Mlaliki 1
1 Mawu a Mlaliki, mwana wa Davide, mfumu ya ku Yerusalemu:
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Zopandapake! Zopandapake!” atero Mlaliki. “Zopandapake kotheratu! Zopandapake.”
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
3 Kodi munthu amapindulanji pa ntchito zake zonse zimene amasautsidwa nazo pansi pano?
What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
4 Mibado imabwera ndipo mibado imapita, koma dziko lapansi limakhalapobe nthawi zonse.
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
5 Dzuwa limatuluka ndipo dzuwa limalowa ndipo limapita mwamsanga kumene limatulukira.
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
6 Mphepo imawombera cha kummwera ndi kukhotera cha kumpoto; imawomba mozungulirazungulira, kumangobwererabwerera komwe yachokera.
The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
7 Mitsinje yonse imakathira ku nyanja, koma nyanjayo sidzaza; kumene madziwo amachokera, amabwereranso komweko.
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 Zinthu zonse ndi zotopetsa, kutopetsa kwake ndi kosaneneka. Maso satopa ndi kuona kapena khutu kukwaniritsidwa ndi kumva.
All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.
9 Zomwe zinalipo kale zidzakhalaponso, zomwe zinachitika kale zidzachitikanso. Ndiye kuti chatsopano palibiretu pansi pano.
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Kodi chilipo chinthu chimene wina anganene kuti, “Taona! Ichi ndiye chatsopano?” Chinalipo kale, kalekale; chinalipo ife kulibe.
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 Anthu akale sakumbukiridwa, ngakhale amene adzabwera mʼtsogolomu sadzakumbukiridwa ndi iwo amene adzabwere pambuyo pawo.
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
12 Ine, Mlalikine, ndinali mfumu ya Israeli mu Yerusalemu.
I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 Ndinayika mtima wanga pophunzira ndi kufunafuna mwa nzeru zinthu zonse zimene zimachitika pansi pa thambo. Ndi ntchito yolemetsa ndithu imene Mulungu anayipereka kwa anthu!
And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
14 Ine ndaona zinthu zonse zochitika pansi pano; zinthu zonsezo ndi zopandapake, nʼkungodzivuta chabe.
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 Chinthu chokhota sichingathe kuwongoledwa; chimene palibe sichingathe kuwerengedwa.
What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 Ine ndinaganiza mu mtima mwanga, “Taona, ine ndakula ndi kukhala wa nzeru zochuluka kupambana aliyense amene analamulirapo Yerusalemu ndisanabadwe; ndaphunzira nzeru zochuluka ndi luntha.”
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 Ndipo ndinadzipereka kuti ndithe kumvetsa kuti nzeru nʼchiyani, misala nʼchiyani, uchitsiru nʼchiyani, koma ndinazindikira ichi, kuti kuteronso nʼkungodzivuta chabe.
So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18 Pakuti nzeru zochuluka zimabweretsa chisoni chochulukanso: chidziwitso chochuluka, zowawa zochulukanso.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
