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.
Ni mtu gani mwenye hekima? Ambaye anafahamu matukio yana maana gani katika maisha? Hekima ndani ya mtu husababisha uso wake kung'ara, na ugumu wa uso wake hubadilika.
2 Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God.
Ninakushauri kuitii amri ya mfalme kwa sababu ya kiapo cha Mungu cha kumlinda yeye.
3 Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
Usiharakishe kuondoka mbele ya uwepo wake, na usisimame kuunga mkono jambo lisilofaa, kwa kuwa mfalme anafanya chochote anacho tamani.
4 For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
Neno la mfalme hutawala, kwa hiyo ni nani atakaye mwambia, 'Unafanya nini?
5 Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure.
Yeyote ashikaye amri za mfalme hukwepa madhara. Moyo wa mwenye hekima hutambua mwelekeo muafaka na muda wa kuenda.
6 For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.
Kwa kuwa kila jambo lina jibu sahihi, na wakati wa kujibu, kwa sababu taabu ya mtu ni kubwa.
7 Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come?
Hakuna anaye fahamu kinacho fuata. Ni nani awezaye kumwambia nini kinacho kuja?
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.
Hakuna mwenye uwezo juu ya roho aizuie roho; wala hana mamlaka juu ya siku ya kufa; wala hakuna kuruhusiwa katika vita vile; wala uovu hautamwokoa yule aliyeuzoea.
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.
Mambo hayo yote nimeyaona, nikatia moyo wangu katika kila kazi iliyofanyika chini ya jua. Kuna wakati ambapo mtu mmoja anayo mamlaka juu ya mwenziwe kwa hasira yake.
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.
Hivyo niliwaona wabaya wakizikwa hadharani. Waliondolewa mahali patakatifu na kuzikwa mahali waliposifiwa na watu katika mji walipokuwa wamefanya matendo maovu. Hii nayo haifai.
11 When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.
Wakati hukumu dhidi ya tendo ovu haihukumiwi haraka, hushawishi mioyo ya wanadamu kutenda ubaya.
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.
Hata kama mwenye dhambi afanye uovu mara mia moja na bado aishi kwa muda mrefu, bado ninafahamu itakuwa vyema kwa wale wanao muheshimu Mungu, wanaouheshimu uwepo wake walio nao.
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.
Lakini haitakuwa vyema kwa mtu mwovu; mkewe hatacheleweshwa. Siku zake kama kizuri kitowekacho upesi, kwa sababu hamuheshimu Mungu.
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.
Kuna mvuke mwingine usio faa, jambo jingine linaofanyika juu ya dunia. Mambo hutokea kwa watu wenye haki kama yatokeavyo kwa watu waovu, na mambo hutokea kwa wenye haki kama yatokeavyo kwa waovu. Ninasema hili pia ni mvuke usiofaa.
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.
Kwa hiyo nikapendekeza furaha, kwa sababu mtu hana jambo bora chini ya jua zaidi ya kula na kunywa na kuwa na furaha. furaha ndiyo itamfuata katika kazi zake kwa siku zote za maisha yake ambayo Mungu amempa chini ya jua.
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—
Nikauweka moyo wangu kufamu hekima na kufahamu kazi inayofanyika juu ya nchi, kazi ambayo inafanyika mara nyingi pasipo kufumba macho usiku au mchana.
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.
Kisha nika tafakari matendo yote ya Mungu, na kwamba mtu hawezi kuelewa kazi inayofanyika chini ya jua. Bila kujali mtu anafanya kupata majibu, hatayapata. Ingawa mwenye hekima anaweza kuamini anajua, kitu kweli hajui.
