Ecclesiastes 8
1 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.
Nani azali lokola moto ya bwanya? Nani ayebi kolimbola makambo? Bwanya engengisaka elongi ya moto, mpe efungolaka elongi oyo ekangama.
2 Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
Nalobi: Tosaka mitindo ya mokonzi, pamba te olapaki ndayi liboso ya Nzambe.
3 Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
Kolongwaka na lombangu te liboso ya mokonzi mpe kobundelaka likambo ya mabe te, pamba te mokonzi asalaka kaka makambo oyo esepelisaka ye.
4 For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
Lokola liloba ya mokonzi ezalaka na bokonzi, nani akoki koloba na ye: « Ozali kosala nini? »
5 Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.
Moto nyonso oyo atosaka mibeko na ye akokweyela pasi te, mpe motema ya moto ya bwanya eyebaka tango ya malamu mpe lolenge ya malamu ya kosalela.
6 For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
Pamba te, ezali na tango ya malamu mpe na lolenge ya malamu ya kosalela na likambo nyonso. Atako bongo, pasi ekweyelaka kaka moto.
7 Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?
Lokola moto moko te ayebi makambo oyo ekoya sima, nani akoki koyebisa moninga ndenge ekoyela ye?
8 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.
Ndenge moto moko te azali na bokonzi likolo ya pema ya bomoi na ye mpo ete akanga yango, ndenge mpe moto moko te azali na bokonzi likolo ya mokolo na ye ya kufa. Ndenge moto moko te apemaka na tango ya bitumba, ndenge mpe misala mabe ebikisaka te bato oyo basalaka yango.
9 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.
Namonaki makambo nyonso wana, tango natiaki mayele na ngai mpo na koluka koyeba makambo nyonso oyo esalemaka na se ya moyi. Ezali na tango oyo moto amatelaka bato mosusu mpo na konyokola bango.
10 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.
Mpe lisusu, namonaki ete bazali kokunda bato mabe; bongo bato oyo bazalaki kokende mpe kozonga na Esika ya bule bazalaki kokumisa bato mabe wana kati na engumba mpo na makambo oyo bazalaki kosala. Wana mpe ezali kaka pamba.
11 When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
Soki etumbu epesami noki te mpo na mabe oyo esalemi, mitema ya bato etondaka na makanisi ya kosala mabe.
12 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.
Atako moto oyo asalaka masumu asali mabe mbala nkama moko mpe awumeli tango molayi na bomoi, nayebi solo ete bato oyo batosaka Nzambe bakozala bato ya esengo; pamba te bazali na botosi liboso na Ye.
13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
Nzokande, lokola bato mabe batosaka Nzambe te, makambo na bango mpe ekotambola malamu te, mpe mikolo ya bomoi na bango ekowumela te lokola elili.
14 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.
Ezali lisusu na eloko moko ya pamba oyo elekaka na mokili: bato ya sembo bazwaka lifuti oyo ebongi na bato mabe, mpe bato mabe bazwaka lifuti oyo ebongi na bato ya sembo. Nazali koloba solo ete wana mpe ezali kaka pamba.
15 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.
Bongo, nakumisaki esengo, pamba te ezali na eloko moko te na se ya moyi oyo eleki malamu mpo na moto, soki kaka te kolia, komela mpe kosepela. Boye esengo esengeli kobila ye kati na mosala na ye mikolo nyonso ya bomoi oyo Nzambe apesa ye na se ya moyi.
16 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—
Tango natiaki mayele na ngai mpo na koluka koyeba bwanya mpe kososola mosala ya moto kati na mokili, —ata soki miso na ye ezwaka pongi te, ezala na moyi to na butu—
17 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.
namonaki nyonso oyo Nzambe asala. Moto moko te akoki kososola makambo oyo elekaka na se ya moyi. Soki asali makasi mpo na koyeba, akotikala te kososola tina na yango; mpe ata soki moto ya bwanya abeti tolo ete ayebi, akotikala kaka kososola yango te.
