Eklezyas 1
1 Pawòl predikatè a, fis a David la, Wa Jérusalem.
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 “Vanite sou vanite”, predikatè la di: “Vanite sou vanite! Tout se vanite.”
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 Ki avantaj yon nonm gen nan tout travay ke li fè anba solèy la?
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 Yon jenerasyon ale e yon jenerasyon vini; men tè a rete pou tout tan.
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 Anplis, solèy la leve e solèy la kouche; konsa li kouri al jwenn plas li pou li leve la ankò.
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
6 Van an soufle vè sid, vire kote nò e kontinye vire fè wonn li. Sou menm kous vire won an, li retounen ankò.
The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
7 Tout rivyè yo desann vè lanmè a; sepandan li pa vin plen. Nan plas kote rivyè yo koule a, se la yo koule ankò.
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 sa yo fatigan; lòm pa kapab menm eksplike sa. Zye pa satisfè ak wè, ni zòrèy ak 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 ye, se sa ki va ye e sa ki te konn fèt, se sa k ap fèt. Konsa, nanpwen anyen ki nèf anba syèl la.
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
10 Èske gen yon bagay sou sila a nou ta kab di: “Men sa a nèf”? Deja, li te la depi syèk ki te ekoule avan nou yo.
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 Nanpwen memwa a ansyen bagay yo, ni anplis a sila k ap vini pita, pami sila ki vini apre yo.
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, predikatè a, te sèvi kon wa sou Israël nan Jérusalem.
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
13 Mwen te konsantre tout refleksyon mwen pou chache e egzamine sou sajès tout sa ki te konn fèt anba syèl la. Sa se yon gwo tach lou ke Bondye te bay fis a lòm yo pou l ta aflije yo.
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 te wè tout zèv ki te fèt anba solèy la e, men vwala, tout se vanite e chache kouri dèyè van.
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 Sa ki kwochi p ap ka drese e sa ki manke p ap ka konte.
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
16 Mwen te di a pwòp tèt mwen: “Men gade, mwen te fè sajès vin grandi e ogmante plis pase tout lòt wa ki te sou Jérusalem avan mwen yo. Wi, panse mwen te obsève anpil richès ak sajès avèk 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 dirije panse mwen pou konnen sajès e pou konnen sa ki ensanse ak sa ki foli nèt. Konsa, mwen te vin wè ke sa osi se chache kouri dèyè van.
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 nan anpil sajès gen anpil tristès, e nan anpil konesans gen anpil doulè.
For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
