Ecclesiastes

9 So I think about all this things and I see say righteous person and person wey get sense, together with the things wey them de do, dey for the hand of the true God. People no know about the love and the hate wey be dey before their time. 2 Na the same thing de happen to all of them,* righteous person and wicked person, good person and person wey dey clean and person wey no dey clean, people wey de do sacrifice and people wey no de do sacrifice. As e dey for good person na so e dey for sinner; as e dey for person wey de swear na so e dey for person wey de fear to swear. 3 This one na one thing wey de happen under the sun wey de make person worry: Because na the same thing de happen to all of them,* na so-so bad things full inside people heart; and na madness dey inside their heart all their life, and after, them go die!*

4 Hope dey for anybody wey dey alive, because dog wey dey alive better pass lion wey don die. 5 Because people wey dey alive know* say them go die, but people wey don die no know anything at all, and them no get any reward* again, because people no de remember them again, them don forget them. 6 Another thing be say, their love and their hate and their jealousy don already end, and them no get anything to do again for wetin people de do under the sun.

7 Go chop your food with happiness and drink your wine with joy for your heart, because the true God don already de happy with wetin you de do. 8 Make the cloth wey you de wear always be white,* and make you no fail to put oil ontop your head. 9 Enjoy life with your wife wey you love for the whole of your short life,* wey E don give you under the sun, for the whole of the short life wey you get, because that one na your share* for life and for your hard work wey you de suffer for, under the sun. 10 Anything wey you fit do with your hand, make you do-am with all your power, because you no go fit work or plan or know anything or get sense for inside Grave,* the place wey you de go.

11 I don see another thing under the sun, say no be person wey sabi run fast de always win for race, and no be person wey get power de win for war, and no be person wey get sense de always see food chop, and no be person wey sabi book de always get money, and no be people wey know something de always succeed, because time and wetin them no expect* de affect all of them. 12 True-true, man no know im time. Just as them de use net* catch fish, and de use trap catch bird, na so the sons of men de enter trap for time of trouble* when e happen to them by surprise.

13 I still see this thing under the sun about sense, and I really like-am: 14 E get one small city wey get small number of men for inside; and one strong king come attack-am and surround-am and build big wall around-am to fight against-am. 15 For inside the city, them get one man wey poor but e get sense, and e save the city with im sense. But nobody remember that poor man. 16 And I tell myself say: ‘To get sense better pass to get power; but them no de take the sense wey poor man get as anything, and them no de follow wetin e talk.’

17 E better to follow the things wey wise person calm down talk, than to listen to the shout-shout of person wey de rule foolish people.

18 Sense better pass things wey them de use fight war, but just one sinner fit spoil plenty good things.