Nothing Makes Sense
1 When the son of David was king in Jerusalem, he was known to be very wise, and he said:
2 Nothing makes sense!
Everything is nonsense.
I have seen it all—
nothing makes sense!
3 What is there to show
for all of our hard work
here on this earth?
4 People come, and people go,
but still the world
never changes.
5 The sun comes up,
the sun goes down;
it hurries right back
to where it started from.
6 The wind blows south,
the wind blows north;
round and round it blows
over and over again.
7 All rivers empty into the sea,
but it never spills over;
one by one the rivers return
to their source.
8 All of life is far more boring
than words could ever say.
Our eyes and our ears
are never satisfied
with what we see and hear.
9 Everything that happens
has happened before;
nothing is new,
nothing under the sun.
10 Someone might say,
“Here is something new!”
But it happened before,
long before we were born.
11 No one who lived in the past
is remembered anymore,
and everyone yet to be born
will be forgotten too.
It Is Senseless To Be Wise
12 I said these things when I lived in Jerusalem as king of Israel. 13 With all my wisdom I tried to understand everything that happens here on earth. And God has made this so hard for us humans to do. 14 I have seen it all, and everything is just as senseless as chasing the wind.
15 If something is crooked,
it can't be made straight;
if something isn't there,
it can't be counted.
16 I said to myself, “You are by far the wisest person who has ever lived in Jerusalem. You are eager to learn, and you have learned a lot.” 17 Then I decided to find out all I could about wisdom and foolishness. Soon I realized that this too was as senseless as chasing the wind.
18 The more you know,
the more you hurt;
the more you understand,
the more you suffer.
Miiroo, duniyaa kuwolu to
1 Kawandilaa la kumakaŋolu fele, Dawuda dinkewo, mansa meŋ be Yerusalaamu.
2 A ko,
“Feŋ te,
feŋ na feŋ te.
A bee le maŋ ke feŋ ti.”
3 Hadamadiŋo ka muŋ nafaa le soto,
a la kata kuwolu bee to,
a ka tara mennu katariŋ duniyaa tiloo koto?
4 Jamaanoo le ka taa, jamaanoo ye naa.
Duniyaa wo be tu la a ñaama le fo fawu.
5 Tiloo ka bo le, a ye boyi,
A ye muru katabake, ka taa a bodulaa.
6 Foñoo ka fee bulubaa la le,
a ye muru naŋ wo la maraa la.
A ka muruŋ-muruŋ wo le ñaama,
fo a ye muru naŋ a noo to.
7 Boloŋolu bee ka bori le ka taa baa baa kono,
bari hani wo, a nene maŋ faa.
Boloŋolu ka bori ka bo naŋ daameŋ,
ì ka bori ka muru wo dulaa kiliŋo le to.
8 Kuu-wo-kuu, bataa le mu,
moo te meŋ daŋo fo noo la.
Ñaa buka jeroo ke fo a ye kaañaŋ,
tuloo buka moyiroo ke fo a ye kaañaŋ.
9 Meŋ tarata keriŋ nuŋ, wo le ka ke kotenke.
Meŋ dalita ke la, wo le be ke la kotenke.
Feŋ ne maŋ kutayaa ñiŋ duniyaa tiloo koto.
10 Fo feŋ ne be keriŋ baŋ,
moo si meŋ na kuwo fo noo ko,
“Ñiŋ feŋo wo de, ate mu kutamaa le ti?”
Wo feŋo, a tarata keriŋ ne biriŋ,
janniŋ ntolu faŋo ka soto.
11 I maŋ a je,
moo foloolu la kuwo bota hakiloo la miira to,
aduŋ hani mennu ka naa,
ì la kuwo be fili la wo le ñaama moolu ma,
mennu be naa itolu koolaa.
Ñaameŋo labaŋo lee?
12 Nte Kawandilaa, nte le keta Banisirayila mansa ti Yerusalaamu. 13 N ka ñaameŋo le taa ka n hakiloo taamandi, ka ñinindiroo ke, ka kisikisiroo ke kuwolu bee la, mennu ka ke ñiŋ duniyaa kono. Alla le ye duni koleŋo laa hadamadiŋo kaŋ, ka tara a faŋ batandi la doroŋ. 14 Ŋa a je le kuwolu mennu bee ka ke ñiŋ duniyaa tiloo koto. Ñiŋ bee maŋ ke feŋ ti, a ka munta le ko foño bayindoo.
15 Meŋ jenketa, wo buka tilindi noo,
aduŋ feŋ sotobaloo,
wo buka bula noo kontiri kono.
16 N ko m faŋ ye ko, “N na kuwo semboo warata ñaameŋo la karoo la le, ka tambi moo-wo-moo la meŋ nene ye maraloo ke Yerusalaamu, janniŋ nte la waatoo. N hakiloo fanuta ñaameŋo niŋ londoo la kuwo to le famfaŋ.” 17 Bituŋ n naata bula siloo nooma, ka a loŋ meŋ faŋo mu ñaameŋo ti, tooleeyaa aniŋ fuuriŋyaa. Bari n naata a je le ko, ñiŋ fanaa ka munta le ko foño bayindoo.
18 Ñaameŋ koleŋo be daa-wo-daa,
niitoora koleŋo le ka tara a nooma,
londi fuumariŋo, niikuyaa koleŋo.
