1
Na kwa ajili ya hayo yote, nikatia moyo wangu katika kuyatafuta-tafuta haya; ya kuwa wenye haki, na wenye hekima, pamoja na matendo yao yote, wamo mkononi mwa Mungu; kwamba ni pendo au kwamba ni chuki, mwanadamu hajui; mambo yote yawapita.
So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.
2
Mambo yote yawatukia wote sawasawa; kuna tukio moja kwake mwenye haki na kwake asiye haki; kwa mtu mwema na kwa mtu mwovu; kwa mtu aliye safi na kwa mtu asiye safi; kwake yeye atoaye kafara na kwake asiyetoa kafara; kama alivyo huyo mwema ndivyo alivyo mwenye dhambi; yeye aapaye na yeye aogopaye kiapo.
It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.
3
Baa hilo ni katika mambo yote yanayofanyika chini ya jua, ya kuwa wote wanalo tukio moja; naam, zaidi ya hayo, mioyo ya wanadamu imejaa maovu, na wazimu umo mioyoni mwao wakati walipo hai, na baadaye huenda kwa wafu.
This is an evil in everything that is done under the sun: There is one fate for everyone. Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive, and afterward they join the dead.
4
Kwa kuwa liko tumaini kwa yule aliyeambatana na wote walio hai; (maana ni afadhali mbwa aliye hai kuliko simba aliyekufa);
There is hope, however, for anyone who is among the living; for even a live dog is better than a dead lion.
5
kwa sababu walio hai wanajua ya kwamba watakufa; lakini wafu hawajui neno lo lote, wala hawana ijara tena; maana kumbukumbu lao limesahauliwa.
For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.
6
Mapenzi yao na machukio yao, na husuda yao, imepotea yote pamoja; wala hawana sehemu tena katika jambo lo lote lililofanyika chini ya jua.
Their love, their hate, and their envy have already vanished, and they will never again have a share in all that is done under the sun.
7
Wewe enenda zako, ule chakula chako kwa furaha, unywe mvinyo yako kwa moyo wa kuchangamka; kwa kuwa Mungu amekwisha kuzikubali kazi zako.
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
8
Mavazi yako na yawe meupe sikuzote; wala kichwa chako kisikose marhamu.
Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head.
9
Uishi kwa furaha pamoja na mke umpendaye, siku zote za maisha yako ya ubatili, ulizopewa chini ya jua; siku zote za ubatili wako, kwa maana huo ni sehemu yako ya maisha; na katika taabu zako ulizozitaabika chini ya jua.
Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.
10
Lo lote mkono wako utakalolipata kulifanya, ulifanye kwa nguvu zako; kwa kuwa hakuna kazi, wala shauri, wala maarifa, wala hekima, huko kuzimu uendako wewe.
Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
11
Nikarudi, na kuona chini ya jua, ya kwamba si wenye mbio washindao katika michezo, wala si walio hodari washindao vitani, wala si wenye hekima wapatao chakula, wala si watu wa ufahamu wapatao mali, wala wenye ustadi wapatao upendeleo; lakini wakati na bahati huwapata wote.
I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favor to the skillful. For time and chance happen to all.
12
Maana mwanadamu naye hajui wakati wake; kama samaki wanaokamatwa katika nyavu mbaya, na mfano wa ndege wanaonaswa mtegoni, kadhalika wanadamu hunaswa katika wakati mbaya, unapowaangukia kwa ghafula.
For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.
13
Pia nimeona hekima chini ya jua, nayo ni kama hivi, tena kwangu mimi ilionekana kuwa ni neno kubwa.
I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me:
14
Palikuwa na mji mdogo, na watu ndani yake walikuwa wachache; akaja mfalme mkuu juu yake, akauhusuru, akajenga ngome kubwa ili kuupiga.
There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.
15
Basi, kulionekana humo mtu maskini mwenye hekima, naye kwa hekima yake akauokoa mji ule lakini hata hivyo hapakuwa na mtu ye yote aliyemkumbuka yule mtu maskini.
Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
16
Ndipo niliposema, Bora hekima kuliko nguvu; walakini hekima ya maskini hudharauliwa, wala maneno yake hayasikilizwi.
And I said, “Wisdom is better than strength, but the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not heeded.”
17
Maneno ya wenye hekima yanenwayo taratibu husikiwa, Zaidi ya mlio wake atawalaye katikati ya wapumbavu.
The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.
18
Hekima ndiyo bora kupita silaha za vita; Lakini mkosaji mmoja huharibu mema mengi.
Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.