Ecclesiastes 9

9 ¹I put my heart to check all dis tin well-well: di correct-and-holy people, di wise people, and everytin wey dem dey do dey for God hand. Weda na love or na hate, nobody sabi—everytin still dey for dem front. ²Di same tin dey happen to everybody: one end dey wait di correct-and-holy person and di bad person, di good one, di clean one and di one wey no clean, di person wey dey give sacrifice and di person wey no dey give. As e be for di good person, na so e be for di sinner; di person wey dey swear oath, e be like di person wey dey fear to swear. ³Dis na di bad tin inside everytin wey dem dey do under di sun: one end dey wait everybody. Human being heart full with bad tin, and craze full dem heart while dem still dey alive—den dem go join di dead people. ⁴Anybody wey still dey alive still get hope: dog wey dey alive better pass lion wey don die. ⁵Because di people wey dey alive sabi say dem go die, but di dead people no sabi anytin; dem no get reward again, and dem don forget di memory of dem. ⁶Dem love, dem hate, dem jealousy don already perish; dem no go ever get part again for anytin wey dem dey do under di sun.

⁷Go, chop your bread with joy, drink your wine with heart wey glad, because God don already gree with di tin wey you dey do. ⁸Make your cloth dey white every time, and make oil no ever miss for your head. ^a a v8 White cloth and to rub oil for head na ancient sign of joy and celebration. ⁹Enjoy life with di wife wey you love, all di small days of life wey pass quick wey God don give you under di sun—all your days wey dey pass quick—because na dat one be your own share for life and for di hard work wey you dey labor for under di sun. ¹⁰Whatever your hand find to do, do am with all your strength, because no work or plan or knowledge or wisdom dey inside grave, di place wey you dey go.

¹¹Again I see under di sun: no be di fast person dey win di race, no be di strong person dey win di battle, no be di wise person dey get bread, no be di person wey sabi tin dey get riches, no be di person wey get skill dey get favor—time and luck dey happen to all of dem. ¹²Nobody sabi im own time: like fish wey bad net catch, like bird wey trap catch, na so dem dey catch people for bad time wey come fall on dem sharp-sharp.

Di Wise Man Wey Dem Forget

¹³I also see dis example of wisdom under di sun, and e big for my eye: ¹⁴Small city wey get small people: one big king come against am, surround am, and build big war-wall against am. ¹⁵Dem find one poor wise man inside am wey save di city with im wisdom, but nobody remember dat poor man. ¹⁶I talk say, “Wisdom better pass strength,” but dem dey despise di poor man wisdom, and nobody dey hear im word dem. ¹⁷Di quiet word of di wise people, dem dey hear am better pass di shout of ruler wey dey among foolish people. ¹⁸Wisdom better pass weapon of war, but one sinner fit spoil plenty good tin.