Mosakoli 1
1 Maloba ya Moteyi, mwana mobali ya Davidi, mokonzi na Yelusalemi.
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 Pamba na pamba, elobi Moteyi; pamba na pamba, nyonso ezali kaka pamba.
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 Moto azwaka litomba nini penza na misala nyonso oyo amonelaka pasi na se ya moyi?
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 Eleko moko eleki, mpe eleko mosusu eyei, kasi mabele etikalaka kaka seko na seko.
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 Moyi ebimaka mpe elalaka, bongo ezongaka na lombangu na esika oyo ebimelaka.
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
6 Mopepe ekeyi na ngambo ya sude, ebaluki na ngambo ya nor, ebaluki-baluki mpe ekeyi lisusu, ezongelaka kaka banzela wana.
The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
7 Mayi nyonso ekendaka na ebale monene, kasi ebale monene etondaka te; mpe mayi yango ezongaka lisusu epai ewutaka.
Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
8 Makambo nyonso elembisaka, moto oyo akoki kobeta na yango tembe azali te; nzokande, miso etondaka te na kotala, mpe matoyi etondaka te na koyoka.
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 Oyo ezalaki ekozala lisusu, oyo esalemaki ekosalema lisusu: likambo ya sika ezalaka te na se ya moyi.
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
10 Boni, ezali penza na likambo moko oyo moto akoki koloba na tina yango: « Tala, oyo penza ezali likambo ya sika? » Te, esila komizalela kala, kala penza liboso ya eleko na biso.
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 Ndenge bato bayebaka lisusu bato ya kala te, ndenge wana mpe bato oyo bakoya sima bakotikala koyeba bango te na bato oyo bakolanda.
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 Ngai, Moteyi, nazalaki mokonzi ya Isalaele, na Yelusalemi.
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from Jerusalem.
13 Namipesaki mpo na koyekola mpe kososola na nzela ya bwanya, makambo nyonso oyo esalemaka na se ya moyi. Nzokande, ezali na yango kaka mosala ya mpunda oyo Nzambe apesa na bana ya bato mpo ete bamonela yango pasi!
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 Namona misala nyonso oyo esalemaka na se ya moyi; nyonso wana ezali kaka pamba, ezali lokola moto azali kolanda mopepe.
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 Bakoki te kosembola eloko oyo etengama, bakoki mpe te kotanga eloko oyo ezali te.
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
16 Namilobelaki: « Tala, nakolisi mpe nabakisi bwanya mingi koleka moto nyonso oyo azalaki liboso na ngai, na Yelusalemi. » Motema na ngai etondaki penza na bwanya mpe na boyebi ebele.
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 Namipesaki makasi mpo na koyekola bwanya mpe, lisusu, makambo ya bozoba mpe ya liboma; kasi nasosolaki ete yango mpe ezali kaka lokola moto azali kolanda mopepe.
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 Pamba te kozala na bwanya mingi ememelaka moto pasi, mpe kozala na mayele mingi etungisaka motema.
For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
