1 Tita ge ti ǂgaob ǃnâ “A ta toxopa ǃgâiaǂgaob ǀkha ǃâitsâ tsî ǃgâi-i hâsa mû” ti ge mî. Nēs tsîn ge a harebeoǃnâ. 2 Âib xa ta ge “ǁÎb ge a gâsi tsî tare-eb ra dī?” ti ge mî. 3 ǂÂis âtas ǀkha ta ge ti sorosa ta mâti ǂauxûi-i ǀkha nî khoakhoa ǃkhaisa ge ôaǃnâ tsîb ge ǂgaob âtaba gā-aisib ǀkha gere ǂgaeǂgui te, gâresiba nî ǁnamǂgāse.
4 Kai xūna ta ge ge dī: Omde ǂnubibasen tsî ta ge draibeǃhanaga ge ǂgā. 5 ǃHanaga ǂgā tsî ta ge hoa ǃhanaǂûhaiǃnôana ge ǂgā. 6 Tsî ta ge ǁgamǁkhaega ge khao, ǁîna ta nî ǂnâse. 7 Tita ge ǁkhāti aore tsî tare khobona ge ǁama tsî khobon di ôan ti oms ǃnâ ge ǃnaen tsîna ge ūhâ i. ǁKhāti ta ge ti aiǃâ ge Jerusalems ǃnâ hâ i khoen hoan ǃgâ-ai ǃnāsa kaiǀnūǀgoan tsî ǂkhariǀnūǀgoan tsîna ge ūhâ i. 8 ǁÎba ta gere ǂgaeǂgui ǃhūb di ǁuiba xu ta ge ǀhai- tsî ǃhuniǀuriba ge ǀhaoǀhaobasen. Gao-aogu tsî ǃhao ǀgaigu ge ǁîgu di ǁuiga ge mā te. Aore tsî tare ǁnae-aona ta ge ge ǂhomi tsî ta ge aorekhoeb a ǂhâba ǁkhā tarekhoedi hoade ge ūhâ i.
9 Tita ge ti aiǃâ ge Jerusalems ǃnâ hâ i khoen hoan ǃgâ-ai ge kai tsîb ge ti gā-aisiba nēn hoan ǃnâ tita ǃnâ ge hâ.
10 Dī ǂgao ta ka xū-i hoa-e ta ge gere dī.
Ti ǂgaoba ta ge ǃgâi-i xare-e xu ge ū-oa tama hâ i
tsî ta ge mâ xū-i hîa ta ge sîsenba-i hoa-i xa ge ǂnīsa i,
tsîn ge nēn hoana ge ti mādawa-am i.
11 Ti sîsengu tsî dī ta ge xūn hoana ta ge kō, o ta ge nēsa ge mû:
Hoaraga xūn ge a harebeoǃnâ tsî ǂoaba saurus ase ī.
Nē ǃhūbaib ai i ge ǂkhîǂkhî ra xū-e ǀkhai.
12 ǁKhāti i ge gao-ao-e ǁî-i aiǃâ go hâ i gao-ao-i ge dī hâ i xūn ǀguina a dī ǁkhā.
O ta ge ti ǂâisa gā-aisib,
ǃkhausib tsî gâsiba nî ǃgaoǃgâse ge ǃammâi.
13 O ta ge gā-aisib gâsis ǃgâ-ai a ǃgâi,
ǃnâb ǃkhaenab ǃgâ-ai a ǃgâi ǃkhais ǁkhās khami ǃkhaisa ge mûǂan.
14 Gā-ai khoe-i ge mâǀî-i garu ǃkhaisa a ǂan,
gâ khoe-i ra ǃkhaenab ǃnâ ǃgûǂgâ hîa.
Xawes ge hoan di ǀamsa a ǀgui.
15 O ta ge ǁkhāti tita ǃnâ ge ǂâi
gâ khoe-i ra tsâ ǃgommi tita tsîna nî hāǂam ǃkhaisa.
O tare-es gā-aisisa tita ra harebeba?
O ta ge ge mîbasen
hoaraga xūn a harebeoǃnâ ǃkhaisa.
16 ǀUniǀams ain gā-aina gân ǀkha ǀguitikōse ǂâihōhe tide.
Hā nî tsēdi ǃnân ge hoana nî ǀuruhe.
Gâ khoe-i ǁkhā-i khami-i ge gā-ai-i tsîna nî ǁō.
17 Titab ge ûiba harebeoǃnâse ge ība, ǁîb ǃnâ hâ hoaraga xūn tita ǃgommi ǀguiba ra hā-ūba xui-ao. Hoan ge a harebeoǃnâ tsî ǂoaba saurus ase ī.
