Ecclesiastes 8
1 Who knows the wise? and who knows the interpretation of a saying? A man's wisdom will lighten his countenance; but a man of shameless countenance will be hated.
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 Observe the commandment of the king, and [that] because of the word of the oath of God.
Ninakushauri kuitii amri ya mfalme kwa sababu ya kiapo cha Mungu cha kumlinda yeye.
3 Be not hasty; thou shalt go forth out of his presence: stand not in an evil matter; for he will do whatsoever he shall please,
Usiharakishe kuondoka mbele ya uwepo wake, na usisimame kuunga mkono jambo lisilofaa, kwa kuwa mfalme anafanya chochote anacho tamani.
4 even as a king having power: and who will say to him, What doest thou?
Neno la mfalme hutawala, kwa hiyo ni nani atakaye mwambia, 'Unafanya nini?
5 He that keeps the commandment shall not know an evil thing: and the heart of the wise knows the time of judgment.
Yeyote ashikaye amri za mfalme hukwepa madhara. Moyo wa mwenye hekima hutambua mwelekeo muafaka na muda wa kuenda.
6 For to every thing there is time and judgment; for the knowledge of a man is great to him.
Kwa kuwa kila jambo lina jibu sahihi, na wakati wa kujibu, kwa sababu taabu ya mtu ni kubwa.
7 For there is no one that knows what is going to be: for who shall tell him how it shall be?
Hakuna anaye fahamu kinacho fuata. Ni nani awezaye kumwambia nini kinacho kuja?
8 There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; and there is no power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in the day of the battle; neither shall ungodliness save her votary.
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 So I saw all this, and I applied my heart to every work that has been done under the sun; all the things wherein man has power over man to afflict him.
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 And then I saw the ungodly carried into the tombs, and [that] out of the holy place: and they departed, and were praised in the city, because they had done thus: this also is vanity.
Hivyo niliwaona wabaya wakizikwa hadharani. Waliondolewa mahali patakatifu na kuzikwa mahali waliposifiwa na watu katika mji walipokuwa wamefanya matendo maovu. Hii nayo haifai.
11 Because there is no contradiction made on the part of those who do evil quickly, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully determined in them to do evil.
Wakati hukumu dhidi ya tendo ovu haihukumiwi haraka, hushawishi mioyo ya wanadamu kutenda ubaya.
12 He that has sinned has done evil from that time, and long from beforehand: nevertheless I know, that it is well with them that fear God, that they may fear before him:
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 but it shall not be well with the ungodly, and he shall not prolong his days, [which are] as a shadow; forasmuch as he fears not before God.
Lakini haitakuwa vyema kwa mtu mwovu; mkewe hatacheleweshwa. Siku zake kama kizuri kitowekacho upesi, kwa sababu hamuheshimu Mungu.
14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are righteous persons to whom it happens according to the doing of the ungodly; and there are ungodly men, to whom it happens according to the doing of the just: I said, This is also vanity.
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 Then I praised mirth, because there is no good for a man under the sun, but to eat, and drink, and be merry: and this shall attend him in his labour all the days of his life, which God has given 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 Whereupon I set my heart to know wisdom, and to perceive the trouble that was wrought upon the earth: for there is that neither by day nor night sees sleep with his eyes.
Nikauweka moyo wangu kufamu hekima na kufahamu kazi inayofanyika juu ya nchi, kazi ambayo inafanyika mara nyingi pasipo kufumba macho usiku au mchana.
17 And I beheld all the works of God, that a man shall not be able to discover the work which is wrought under the sun; whatsoever things a man shall endeavour to seek, however a man may labour to seek it, yet he shall not find it; yea, how much soever a wise man may speak of knowing it, he shall not be able to find it: for I applied all this to my heart, and my heart has seen all this.
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.
