Ecclesiastes 3
1 Everything has its own time—a time for all that happens here:
Kuna wakati kwa ajili ya kila jambo, nayo majira kwa kila tendo chini ya mbingu:
2 A time of birth, and a time of death. A time of planting, and a time of harvest.
wakati wa kuzaliwa na wakati wa kufa, wakati wa kupanda na wakati wa kungʼoa yaliyopandwa,
3 A time of killing, and a time of healing. A time of tearing down, and a time of building up.
wakati wa kuua na wakati wa kuponya, wakati wa kubomoa, na wakati wa kujenga,
4 A time of crying, and a time of laughing. A time of mourning, and a time of dancing.
wakati wa kulia na wakati wa kucheka, wakati wa kuomboleza na wakati wa kucheza,
5 A time of throwing away stones, and a time of gathering up stones. A time of embracing, and a time of avoiding embracing.
wakati wa kutawanya mawe na wakati wa kukusanya mawe, wakati wa kukumbatia na wakati wa kutokumbatia,
6 A time of searching, and a time of giving up searching. A time of keeping, and a time of throwing away.
wakati wa kutafuta na wakati wa kupoteza, wakati wa kuweka na wakati wa kutupa,
7 A time of tearing, and a time of mending. A time of keeping quiet, a time of speaking up.
wakati wa kurarua na wakati wa kushona, wakati wa kunyamaza na wakati wa kuzungumza,
8 A time of loving, and a time of hating. A time of warfare, and a time of peace.
wakati wa kupenda na wakati wa kuchukia, wakati wa vita na wakati wa amani.
9 So what do you get for all your hard work?
Mfanyakazi anapata faida gani kutokana na taabu yake?
10 I have examined what God gives us to do.
Nimeona mzigo Mungu alioweka juu ya wanadamu.
11 Everything God does is beautifully timed, and even though he has also placed the idea of eternity in our minds, we can't fully understand what God does from beginning to end.
Amefanya kila kitu kiwe kizuri kwa wakati wake. Pia ameiweka hiyo milele katika mioyo ya wanadamu, wala hawawezi kutambua kwa kina yale ambayo Mungu amefanya tangu mwanzo hadi mwisho.
12 I concluded that there's nothing better than being happy and looking for the good in life.
Ninajua kwamba hakuna kitu bora kwa wanadamu kuliko kuwa na furaha na kutenda mema wakati wanapoishi.
13 In addition everyone should eat and drink and enjoy their work—this is God's gift to us.
Tena ni karama ya Mungu kila mtu apate kula na kunywa na kujiburudisha kwa mema katika kazi yake yote.
14 I also concluded that everything God does lasts forever: nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. God acts in this way so that people may stand in awe of him.
Ninajua kwamba kila kitu anachokifanya Mungu kitadumu milele, hakuna kinachoweza kuongezwa au kupunguzwa. Mungu hufanya hivyo ili watu wamche yeye.
15 Whatever was, is; and whatever will be, has been, and God examines the whole of time.
Chochote kilichopo kilishakuwepo, na kitakachokuwepo kimekwishakuwepo kabla; naye Mungu huyaita yale yaliyopita yarudi tena.
16 I also observed that here on earth there was evil even in the place where there was supposed to be justice; even where things were meant to be right, there was evil.
Pia nikaona kitu kingine tena chini ya jua: Mahali pa kutolea hukumu, uovu ulikuwepo, mahali pa kupatia haki, uovu ulikuwepo.
17 But then I thought to myself, “Ultimately God will judge both those who do right and those who do wrong, and every deed and action, at the appointed time.”
Nikafikiri moyoni mwangu, “Mungu atawaleta hukumuni wote wawili wenye haki na waovu, kwa maana kutakuwako na wakati kwa ajili ya kila jambo, wakati kwa ajili ya kila tendo.”
18 I also thought to myself, “Regarding what happens to human beings—God proves to us that we're no better than animals.”
Pia nikafikiri, “Kuhusu wanadamu, Mungu huwajaribu ili wajione kwamba wao ni kama wanyama.
19 For what happens to human beings is the same as what happens to animals—in the same way one dies, the other dies too. They all have the breath of life—so regarding any advantage human beings have over animals, there is none. Definitely this is very hard to understand!
Hatima ya mwanadamu ni kama ile ya wanyama; wote wana mwisho unaofanana: Jinsi anavyokufa mnyama, ndivyo anavyokufa mwanadamu. Wote wana pumzi inayofanana; mwanadamu hana cha zaidi kuliko mnyama. Kila kitu ni ubatili.
20 They all end up in the same place—they all came from dust, and they all return to dust.
Wote huenda mahali panapofanana; wote hutoka mavumbini, mavumbini wote hurudi.
21 Who really knows whether the breath of life of human beings goes up above, and the breath of life of animals goes down below to the earth?
Ni nani ajuaye kama roho ya mtu huenda juu na roho ya mnyama hushuka chini ardhini?”
22 So I concluded that there's nothing better than for people to enjoy their work. This is what we are meant to do. For who can bring anyone back from the dead to show them what will happen after they die?
Kwa hiyo nikaona kwamba hakuna kitu kilicho bora zaidi kwa mwanadamu kuliko kuifurahia kazi yake, kwa sababu hilo ndilo fungu lake. Kwa maana ni nani awezaye kumrudisha ili aje kuona kile kitakachotendeka baada yake?
