Ɔsɛnkafo 1
1 Eyinom ne nsɛm a Ɔsɛnkafo, ɔhene Dawid babarima a ɔyɛ ɔhene wɔ Yerusalem se:
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Ahuhude! Ahuhude!” Ɔsɛnkafo no na ose. “Ahuhude mu ahuhude Biribiara yɛ ahuhude.”
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 Dɛn na onipa nya fi nʼadwumayɛ nyinaa mu, nea okum ne ho yɛ no owia so no?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 Awo ntoatoaso ba na ɛkɔ, nanso asase tim hɔ daa.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 Owia pue na owia kɔtɔ, na ɛyɛ ntɛm kɔ nea epue fii hɔ no.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 Mframa bɔ kɔ anafo fam na ɛdan hwɛ atifi fam; ekyinkyin kɔ baabiara, na ɛsan bɔ fa ne kwan so.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 Nsubɔnten nyinaa sen kogu po mu, nanso po nyɛ ma da. Faako a nsubɔnten no fi no hɔ na wɔsan kɔ bio.
All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
8 Biribiara yɛ ɔbrɛ a ɛboro nea obi bɛka so. Ani nhwɛ ade nwie da na aso nso ntie nsɛm mma ɛnyɛ mma da.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 Nea aba no bɛba bio, nea wɔayɛ no, wɔbɛyɛ bio; ade foforo biara nni owia yi ase.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Biribi wɔ hɔ a wobetumi aka wɔ ho se: “Hwɛ! eyi yɛ ade foforo” ana? Ɛwɔ hɔ dedaw fi tete nteredee; ɛwɔ hɔ ansa na wɔwoo yɛn.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 Wɔnkae tetefo no, na wɔn a wonnya nnwoo wɔn no nso, wɔn a wobedi wɔn akyi no renkae wɔn.
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12 Me, Ɔsɛnkafo, na meyɛ Israelhene wɔ Yerusalem.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 Mituu me ho sii hɔ sɛ mede nimdeɛ besua ayɛ nhwehwɛmu wɔ biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase ho. Adesoa duruduru a Onyankopɔn de ato adesamma so!
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
14 Mahu biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase; ne nyinaa nka hwee, ɛte sɛnea obi tu mmirika taa mframa.
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15 Nea akyea no wontumi nteɛ; na nea enni hɔ no wontumi nkan.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 Mekaa wɔ me tirim se, “Hwɛ, manyin na manya nimdeɛ bebree asen obiara a watena Yerusalem ahengua so ansa na merebedi ade. Manya nhumu ne nimdeɛ mu osuahu.”
I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
17 Afei meyɛɛ mʼadwene sɛ mɛhwehwɛ na mate nimdeɛ, ne adammɔsɛm ne nkwaseasɛm ase. Nanso mihuu sɛ eyi nso te sɛnea obi tu mmirika taa mframa.
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18 Nimdeɛ bebree de awerɛhow na ɛba; nyansa dɔɔso a, awerɛhowdi dɔɔso.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
