1
Ni nani aliye kama mwenye hekima; Naye ni nani ajuaye kufasiri neno? Hekima ya mtu humng'ariza uso wake, Na ugumu wa uso wake hubadilika.
Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.
2
Mimi nasema hivi, Uishike amri ya mfalme; na hiyo kwa sababu umeapa kwa Mungu.
Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
3
Usifanye haraka kutoka mbele ya uso wake; usiendelee kufanya lililo baya; maana yeye hufanya lo lote limpendezalo.
Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
4
Kwa kuwa neno la mfalme lina nguvu; naye ni nani awezaye kumwambia huyo, Wafanya nini?
For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
5
Aishikaye amri hatajua neno baya; Na moyo wa mwenye hekima hujua wakati na hukumu.
Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.
6
Kwa maana kwa kila shauri kuna wakati na hukumu; kwa sababu mashaka ya mwanadamu yaliyo juu yake ni makubwa;
For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
7
kwa kuwa hajui yatakayokuwako; kwa maana ni nani awezaye kumweleza jinsi yatakavyokuwa?
Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?
8
Hakuna mwenye uwezo juu ya roho aizuie roho; Wala hana mamlaka juu ya siku ya kufa; Wala hakuna kuruhusiwa katika vita vile; Wala uovu hautamwokoa yule aliyeuzoea.
As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
9
Mambo hayo yote nimeyaona, nikatia moyo wangu katika kila kazi iliyofanyika chini ya jua. Kuna wakati ambapo mtu mmoja anayo mamlaka juu ya mwenziwe kwa hasira yake.
All this I have seen, applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun; there is a time when one man lords it over another to his own detriment.
10
Pia nikaona waovu wamezikwa, nao wamefika kaburini; tena waliofanya mema wameondoka katika patakatifu, nao wamesahauliwa mjini. Hayo nayo ni ubatili.
Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.
11
Kwa sababu hukumu juu ya tendo baya haitekelezwi upesi, mioyo ya wanadamu huthibitishwa ndani yao ili kutenda mabaya.
When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
12
Ajapokuwa mwenye dhambi amefanya maovu mara mia, akazidisha siku zake; lakini hata hivyo najua hakika ya kwamba itakuwa heri kwao wamchao Mungu, wenye kicho mbele zake;
Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.
13
walakini haitakuwa heri kwa mwovu, wala hatazidisha siku zake, zilizo kama kivuli; kwa sababu hana kicho mbele za Mungu.
Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
14
Kuna ubatili unaofanyika juu ya nchi, kwamba wako wenye haki nao wapatilizwa kama kwa kazi yao waovu; tena wako waovu, nao wapatilizwa kama kwa kazi yao wenye haki. Nami nikasema ya kuwa hayo nayo ni ubatili.
There is a futility that is done on the earth: There are righteous men who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked men who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile.
15
Kisha nikaisifu furaha, kwa sababu mwanadamu hana neno lo lote lililo jema chini ya jua, kuliko kula, na kunywa, na kucheka; na yakuwa hilo likae naye katika amali yake, siku zote za maisha yake alizompa Mungu chini ya jua.
So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
16
Mimi nilipotia moyo wangu katika kuijua hekima, na kuuona utumishi uliofanyika juu ya nchi, (maana kuna asiyepata usingizi kwa macho yake mchana wala usiku);
When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night—
17
basi, niliiona kazi yote ya Mungu, ya kuwa haitafutikani na mwanadamu kazi inayofanyika chini ya jua; kwa sababu mwanadamu na akijisumbua kadiri awezavyo kuitafuta, hata hivyo hataiona; naam, zaidi ya hayo, mwenye hekima ajapodhania ya kuwa ataijua, lakini yeye hataweza kuiona.
I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun. Despite his efforts to search it out, he cannot find its meaning; even if the wise man claims to know, he is unable to comprehend.