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.
Ayihe oyowala
1 Ndhika oohapu dhomuuvithi, omuna gwaDavid, ngoka a li omukwaniilwa muJerusalem.
2 Omuuvithi ota ti: “Ayihe oyowala, eeno, ayihe oyowalawala!”
3 Omuntu oti ilikolele shike mokwiipyakidhila kwe akuhe kohi yetango? 4 Epipi limwe tali ka pita nekwawo otali ya, ihe evi otali kala sigo aluhe. 5 Etango otali piti, netango otali ningine nokushuna ishewe pehala mpoka hali pitile. 6 Ombepo otayi pepe yu uka kuumbugantu notayi ka galukila kuumbangalantu; otayi idhingoloka aluhe nokugalukila komakundukilo gayo. 7 Omilonga adhihe otadhi tondokele mefuta, ihe efuta itali udha nando; kehala hoka omilonga tadhi tondokele, otadhi tondokele ko aluhe. 8 Iinima ayihe oyi na eipyakidhilo nokape na omuntu ta vulu oku shi popya. Eho ihali kuta okutala, kwo okutsi ihaku vulwa okupulakena. 9 Shoka sha li ko, otashi ka kala ko ishewe; shoka sha ningwa, otashi ka ningwa natango. 10 Kohi yetango kaku na sha taku tiwa: “Tala utale, shika oshipeepee!” Oko sha li nale muuyuni waakulu yonale. 11 Kaku na ondhimbuluko yasha yootatekulu, nomapipi ngoka tage ya, itaga dhimbulukiwa kungoka taga ka kala ko ohugunina.
Okulalakanena owino itaku eta elago
12 Ngame omuuvithi onda li omukwaniilwa gwaIsrael muJerusalem. 13 Ondu ukitha omwenyo gwandje kekonakono lyuunongo nokudhiladhila ayihe mbyoka tayi ningwa kohi yegulu. Shika osho oshinakugwanithwa oshidhigu Kalunga e shi pe aana yaantu, ya se oshimpwiyu nasho. 14 Onda mono iilonga ayihe mbyoka tayi ningwa kohi yetango; ayihe oyowala nokutidha ombepo. 15 Shoka sha goyoka, itashi vulu okuuthwa, naashoka shaa po, itashi vulu okuyalulwa.
16 Ondi ipopile nda ti: “Tala, onda koko nonda likola aluhe owino oyindji ndi vule ayehe mboka ya tetekelele ndje okulela muJerusalem, nomwenyo gwandje ogwa mono owino nuunongo.” 17 Ihe sho nda yelutha omwenyo gwandje, ndi ilonge okutseya owino nuunongo nokuuva ko uugoya nuusama, onde shi dhimbulula kutya nani osho okutidha ombepo. 18 Oshoka mowino oyindji omo mu na uupyakadhi owindji naangoka ti indjipaleke uunongo, oti indjipalitha uuwehame.
