Ɔsɛnkafo 2
1 Mekaa wɔ me koma mu se, “Afei bra, mede anigye bɛsɔ wo ahwɛ na yɛahu nea eye.” Nanso ankosi hwee.
[Then] I said to myself, “Okay, I will try to do everything that I enjoy. I will find out whether doing what I enjoy can truly enable me to be happy.” But I found out that doing that was also useless/senseless.
2 Mekae se, “Ɔserew yɛ nkwaseade. Na dɛn na anigye tumi yɛ?”
[So] I said [to myself], “It is foolish to laugh [all the time], and continually doing what I enjoy does not seem to bring any lasting benefit.”
3 Mepɛɛ sɛ mihu nea eye pa ara ma yɛn wɔ bere tiaa a yɛwɔ wɔ asase yi so no. Enti meyɛɛ mʼadwene sɛ mede nsa bɛsɛpɛw me ho na mahwehwɛ, ahu nkwaseasɛm nkyerɛase, a na nyansa da so bɔ mʼankasa mʼadwene ho ban.
[So], after thinking a lot about it, I decided to (cheer myself/cause myself to be happy) by drinking [a lot of] wine. [So] while I was still trying to be wise, I decided to do things that [many] people do to be happy during the short time that they are alive on the earth.
4 Mede me nsa hyɛɛ nnwuma akɛse ase; misisii adan yɛɛ bobe nturo.
I did great things: I [caused] houses to be built for myself and vineyards to be planted.
5 Meyɛɛ nturo ne ahomegyebea na miduaduaa nnuaba ahorow bebree wɔ mu.
I [told my workers] to make gardens and parks. [Then] I [told them to] fill the gardens with many kinds of fruit trees.
6 Misisii nsukorae a mɛtwe nsu afi mu, de agugu nnua a ɛrenyin no so.
I [told them to] build reservoirs to store water to irrigate the fruit trees.
7 Metɔɔ nkoa ne mfenaa, na minyaa ebinom nso a wɔwoo wɔn wɔ me fi. Afei nso, minyaa anantwi ne nguan bebree sen obiara a wadi mʼanim wɔ Yerusalem.
I bought male and female slaves, and babies [who later became my slaves] were born in my palace. I also owned more livestock than any of the previous kings in Jerusalem had owned.
8 Mepɛɛ dwetɛ ne sikakɔkɔɔ, gyigyee ahemfo ne amantam no ademude kaa ho. Mefaa mmarima ne mmea nnwontofo, pɛɛ mmea atenae nso; nea ɛyɛ ɔbarima koma anigyede biara.
I also accumulated large amounts of silver and gold [that were paid to me] from the treasures of kings and rulers of provinces. [I hired] men and women to sing for me, and I had many (concubines/slave wives) who gave me [much] pleasure [EUP].
9 Migyee din sen obiara a wadi mʼanim wɔ Yerusalem. Eyinom nyinaa mu no me nimdeɛ kɔɔ so yɛɛ adwuma.
So, I became greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and I was [very] wise.
10 Nea mʼani hwehwɛe biara mamfa ankame no; mansiw me koma anigye ho kwan. Me koma ani gyee me nnwuma nyinaa ho, na eyi yɛ mʼadwumayɛ so akatua.
I got everything [LIT] that I [SYN] saw and wanted. I did everything [LIT] that I thought would enable me to be happy. All those things that I [SYN] enjoyed were [like] a reward for all my hard work.
11 Nanso sɛ mehwɛ nea me nsa ayɛ nyinaa ne nea mabrɛ anya a, ne nyinaa nka hwee, ɛte sɛnea wotu mmirika taa mframa mannya mfaso biara wɔ owia yi ase.
[But] then I thought about all the hard work that I [SYN] had done [to get all those things], and none of it seems to bring any lasting benefit [DOU]. It was all [like] chasing the wind.
12 Mede mʼadwene kɔɔ nimdeɛ, adammɔsɛm ne nkwaseasɛm so. Dɛn bio na nea wadi ɔhene ade betumi ayɛ asen nea wɔayɛ dedaw no?
Then I started to think about being wise, and [also about] being foolish [DOU]. [I said to myself, “I certainly do not think that] [RHQ] the next king will be able to do anything better than I can.”
13 Mihuu sɛ nimdeɛ ye sen nkwaseasɛm, sɛnea hann yɛ sen sum no.
And I thought, “Surely it is better to be wise than to be foolish, like light is better than darkness,
14 Onyansafo ani wɔ ne tirim, na ɔkwasea de, ɔnantew sum mu; nanso mihuu sɛ wɔn nyinaa nkrabea yɛ pɛ.
[because] wise people [walk in the daylight and] [IDM] can see where they are going, but foolish people walk in the darkness [and cannot see where they are going].” But I [also] realized that both wise people and foolish people eventually die.