18 Hoaraga ǀhupuǀhupusens ǃhūbaib ai ta gere ǀhupuǀhupusens xa ta ge ge harebeoǃnâbahe, tita khaoǃgâ nî hā-e ta ǁîsa nî ǁnāxūba xui-ao. 19 Tsî tari-e gâ tamas ka io i nî gā-ai khoe ǃkhaisa a ǂan? Xawe-i ge ǁî-e hoaraga xūn tita ge nētikō ǀgaisase tsî gā-aise ǀhupuban di ǃereamsa nî ū. Nēs tsîn ge a harebeoǃnâ. 20 Tsîb ge ti ǂgaoba nē hoaraga kai ǀhupuǀhupusens ǃhūbaib ai ta ge dīsa xu ge ǃan. 21 Sats ga ǀgaisase sa hoaraga gā-aisib, ǂans tsî ǂansǁkhāsib ǀkha ǀhupuǀhupusentoas khaoǃgâts ge nē hoaraga xūna ǁîn ǃaroma go sîsen tama hâ i khoe-e ra ǁnāxūba. Nēs tsîn ge harebeoǃnâ tsî a kai tsūkeǃgâ? 22 Tare-e-i khoe-e ǁî-i di hoaraga ǀhupuǀhupusens tsî ǂâiǂhansens ǃhūbaib ai-i ra dī ǃnâ nî harebeba? 23 Hoaraga tsēdi â-i ge tsûb tsî ǂâiǂhansens xa hâǃnâhe. Tsuxub ǃnâs ge ǂâis â-e sâba hō tama hâ. Nēs tsîn ge harebeoǃnâ tsî ǂhanu tama hâ.
24 ǀGui ǀgaub ûib ǃnâts nî ǃgâiǃgâisenni ǀguib ge hâ: ǂÛ, ā î sa ǀhupuǀhupusens di xūn ǃgâiba ǁnā ǀgaus ai ǀama. Nēs tsîn Eloba xu hâ xuige. 25 ǁÎb huiba xu ǀguis ge ǂû tsî da ǃgâiǃgâisen ǁkhāsa. 26 Elob ge gā-aisib, ǂans, tsî ǁnān ǁîba ra ǃgâiǃgâiǂgaona ǃgâiaǂgaoba ra mā, xaweb ge ǁore-aona ra sîsen kai, ǃoaǂui tsîn nî sâu tsîs ǁîn hōǂgāsa ǁnān ǁîba ra ǃgâiǃgâiǂgaona nî māhese. Hoan ge a harebeoǃnâ tsî ǂoaba saurus ase ī.
1 I decided to enjoy myself and find out what happiness is. But I found that this is useless, too. 2 I discovered that laughter is foolish, that pleasure does you no good. 3 Driven on by my desire for wisdom, I decided to cheer myself up with wine and have a good time. I thought that this might be the best way people can spend their short lives on earth.
4 I accomplished great things. I built myself houses and planted vineyards. 5 I planted gardens and orchards, with all kinds of fruit trees in them; 6 I dug ponds to irrigate them. 7 I bought many slaves, and there were slaves born in my household. I owned more livestock than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem. 8 I also piled up silver and gold from the royal treasuries of the lands I ruled. Men and women sang to entertain me, and I had all the women a man could want.
9 Yes, I was great, greater than anyone else who had ever lived in Jerusalem, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I got. I did not deny myself any pleasure. I was proud of everything I had worked for, and all this was my reward. 11 Then I thought about all that I had done and how hard I had worked doing it, and I realized that it didn't mean a thing. It was like chasing the wind—of no use at all. 12 After all, a king can only do what previous kings have done.
So I started thinking about what it meant to be wise or reckless or foolish. 13 Oh, I know, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. 14 The wise can see where they are going, and fools cannot.” But I also know that the same fate is waiting for us all. 15 I thought to myself, “What happens to fools is going to happen to me, too. So what have I gained from being so wise?” “Nothing,” I answered, “not a thing.” 16 No one remembers the wise, and no one remembers fools. In days to come, we will all be forgotten. We must all die—wise and foolish alike. 17 So life came to mean nothing to me, because everything in it had brought me nothing but trouble. It had all been useless; I had been chasing the wind.
18 Nothing that I had worked for and earned meant a thing to me, because I knew that I would have to leave it to my successor, 19 and he might be wise, or he might be foolish—who knows? Yet he will own everything I have worked for, everything my wisdom has earned for me in this world. It is all useless. 20 So I came to regret that I had worked so hard. 21 You work for something with all your wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then you have to leave it all to someone who hasn't had to work for it. It is useless, and it isn't right! 22 You work and worry your way through life, and what do you have to show for it? 23 As long as you live, everything you do brings nothing but worry and heartache. Even at night your mind can't rest. It is all useless.
24 The best thing we can do is eat and drink and enjoy what we have earned. And yet, I realized that even this comes from God. 25 How else could you have anything to eat or enjoy yourself at all? 26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness to those who please him, but he makes sinners work, earning and saving, so that what they get can be given to those who please him. It is all useless. It is like chasing the wind.
