< Ecclesiastes 6 >
1 There is also another evil, which I have seen under the sun, and that frequent among men:
Kuna ubaya ambao nimeuona chini ya jua, na ni mbaya kwa watu.
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 anaweza kumpa mtu mali na utajiri na heshima kwa kiasi kwamba hakosi chochote anachokitamani mwenyewe, lakini kisha hampi uwezo wa kukifurahia. Badala yake mtu mwingine hutumia vitu vyake. Huu ni mvuke, teso baya.
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.
Kama mtu akizaa watoto mia moja na kuishi miaka mingi, ili kwamba siku za miaka yake ni nyingi, lakini kama moyo wake hautosheki kwa mema na hazikwi kwa heshima, kisha ninasema kwamba, mtoto aliyezaliwa akiwa amekufa ni bora kuliko alivyo.
4 For he came in vain, and goeth to darkness, and his name shall be wholly forgotten.
Hata mtoto huyo amezaliwa bila faida na anapita katika giza, na jina lake linabaki limefichika.
5 He hath not seen the sun, nor known the distance of good and evil:
Ingawa mtoto huyu haoni jua au kujua kitu chochote, ana pumziko ingawa mtu huyo hakupumzika.
6 Although he lived two thousand years, and hath not enjoyed good things: do not all make haste to one place?
Hata kama mtu akiishi miaka elfu mbili lakini hajifunzi kufuraia vitu vizuri, aenda sehemu moja kama mtu yeyote yule.
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, but his soul shall not be filled.
Ingawa kazi yote ya mtu ni kujaza mdomo wake, ila hamu yake haishibi.
8 What hath the wise man more than the fool? and what the poor man, but to go thither, where there is life?
Hakika ni faida gani aliyo nayo mwenye hekima kuliko mpumbavu? Ni faida gani aliyo nayo masikini hata kama anajua jinsi ya kutenda mbele ya watu?
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 kuridhika na kile ambacho macho hukiona kuliko kutamani kile ambacho hamu isiyo tulia inatamani, ambayo pia ni mvuke na kujaribu kuuchunga 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.
Chochote ambacho kimekuwepo, tayari kimekwisha kupewa jina lake, na vile mtu alivyo ni kama tayari amekwisha fahamika. Hivyo imekuwa haifai kugombana na yule ambaye ni muhukumu mkuu wa wote.
11 There are many words that have much vanity in disputing.
Maneno mengi ambayo yanaongelewa, ndivyo yasiyo na maana yanaongezeka, kwa hiyo ni faida gani iliyopo kwa mwanadamu?
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 kuwa ni nani ajuaye nini kilicho kizuri kwa mtu katika maisha yake wakati wa ubatili wake, siku zilizo hesabika ambazo kwa hizo anapita kama kivuri? Ni nina anayeweza kumwambia mtu kile kitakacho kuja chini ya jua baada ya kupita?