Ecclesiastes 11
1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.
Tupa mkate wako juu ya maji, kwa maana baada ya siku nyingi utaupata tena.
2 Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.
Wape sehemu watu saba, naam hata wanane, kwa maana hujui ni baa gani litakalokuwa juu ya nchi.
3 If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
Kama mawingu yamejaa maji, hunyesha mvua juu ya nchi. Kama mti ukianguka kuelekea kusini au kuelekea kaskazini, mahali ulipoangukia, hapo ndipo utakapolala.
4 He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.
Yeyote atazamaye upepo hatapanda, yeyote aangaliaye mawingu hatavuna.
5 As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
Kama vile usivyofahamu njia ya upepo, au jinsi mwili uumbwavyo ndani ya tumbo la mama, vivyo hivyo huwezi kufahamu kazi ya Mungu, Muumba wa vitu vyote.
6 Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
Panda mbegu yako asubuhi, nako jioni usiruhusu mikono yako ilegee, kwa maana hujui ni ipi itakayofanikiwa, kwamba ni hii au ni ile, au kwamba zote zitafanikiwa sawasawa.
7 Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
Nuru ni tamu, tena inafurahisha macho kuona jua.
8 So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.
Hata kama mtu ataishi miaka mingi kiasi gani, na aifurahie yote. Lakini na akumbuke siku za giza, kwa maana zitakuwa nyingi. Kila kitu kitakachokuja ni ubatili.
9 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
Furahi ewe kijana, wakati ungali kijana, moyo wako na ukupe furaha katika siku za ujana wako. Fuata njia za moyo wako na chochote macho yako yaonayo, lakini ujue kwamba kwa ajili ya haya yote Mungu atakuleta hukumuni.
10 So banish sorrow from your heart, and cast off pain from your body, for youth and vigor are fleeting.
Kwa hiyo basi, ondoa wasiwasi moyoni mwako na utupilie mbali masumbufu ya mwili wako, kwa kuwa ujana na nguvu ni ubatili.
