas 1
1 Men pawòl pitit David la, filozòf la, ki te wa nan lavil Jerizalèm.
Words of a preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
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.
Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, vanity of vanities: the whole [is] vanity.
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 advantage [is] to man by all his labor that he labors at under the sun?
4 Moun fèt, moun mouri. Men sa pa deranje anyen sou latè.
A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth is standing for all time.
5 Solèy leve, solèy kouche. L'ap kouri tounen kote pou l' leve a ankò.
Also, the sun has risen, and the sun has gone in, and to its place panting it is rising there.
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.
Going to the south, and turning around to the north, turning around, turning around, the wind is going, and by its circuits the wind has returned.
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.
All the streams are going to the sea, and the sea is not full; to a place to where the streams are going, there they are turning back to go.
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.
All these things are wearying; a man is not able to speak, the eye is not satisfied by seeing, nor is the ear filled from hearing.
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.
What [is] that which has been? It [is] that which is, and what [is] that which has been done? It [is] that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.
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 is a thing of which [one] says: “See this, it [is] new!” Already it has been in the ages that were before us!
11 Pesonn pa chonje sa ki te pase nan tan lontan. Konsa tou, pita, pesonn p'ap chonje sa k'ap pase koulye a.
There is not a remembrance of former [generations]; and also of the latter that are, there is no remembrance of them with those that are at the last.
12 Mwen menm, nèg fò, mwen te wa peyi Izrayèl nan lavil Jerizalèm.
I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in 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.
And I have given my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that has been done under the heavens. It [is] a sad travail God has given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.
14 Mwen wè tou sa k'ap fèt sou latè. Anyen pa vo anyen! Anyen pa rapòte anyen.
I have seen all the works that have been done under the sun, and behold, the whole [is] vanity and distress of spirit!
15 Ou pa ka drese sa ki fin kwochi. Ou pa ka konte sa ou pa genyen.
A crooked thing [one] is not able to make straight, and a lacking thing is not able to be numbered.
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 spoke with my heart, saying, “I, behold, have magnified and added wisdom above everyone who has been before me at Jerusalem, and my heart has seen wisdom and knowledge abundantly.
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.
And I give my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I have known that even this [is] distress of spirit;
18 Paske plis ou gen konprann, se plis ou nan tèt chaje. Plis ou konnen, se plis ou soufri.
for in abundance of wisdom [is] abundance of sadness, and he who adds knowledge adds pain.”
