Ecclesiastes 6
1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it [is] common among men:
Kuna ubaya ambao nimeuona chini ya jua, na ni mbaya kwa watu.
2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat of it, but a stranger eateth it: this [is] vanity, and it [is] an evil disease.
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 begetteth a hundred [children], and liveth many years, so that the days of his years are many, and his soul is not filled with good, and also [that] he hath no burial; I say, [that] an untimely birth [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 cometh with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
Hata mtoto huyo amezaliwa bila faida na anapita katika giza, na jina lake linabaki limefichika.
5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known [any thing]: this hath more rest than the other.
Ingawa mtoto huyu haoni jua au kujua kitu chochote, ana pumziko ingawa mtu huyo hakupumzika.
6 Yes, though he liveth a thousand years twice [told], yet hath he seen no good: do not all go 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 labor of man [is] for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
Ingawa kazi yote ya mtu ni kujaza mdomo wake, ila hamu yake haishibi.
8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
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 [is] the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this [is] also vanity and vexation 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 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it [is] man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
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 Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what [is] man the better?
Maneno mengi ambayo yanaongelewa, ndivyo yasiyo na maana yanaongezeka, kwa hiyo ni faida gani iliyopo kwa mwanadamu?
12 For who knoweth what [is] good for man in [this] life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man 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?
