Ecclesiastes 3
1 There is a right/correct time for everything, a time for everything that we do in this world.
Konke kulesikhathi esimisiweyo, njalo kulesikhathi sayo yonke indaba ngaphansi kwamazulu:
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 okuhlanyelweyo;
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 sokudiliza, 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 inyembezi, 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 sokulahla amatshe, lesikhathi sokubuthelela amatshe; isikhathi sokugona, lesikhathi sokuba khatshana lokugona;
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 inzuzo, lesikhathi sokuyekela kulahleke; isikhathi sokulondoloza, 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]).
Ulenzuzo bani osebenzayo kwatshikatshika kikho?
10 I have seen the work that God has given people to do.
Ngiwubonile umsebenzi uNkulunkulu awunike abantwana babantu ukuthi baphatheke ngawo.
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.
Konke ukwenze kwaba kuhle ngesikhathi sakho; wasebeka iphakade enhliziyweni yabo, ukuze kungabi lomuntu ongafumana umsebenzi uNkulunkulu awenzayo kusukela ekuqaleni kuze kube sekucineni.
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.
Ngiyazi ukuthi kakukho okuhle kubo ngaphandle kokuthokoza lokwenza okuhle empilweni yakhe.
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.
Futhi lokuthi wonke umuntu adle anathe akholise okuhle ngomtshikatshika wakhe wonke, 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 ukuthi konke uNkulunkulu akwenzayo kuzakuba khona phakade; kakukho okuzakwengezelelwa kukho, njalo kakukho okuzaphungulwa kukho; uNkulunkulu wakwenza ukuze besabe phambi kwakhe.
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.
Lokho okwakukhona kukhona khathesi, lalokho okuzakuba khona sekuvele kukhona; njalo uNkulunkulu ufuna okuxotshiweyo.
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.
Futhi ngasengibona ngaphansi kwelanga indawo yokwahlulela, kwakukhona ububi lapho; lendawo yokulunga, kwakukhona ububi lapho.
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.”
Ngathi mina enhliziyweni yami: UNkulunkulu uzakwahlulela olungileyo lomubi, ngoba kukhona lapho isikhathi sayo yonke indaba lesawo 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,
Ngathi mina enhliziyweni yami ngesimo sabantwana babantu ukuthi uNkulunkulu abatshengise obala ukuthi babone ukuthi bona uqobo bazinyamazana.
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.
Ngoba okwehlela abantwana babantu kwehlela lezinyamazana; njalo yinye into ebehlelayo; njengoba omunye esifa, ngokunjalo enye iyafa; yebo konke kulomoya munye, lomuntu kalakho angadlula ngakho inyamazana; ngoba 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 endaweninye; konke kuvela ethulini, njalo konke kubuyela ethulini.
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 owazi umoya wabantwana babantu owenyukela phezulu, lomoya wenyamazana owehlela phansi 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.
Ngakho ngabona ukuthi kakukho okungcono okwedlula ukuthi umuntu azithokozise ngemisebenzi yakhe, ngoba lokhu kuyisabelo sakhe. Ngoba ngubani ongamletha ukuthi abone lokho okuzakuba khona emva kwakhe?
