< Ecclesiastes 8 >
1 Who is a wise man? Who knows what the events in life mean? Wisdom in a man causes his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.
Ni nani aliye kama mtu mwenye hekima? Ni nani ajuaye maelezo ya mambo? Hekima hungʼarisha uso wa mtu na kubadili ugumu wa uso wake.
2 I advise you to obey the king's command because of God's oath to protect him.
Nawaambia, Tii amri ya mfalme, kwa sababu uliapa mbele za Mungu.
3 Do not hurry out of his presence, and do not stand in support of something wrong, for the king does whatever he desires.
Usiharakishe kuondoka mbele ya mfalme. Usiendelee kutenda lililo baya, kwa maana mfalme atafanya lolote apendalo.
4 The king's word rules, so who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
Kwa kuwa neno la mfalme ndilo lenye mamlaka ya mwisho, nani awezaye kumwambia, “Je, wewe unafanya nini?”
5 Whoever keeps the king's commands avoids harm. A wise man's heart recognizes the proper course and time of action.
Yeyote anayetii agizo lake hatadhurika, moyo wa hekima utajua wakati muafaka na jinsi ya kutenda.
6 For every matter there is a correct response and a time to respond, because the troubles of man are great.
Kwa maana kuna wakati muafaka na utaratibu wa kila jambo, ingawa huzuni ya mwanadamu huwa nzito juu yake.
7 No one knows what is coming next. Who can tell him what is coming?
Kwa vile hakuna mtu ajuaye siku zijazo, ni nani awezaye kumwambia linalokuja?
8 No one is ruler over his breath so as to stop the breath, and no one has power over the day of his death. No one is discharged from the army during a battle, and wickedness will not rescue those who are its slaves.
Hakuna mwanadamu awezaye kushikilia roho yake asife, wala hakuna mwenye uwezo juu ya siku ya kufa kwake. Kama vile hakuna yeyote arudishwaye nyuma wakati wa vita, kadhalika uovu hautawaweka huru wale wautendao.
9 I have realized all this; I have applied my heart to every kind of work that is done under the sun. There is a time when a person oppresses another person to that person's hurt.
Yote haya niliyaona, nilipokuwa natafakari kila kitu kinachotendeka chini ya jua. Kuna wakati ambapo mtu hujifanya bwana juu ya wengine kwa madhara yake mwenyewe.
10 So I saw the wicked buried publicly. They were taken from the holy area and buried and were praised by people in the city where they had done their wicked deeds. This also is uselessness.
Ndipo pia, nikaona waovu wakizikwa, wale ambao walizoea kuingia na kutoka mahali patakatifu na kupewa sifa katika mji ambapo walikuwa wamefanya haya. Hili nalo ni ubatili.
11 When a sentence against an evil crime is not executed quickly, it entices the hearts of human beings to do evil.
Wakati hukumu juu ya tendo ovu haitekelezwi upesi, mioyo ya watu hujaa mipango ya kutenda maovu.
12 Even though a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives a long time, yet I know that it will be better for those who respect God, for those who stand before him and show him respect.
Ingawa mtu mwovu hufanya maovu mia moja na akaendelea kuishi maisha marefu, najua kwamba itakuwa bora zaidi kwa watu wanaomwogopa Mungu, wamchao Mungu.
13 But it will not go well for a wicked man; his life will not be prolonged. His days are like a fleeting shadow because he does not honor God.
Lakini kwa sababu waovu hawamwogopi Mungu, hawatafanikiwa, maisha yao hayatarefuka kama kivuli.
14 There is another useless vapor—something else that is done on the earth. Things happen to righteous people as they happen to wicked people, and things happen to wicked people as they happen to righteous people. I say that this also is useless vapor.
Kuna kitu kingine ambacho ni ubatili kinachotokea duniani: Watu waadilifu kupata yale yanayowastahili waovu, nao waovu kupata yale yanayowastahili waadilifu. Hili nalo pia, nasema ni ubatili.
15 So I recommend happiness, because a man has no better thing under the sun than to eat and drink and to be happy. It is happiness that will accompany him in his labor for all the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.
Kwa hiyo mimi ninasifu kufurahia maisha, kwa sababu hakuna kitu bora zaidi kwa mwanadamu chini ya jua kuliko kula, kunywa na kufurahi. Kisha furaha itafuatana naye kazini mwake siku zote za maisha yake ambazo amepewa na Mungu chini ya jua.
16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to understand the work that is done on the earth, work often done without sleep for the eyes at night or in the day,
Nilipotafakari akilini mwangu ili nijue hekima na kuangalia kazi ya mwanadamu duniani, jinsi ambavyo macho yake hayapati usingizi mchana wala usiku,
17 then I considered all of God's deeds, and that man cannot understand the work that is done under the sun. No matter how much a man labors to find the answers, he will not find them. Even though a wise man might believe he knows, he really does not.
ndipo nikaona yale yote ambayo Mungu ameyafanya. Hakuna yeyote awezaye kuelewa yale yanayotendeka chini ya jua. Licha ya juhudi zake zote za kutafuta, mtu hawezi kugundua maana yake. Hata ingawa mtu mwenye hekima anadai kuwa anafahamu, kwa hakika hawezi kutambua.