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.
Ngubani onjengomuntu ohlakaniphileyo na? Ngubani oyaziyo ingcazelo yezinto na? Ukuhlakanipha kuyabukhanyisa ubuso bomuntu njalo kuguqula ukunyukubala kwabo.
2 Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
Ngithi hlonipha umlayo wenkosi ngoba wenza isifungo phambi kukaNkulunkulu.
3 Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
Ungawalazeli ukusuka phambi kwenkosi. Ungalumeli ulutho nxa lungaqondanga ngoba yona ingenza loba yini eyithandayo.
4 For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
Njengoba ilizwi lenkosi lingaphikiswa ngubani ongathi kuyo, “Kanti wenzani?”
5 Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.
Lowo ohlonipha imilayo yayo akayikwehlelwa ngokubi, lenhliziyo ehlakaniphileyo iyasazi isikhathi lendlela yokwenza.
6 For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
Ngoba into yonke ilesikhathi esiqondileyo lendlela yokwenza eqondileyo, lanxa umuntu eyabe esindwa yizinkathazo zakhe.
7 Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?
Njengoba kungekho muntu olaziyo ikusasa, ngubani pho ongamtshela okuzayo na?
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.
Njengoba kungelamuntu olamandla phezu komoyo ovunguzayo Akulamuntu olamandla phezu kosuku lwakhe lokufa. Njengoba ibutho lingakhululwa ngesikhathi sempi, kunjalo ukuxhwala akuyikubakhulula labo abaphila ngakho.
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.
Konke lokhu ngakubona lapho ngangihlolisisa ngengqondo yami konke okwenziwayo ngaphansi kwelanga. Kukhona isikhathi lapho umuntu aphatha khona abanye ngochuku kanti uyazilimaza yena.
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.
Ngabona njalo ababi bengcwatshwa, labo ababehlala befika bahambe endaweni engcwele bazuze udumo kulelodolobho ababeganga khona. Khona lakho kuyize.
11 When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
Nxa isigwebo secala singenziwanga masinyane, abantu basuka bacabange ukuqhubeka ngokuganga kwabo.
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.
Loba umuntu ogangileyo engenza amacala alikhulu ajinge aphile okwesikhathi eside, ngiyazi ukuthi kuzakuba ngcono kulabo abamesabayo uNkulunkulu, abazithobayo kuNkulunkulu.
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.
Kodwa ngenxa yokuthi izixhwali kazimesabi uNkulunkulu, kakuzukuzilungela, lezinsuku zazo kaziyukweluleka njengesithunzi.
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.
Kukhona njalo enye into eyize eyenzakalayo emhlabeni: abantu abalungileyo abazuza okufanele ababi, labantu ababi abazuza okufanele abalungileyo. Ngithi lokhu lakho kudida ingqondo.
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.
Ngakho-ke ngikhuthaza ukuzithokozisa empilweni ngoba kakukho okungcono emuntwini ngaphansi kwelanga kulokuzitika, unathe, uthokoze. Lapho-ke injabulo izahlala injalo kuye emsebenzini wakhe zonke insuku zokuphila kwakhe aziphiwe nguNkulunkulu lapha emhlabeni.
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—
Ngathi ngibeka ingqondo yami ekwazini ukuhlakanipha lokunanzelela imisebenzi yabantu emhlabeni, umuntu engalali imini lobusuku,
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.
ngasengibona konke uNkulunkulu akwenzileyo. Kakho ongaqedisisa okwenzakalayo ngaphansi kwelanga. Loba umuntu ohlakaniphileyo angazitshaya owaziyo, kodwa angeke akuqedisise.
