Ɔsɛnkafoɔ 6
1 Mahunu bɔne foforɔ bi wɔ owia yi ase a ɛhyɛ nnipa so yie:
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it [is] common among men:
2 Onyankopɔn ma onipa ahonyadeɛ, adenya ne animuonyam sɛdeɛ biribiara a nʼakoma pɛ no ɛmmɔ no, nanso Onyankopɔn amma no kwan sɛ ɔmfa nnye nʼani, na ɔhɔhoɔ mmom na ɔde gye nʼani. Yei yɛ ahuhudeɛ, ɔhaw a ɛyɛ yea.
A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat of it, but a stranger eateth it: this [is] vanity, and it [is] an evil disease.
3 Onipa bɛtumi anya mma ɔha na wanyini akyɛre; nanso ne mfeɛ dodoɔ yi akyi no, nʼahonya no amma nʼani annye, na ne sie nso anyɛ fɛ a, ɔpɔn ba ho wɔ mfasoɔ sene no.
If a man begetteth a hundred [children], and liveth many years, so that the days of his years are many, and his soul is not filled with good, and also [that] he hath no burial; I say, [that] an untimely birth [is] better than he.
4 Ne ba no yɛ adehunu, esum mu na ɔkorɔ, na esum akata ne din so.
For he cometh with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
5 Ɛwom sɛ wanhunu owia na ɔnnim hwee deɛ, nanso ɔbɛnya ahomegyeɛ bebree sene deɛ saa ɔbarima no bɛnya.
Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known [any thing]: this hath more rest than the other.
6 Mpo sɛ ɔtena ase mfeɛ apem mmɔho na wammfa nʼahonyadeɛ annye nʼani a, wɔn nyinaa nkɔ faako anaa?
Yes, though he liveth a thousand years twice [told], yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
7 Onipa brɛ nyinaa yɛ nʼano ntia, nanso nʼakɔnnɔdeɛ mmee no da.
All the labor of man [is] for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
8 Na ɛdeɛn na onyansafoɔ wɔ de sene ɔkwasea? Sɛ ohiani yɛ nʼakwan yie wɔ afoforɔ anim a mfasoɔ bɛn na ɔbɛnya?
For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
9 Deɛ aniwa hunu no yɛ sene deɛ akɔnnɔ kyini hwehwɛ. Yei nso yɛ ahuhudeɛ. Ɛte sɛ wotaa mframa.
Better [is] the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this [is] also vanity and vexation of spirit.
10 Deɛ ɛwɔ hɔ biara, wɔato edin dada, na sɛdeɛ onipa teɛ nso, wɔnim dada; onipa biara rentumi ne deɛ ɔwɔ ahoɔden sene noɔ nnye yei ho akyinnyeɛ.
That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it [is] man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
11 Nsɛm dɔɔso a, emu aba yɛ kakraa bi, na ɛho wɔ mfasoɔ ma onipa anaa?
Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what [is] man the better?
12 Na hwan na ɔnim deɛ ɛyɛ ma onipa wɔ ne nkwanna kakra bi a ɛyɛ ahuhudeɛ na ɔfa mu kɔ sɛ sunsumma no? Hwan na ɔbɛtumi aka deɛ ɛbɛsi wɔ owia yi ase akyerɛ no ɛberɛ a ɔkorɔ no.
For who knoweth what [is] good for man in [this] life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