15 Afei misusuw wɔ me koma mu se, “Ɔkwasea nkrabea bɛto me nso. Enti sɛ mihu nyansa a mfaso bɛn na minya?” Mekaa wɔ me koma mu se, “Eyi nso nka hwee.”
So I said to myself, “I am very wise, but I will [die at the end of my life], like foolish people do. So (how has it benefited me to be very wise?/it certainly has not benefited me to be very wise [RHQ]). I do not understand why [people consider that] it is valuable to be wise.
16 Te sɛ ɔkwasea no, onyansafo nso, wɔrenkae no daa; nna a ɛreba no mu, wɔrenkae wɔn baanu no. Te sɛ ɔkwasea no, onyansafo nso bewu!
Wise people and foolish people all die. And after we die, we will all eventually be forgotten [DOU].”
17 Ɛno nti asetena fonoo me, na adwuma a yɛyɛ wɔ owia yi ase no haw me. Ne nyinaa yɛ ahuhude, te sɛnea wotu mmirika taa mframa.
So I hated being alive, because everything that we do here on the earth [MTY] distresses me. It all seems to be useless [like] chasing the wind.
18 Mikyii nea mayɛ adwuma apɛ nyinaa wɔ owia yi ase, efisɛ ɛsɛ sɛ migyaw hɔ ma nea obedi mʼade.
I [also began to] hate all the hard work that I had done, because [when I die], everything [that I have acquired] will belong to the next king.
19 Na hena na onim sɛ onipa ko no bɛyɛ onyansafo anaa ɔkwasea? Nanso nea mabiri me mogya ani apɛ wɔ owia yi ase nyinaa bɛkɔ ne nsam. Eyi nso yɛ ahuhude.
And (who/no one) knows [RHQ] whether he will be wise or whether he will be foolish. But even if he is foolish, he will acquire all the things that I worked very hard and wisely to get.
20 Enti mepaa abaw wɔ owia yi ase adwumaden ho.
I thought about all the hard work that I had done. [It seemed useless], and I became depressed/discouraged.
21 Na onipa befi ne nimdeɛ, nyansa ne adwumayɛ ho nimdeɛ mu ayɛ nʼasɛde, na afei ɛsɛ sɛ ogyaw nʼadwumayɛ so aba ma obi a ɔnyɛɛ adwuma biara. Eyi nso yɛ ahuhude, na ɛhaw adwene.
Some people work wisely and skillfully, using the things that they have learned. But [when they die], they leave everything, and someone who has not worked hard acquires those things. And that also [seemed to] be senseless and caused me to be discouraged.
22 Dɛn na onipa nya fi ne brɛ ne dadwen a ɔde yɛ adwuma wɔ owia yi ase mu?
So, it seems that people do not [RHQ] get much for all the hard work that they do and for worrying.
23 Ne nkwanna nyinaa, nʼadwumayɛ yɛ ɔyaw ne ɔhaw; anadwo mpo nʼadwene yɛ adwuma. Eyi nso yɛ ahuhude.
Every day the work that they do causes them to experience pain and to be worried. And during the night, their minds are not able to rest. That also is very frustrating.
24 Biribiara nsen sɛ onipa bedidi na wanom na wanya ahotɔ wɔ adwumayɛ mu. Eyi nso mihuu sɛ efi Onyankopɔn,
[So I decided that] the best thing that we can do is to enjoy what we eat and drink, and [also] enjoy our work. And I realized that those things are what God intends for us.
25 efisɛ ɛnyɛ ɔno a anka hena na obetumi adidi anaasɛ obenya ahotɔ?
There is absolutely no one [RHQ] who is able to enjoy those things if God does not give those things to him.
26 Onipa a ɔsɔ Onyankopɔn ani no, ɔma no nimdeɛ, nyansa ne anigye, nanso omumɔyɛfo de, ɔma ɔboaboa ahonyade ano ma nea ɔsɔ Onyankopɔn ani. Eyi nso yɛ ahuhude, sɛnea wɔde mmirikatu taa mframa no.
God enables those who please him to be wise, to know [many things], and to enjoy [many things]. But if sinful people work hard and become rich, God [can] take their money away from them and give it to those who please him. But that also is something that is difficult for me to understand. [Their working hard seems] useless, [like] chasing the wind.
