Ɔsɛnkafo 1
1 Eyinom ne nsɛm a Ɔsɛnkafo, ɔhene Dawid babarima a ɔyɛ ɔhene wɔ Yerusalem se:
Here are the words of the Teacher, the king of Jerusalem, David's son.
2 “Ahuhude! Ahuhude!” Ɔsɛnkafo no na ose. “Ahuhude mu ahuhude Biribiara yɛ ahuhude.”
“Everything passes—it's so temporary! It's all so hard to understand!” says the Teacher.
3 Dɛn na onipa nya fi nʼadwumayɛ nyinaa mu, nea okum ne ho yɛ no owia so no?
What benefit do you get for slaving away in this life?
4 Awo ntoatoaso ba na ɛkɔ, nanso asase tim hɔ daa.
People come, and people go, but the earth lasts forever!
5 Owia pue na owia kɔtɔ, na ɛyɛ ntɛm kɔ nea epue fii hɔ no.
The sun comes up, and the sun goes down, and then rushes to its place to rise again.
6 Mframa bɔ kɔ anafo fam na ɛdan hwɛ atifi fam; ekyinkyin kɔ baabiara, na ɛsan bɔ fa ne kwan so.
The wind blows south, and then turns to the north. Round and round it spins, finally coming full circle.
7 Nsubɔnten nyinaa sen kogu po mu, nanso po nyɛ ma da. Faako a nsubɔnten no fi no hɔ na wɔsan kɔ bio.
Streams all flow into the sea, but the sea never becomes full. The streams return to the place from where they came.
8 Biribiara yɛ ɔbrɛ a ɛboro nea obi bɛka so. Ani nhwɛ ade nwie da na aso nso ntie nsɛm mma ɛnyɛ mma da.
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 Nea aba no bɛba bio, nea wɔayɛ no, wɔbɛyɛ bio; ade foforo biara nni owia yi ase.
Everything that was will continue to be; everything that has been done will be done again. Nothing new ever happens here.
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.
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 Wɔnkae tetefo no, na wɔn a wonnya nnwoo wɔn no nso, wɔn a wobedi wɔn akyi no renkae wɔn.
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 Me, Ɔsɛnkafo, na meyɛ Israelhene wɔ Yerusalem.
I am the Teacher, and I was king over Israel, reigning from 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!
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 Mahu biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase; ne nyinaa nka hwee, ɛte sɛnea obi tu mmirika taa mframa.
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 Nea akyea no wontumi nteɛ; na nea enni hɔ no wontumi nkan.
You can't straighten what is twisted, and you can't count what isn't there.
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 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 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 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 Nimdeɛ bebree de awerɛhow na ɛba; nyansa dɔɔso a, awerɛhowdi dɔɔso.
For with great wisdom comes great frustration. The greater the knowledge, the greater the pain.
