Ecclesiastes 3
1 There is a right/correct time for everything, a time for everything that we do in this world.
Zonke izinto zilesikhathi sazo, konke okwenziwayo ngaphansi kwelanga kulesibanga sakho:
2 There is a time to be born, and there is a time to die. There is a time to plant [seeds], and there is a time to harvest crops.
isikhathi sokuzalwa lesikhathi sokufa, isikhathi sokuhlanyela lesikhathi sokusiphuna,
3 There is a time to kill [people], and there is a time to heal [people]. There is a time to tear things down, and there is a time to build things.
isikhathi sokubulala lesikhathi sokuphilisa, isikhathi sokubhidliza lesikhathi sokwakha,
4 There is a time to cry, and there is a time to laugh. There is a time to mourn, and there is a time to dance [joyfully].
isikhathi sokukhala lesikhathi sokuhleka, isikhathi sokulila lesikhathi sokugida,
5 There is a time to throw away stones [from a field], and there is a time to gather stones [to build walls/houses]. There is a time to embrace [people], and there is a time to not embrace [people].
isikhathi sokuchithiza amatshe lesikhathi sokuwabutha, isikhathi sokugona lesikhathi sokunina,
6 There is a time to search for things, and there is a time to stop searching for things. There is a time to keep/save things, and there is a time to throw things away.
isikhathi sokudinga lesikhathi sokukhalala, isikhathi sokugcina lesikhathi sokulahla,
7 There is a time to tear [our old clothes], and there is a time to mend [clothes]. There is a time to say nothing, and there is a time when we should speak.
isikhathi sokudabula lesikhathi sokuthunga, isikhathi sokuthula lesikhathi sokukhuluma,
8 There is a time when we should love [things that people do], and there is a time when we should hate [things that people do]. There is a time for war, and there is a time for peace.
isikhathi sokuthanda lesikhathi sokuzonda, isikhathi sempi lesikhathi sokuthula.
9 (What do people gain from all the work that they do?/It seems that people gain very little from all the work that they do [RHQ]).
Umuntu osebenzayo uzuzani na ngokusadalala kwakhe?
10 I have seen the work that God has given people to do.
Sengiwubonile umthwalo uNkulunkulu awethese abantu.
11 God has appointed a time that is right/correct for everything to happen. He has [also] caused people to realize that there are things that will endure forever. But in spite of that, no one can completely understand everything that God has done, from the time that he starts doing things until he finishes them.
Yonke into uyenze yabanhle ngesikhathi sayo. Wamupha umuntu iphakade enhliziyweni yakhe; kodwa abantu bangeke bafinyelele kulokho uNkulunkulu asakwenzayo kwasekuqaleni kusiya ekupheleni.
12 I know that the best [LIT] thing for us people to do is to rejoice and to do good things [all] during the time that we are alive.
Ngiyakwazi ukuthi kakukho okungcono ebantwini kulokuthi bajabule njalo benze okuhle besaphila.
13 And I also know that everyone should eat and drink, and enjoy the work that they do. Those are things that God gives to us.
Ukuthi wonke umuntu adle, anathe asuthiseke ekusebenzeni kwakhe gadalala, lokhu kuyisipho sikaNkulunkulu.
14 I [also] know that what God does endures forever. No one can add to what God does, and no one can take away from the things that God does. God does those things in order that people would revere him.
Ngiyazi yonke into eyenziwa nguNkulunkulu izakuba khona kokuphela; akulalutho olungengezwa kukho loba kususwe kukho. UNkulunkulu uyenza lokho ukuze abantu bamkhonze.
15 Things that exist now have already existed previously, and things that will happen in the future have already happened previously; God causes the same things to happen many times.
Loba yini ekhona seyake yaba khona, kulalokho okuzakuba khona sekwaba khona ngaphambili; njalo uNkulunkulu uzakubalisa okwedlulayo.
16 Furthermore, I saw that on this earth [MTY], even in the courts where we expect judges to make right decisions about what people had done, they did many wicked [DOU] things.
Njalo ngabona okunye ngaphansi kwelanga: endaweni yokwahlulela, ububi babukhona, endaweni yokulungisa, ububi babukhona.
17 [So] I said to myself [SYN], “God will judge [both] righteous [people] and wicked [people]; there is a time [for him to do that], because there is a time for him to do everything.”
Ngacabanga ngenhliziyo yami, “UNkulunkulu uzabehlulela bonke abalungileyo lababi, ngoba sizaba khona isikhathi sezenzakalo zonke, isikhathi sawo wonke umsebenzi.”
18 And regarding humans, I [also] said to myself, “God is testing us, to show us that [in one way] people are no different than animals,
Ngacabanga njalo ngathi, “UNkulunkulu uyabahlola abantu ukuze babone ukuthi banjengezinyamazana.
19 because what happens to people happens to animals. Animals die, and people die. We all must breathe [to remain alive]. [With regard to that], people have no advantage over animals, so I have a difficult time understanding that.
Isiphetho somuntu siyafana lesezinyamazana; isiphetho sinye sibalindele bonke: njengoba lokhu kuyafa, kanjalo lokunye kuyafa. Konke kokubili kulomphefumulo munye; umuntu kangcono kulenyamazana. Konke kuyize.
20 [People and animals] all die and are buried. We are all made of soil, and [when we die], our corpses become soil again.
Konke kuya ndawo yinye; konke kuvela othulini, yikho konke kubuyela othulini.
21 No one knows [RHQ] for sure that when we die, our souls/spirits go up to heaven and the souls/spirits of animals go down to the place where the dead are.”
Ngubani owaziyo ingabe umphefumulo womuntu uyakhwela uye phezulu kuthi owenyamazana wehlele phansi phakathi emhlabathini?”
22 So I concluded that the best thing for [us] people to do is to be happy about the work that we do, because that is what God has given to us. I say that because no one of us [RHQ] knows what happens to us after we die.
Yikho ngabona ukuthi kakukho okungcono emuntwini ngaphandle kokuthi akholise umsebenzi wakhe ngoba leso yiso isabelo sakhe. Ngoba kambe ngubani ongamenza ukuthi abone lokho okuzakwenzakala yena esedlule?
