Ecclesiastes 6
1 There is also another evil, which I have seen under the sun, and that frequent among men:
Nimeona ubaya mwingine chini ya jua, nao unalemea sana wanadamu:
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and honour, and his soul wanteth nothing of all that he desireth: yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but a stranger shall eat it up. This is vanity and a great misery.
Mungu humpa mwanadamu utajiri, mali na heshima, hivyo hakukosa chochote moyo wake unachokitamani. Lakini Mungu hamwezeshi kuvifurahia, badala yake mgeni ndiye anayevifurahia. Hili ni ubatili, ni ubaya unaosikitisha.
3 If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, and attain to a great age, and his soul make no use of the goods of his substance, and he be without burial: of this man I pronounce, that the untimely born is better than he.
Mtu anaweza kuwa na watoto mia moja naye akaishi miaka mingi, lakini haidhuru kuwa ataishi muda mrefu kiasi gani, kama hawezi kufurahia mafanikio yake na kwamba hapati mazishi ya heshima, ninasema afadhali mtoto aliyezaliwa akiwa amekufa kuliko yeye.
4 For he came in vain, and goeth to darkness, and his name shall be wholly forgotten.
Kuzaliwa kwake hakuna maana, huondokea gizani na gizani jina lake hufunikwa.
5 He hath not seen the sun, nor known the distance of good and evil:
Ingawa hakuwahi kuliona jua wala kujua kitu chochote, yeye ana pumziko zaidi kuliko mtu huyo,
6 Although he lived two thousand years, and hath not enjoyed good things: do not all make haste to one place?
Hata kama huyo mtu ataishi miaka elfu mara mbili na zaidi, lakini akashindwa kufurahia mafanikio yake, je, wote hawaendi sehemu moja?
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, but his soul shall not be filled.
Juhudi zote za binadamu ni kwa ajili ya kinywa chake, hata hivyo hamu yake kamwe haitoshelezwi.
8 What hath the wise man more than the fool? and what the poor man, but to go thither, where there is life?
Mtu mwenye hekima ana faida gani zaidi ya mpumbavu? Mtu maskini anapata faida gani kwa kujua jinsi ya kujistahi mbele ya watu wengine?
9 Better it is to see what thou mayst desire, than to desire that which thou canst not know. But this also is vanity, and presumption of spirit.
Ni bora kile ambacho jicho linakiona kuliko hamu isiyotoshelezwa. Hili nalo ni ubatili, ni kukimbiza upepo.
10 He that shall be, his name is already called: and it is known, that he is man, and cannot contend in judgment with him that is stronger than himself.
Lolote lililopo limekwisha kupewa jina, naye mwanadamu alivyo ameshajulikana; hakuna mtu awezaye kushindana na mwenye nguvu kuliko yeye.
11 There are many words that have much vanity in disputing.
Maneno yanavyokuwa mengi, ndivyo yanavyokosa maana, Je, hilo linamfaidia vipi yeyote?
12 What needeth a man to seek things that are above him, whereas he knoweth not what is profitable for him in his life, in all the days of his pilgrimage, and the time that passeth like a shadow? Or who can tell him what shall be after him under the sun?
Kwa maana ni nani anayejua lililo jema kwa ajili ya maisha ya mwanadamu, katika siku chache na za ubatili anazopita kama kivuli? Ni nani awezaye kumwambia yatakayotokea chini ya jua baada ya yeye kuondoka?
