Ɔsɛnkafoɔ 1
1 Yeinom ne nsɛm a Ɔsɛnkafoɔ, ɔhene Dawid babarima a ɔyɛ ɔhene wɔ Yerusalem seɛ:
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Ahuhudeɛ! Ahuhudeɛ!” Ɔsɛnkafoɔ no na ɔseɛ. “Ahuhudeɛ mu ahuhudeɛ Biribiara yɛ ahuhudeɛ.”
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 Ɛdeɛn na onipa nya firi nʼadwumayɛ nyinaa mu? Deɛn na ɔnya firi deɛ enti ɔkum ne ho yɛ no awia so no?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 Awoɔ ntoatoasoɔ 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 deɛ ɛpue firiiɛ hɔ.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 Mframa bɔ kɔ anafoɔ fam na ɛdane hwɛ atifi fam; ɛkyinkyini kɔ baabiara na ɛsane bɔ fa ne kwan so.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 Nsubɔntene nyinaa tene kɔgu ɛpo mu, nanso ɛpo nyɛ ma da. Baabi a nsubɔntene no firie no ɛhɔ na wɔsane 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 deɛ obi bɛka soɔ. Ani nhwɛ adeɛ nwie da na aso nso ntie nsɛm mma ɛmmu so da.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 Deɛ aba no bɛba bio, deɛ wɔayɛ no, wɔbɛyɛ bio; adeɛ foforɔ 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 wɔbɛtumi aka wɔ ho sɛ: “Hwɛ! Yei yɛ ade foforɔ” anaa? Ɛwɔ hɔ dada firi 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 Wɔnnkae tetefoɔ no, na wɔn a wɔnnya nnwoo wɔn no nso wɔn a wɔbɛdi 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, Ɔsɛnkafoɔ, na meyɛ Israelhene wɔ Yerusalem.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 Metuu me ho sii hɔ sɛ mede nimdeɛ bɛsua ayɛ nhwehwɛmu wɔ biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase ho. Adesoa duruduru bɛn na Onyankopɔn de ato adasamma soɔ yi!
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 Mahunu biribiara a wɔyɛ no owia yi ase; ne nyinaa nka hwee, ɛte sɛ deɛ obi de 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 Deɛ akyea no, wɔntumi ntene; na deɛ ɛnni hɔ no, wɔntumi nkan.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 Mekaa wɔ me ho sɛ, “Hwɛ, manyini na manya nimdeɛ bebree asene obiara a watena Yerusalem ahennwa so ansa na merebɛdi adeɛ. Manya nhunumu ne nimdeɛ mu osuahunu.”
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 ase, ɛne abɔdamsɛm ne nkwaseasɛm. Nanso mehunuu sɛ yei nso te sɛ deɛ obi di 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 awerɛhoɔ na ɛba; nyansa bebree de ahohiahia bebree ba.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
