1
Maneno ya Mhubiri mwana wa Daudi,mfalme katika Yerusalemu.
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2
Mhubiri asema, Ubatili mtupu, ubatili mtupu, mambo yote ni ubatili.
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3
Mtu ana faida gani ya kazi yake yote aifanyayo chini ya jua?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4
Kizazi huenda, kizazi huja; nayo dunia hudumu daima.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5
Jua lachomoza, na jua lashuka, na kufanya haraka kwenda mahali pa maawio yake.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6
Upepo huvuma kusi, hugeuka kuwa kaskazi; hugeuka daima katika mwendo wake, na upepo huyarudia mazunguko yake.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7
Mito yote huingia baharini, walakini bahari haijai; huko iendako mito, ndiko irudiko tena.
All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
8
Mambo yote yamejaa uchovu usioneneka, jicho halishibi kuona, wala sikio halikinai kusikia.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9
Yaliyokuwako ndiyo yatakayokuwako; na yaliyotendeka ndiyo yatakayotendeka; wala jambo jipya hakuna chini ya jua.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10
Je! Kuna jambo lo lote ambalo watu husema juu yake, Tazama, ni jambo jipya? Limekwisha kuwako, tangu zamani za kale zilizokuwa kabla yetu sisi.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11
Hakuna kumbukumbu lo lote la vizazi vilivyotangulia; wala hakutakuwa na kumbukumbu lo lote la vizazi vitakavyokuja, miongoni mwao wale watakaofuata baadaye.
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12
Mimi, Mhubiri, nalikuwa Mfalme wa Israeli katika Yerusalemu.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13
Nikatia moyo wangu ili kuyatafuta yote yanayotendeka chini ya mbingu, na kuyavumbua kwa hekima; ni taabu kubwa ambayo Mungu amewapa wanadamu, ili kutaabika ndani yake.
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a miserable task God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
14
Nimeziona kazi zote zifanywazo chini ya jua; na, tazama, mambo yote ni ubatili na kujilisha upepo.
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15
Yaliyopotoka hayawezi kunyoshwa, Wala yasiyokuwapo hayahesabiki.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16
Nikatafakari nikisema, Nimejipatia hekima nyingi kupita wote walionitangulia katika Yerusalemu; naam, moyo wangu umeona kwa wingi hekima na maarifa.
I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
17
Nikatia moyo wangu ili kuijua hekima, na kujua wazimu na upumbavu; nikatambua ya kwamba hayo yote nayo ni kujilisha upepo.
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18
Yaani, Katika wingi wa hekima mna wingi wa huzuni,Naye aongezaye maarifa huongeza masikitiko.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.