Mosakoli 12
1 Kanisa Mokeli na yo, na mikolo nyonso ya bolenge na yo, liboso ete mikolo ya pasi ekomela yo, mpe mibu epusana, mibu oyo okoloba na tina na yango: « Nazali kosepela na ngai na yango te; »
While you are still young, keep thinking about [God], who created you. Do that before [you are old] and you experience many troubles, during the years when you say “I no [longer] enjoy being alive.”
2 liboso ete moyi mpe pole, sanza mpe minzoto, ekoma molili, mpe mapata ezonga sima na mvula;
[When you become old], the light from the sun and moon and stars will [seem] dim [to you], and [it will seem that the rain] clouds [always] return [quickly] after it rains.
3 tango bakengeli ya ndako bakolenga, mpe bato ya makasi bakofukama; tango basi oyo banikaka ble bakotika konika yango mpo ete bazali lisusu mingi te, mpe bato oyo batalaka na maninisa bakobungisa kitoko na bango;
Then your [arms that you use to protect] [MET] your bodies will shake/tremble, and your [legs that support] [MET] your bodies will become weak. Many of your [teeth that you use to] grind/chew [your food] will fall out, and your [eyes that you use to] look out of windows will not see clearly.
4 tango bikangelo ya ekuke ekokangama na balabala, mpe makelele ya basi oyo banikaka ble ekosila; tango bato balamukaka na banzembo ya bandeke mpe bayembi ya basi batikaka koyemba;
Your [ears] [MET] will not hear the noise in the streets, and you will not be able to hear clearly the sound of people grinding grain with millstones. You will be awakened in the morning by hearing the birds singing/chirping, [but] you will not be able to hear well the songs that (the birds/people) sing.
5 tango bato bakomaka kobanga komata likolo, mpe bakomaka kobanga makama na nzela; tango nzete ya pome ebimisaka mbuma, tango mabanki ekomaka kilo, mpe baposa ekokisamaka lisusu te; pamba te moto akendaka na ndako ya libela, mpe basi oyo balelaka na bibembe basanganaka na balabala.
You will be afraid to be in high places and afraid of dangers on the roads that you walk on. [Your hair] will become [white like] [MET] the flowers of almond trees. [When you try to walk], you will drag yourself along like [MET] grasshoppers, and you will no longer desire [to have sex]. Then you will [die and] go to your eternal home, and people who will mourn for you will be in the streets.
6 Solo, kanisa Mokeli na yo liboso ete singa ya palata ekatana, kopo ya wolo efinana, eloko ya mayi ebukana na libulu ya mayi, mpe mashini oyo babendelaka mayi na libulu ebukana;
[Think much about God now, because] soon our lives will end, [like] [MET] silver chains or golden bowls that break easily, or like pitchers/jugs that are broken at the water fountain, or like broken pulleys at a well.
7 liboso ete putulu ezonga na mabele epai wapi ewutaki, mpe pema ezonga epai ya Nzambe oyo apesaki yango.
Then our corpses will [decay and] become dirt again, and our spirits will return to God, the one who gave us our spirits.
8 Pamba na pamba, elobi mosakoli, makambo nyonso ezali kaka pamba.
[So] I say [again] that it is difficult to understand why everything happens; everything is mysterious.
9 Mosakoli azalaki kaka moto ya bwanya te, kasi azalaki mpe koyekolisa bato boyebi; akanisaki mingi, alukaki mingi mpe atiaki na molongo masese ebele penza.
I was considered to be a very wise man, and I taught the people many things. I assembled/collected and wrote down many proverbs, and I carefully thought about and studied them.
10 Mosakoli asalaki makasi mpo na koluka koyeba maloba ya elengi mpe kokoma na bosembo makambo ya solo.
I searched for the right words, and what I have written is reliable and true.
11 Maloba ya bato ya bwanya ezali lokola banzube, mpe buku ya masese na bango ezali lokola basete oyo ekotaka makasi na libaya. Masese yango nyonso ewuti epai ya Mobateli mpate moko.
The things that [I and other] wise people say [teach people what they should do]; they are like [SIM] (goads/sharp sticks that people use to strike animals to direct where they should go). They are like [SIM] nails that stick out of pieces of wood. They are given to us by [God, who is like] [MET] our shepherd.
12 Mwana na ngai, keba ete obakisa eloko moko te na likolo na yango. Suka ezali te mpo na kokoma mikanda ebele, mpe koyekola mingi elembisaka nzoto.
[So], my son, pay careful attention to what I have written, and choose carefully what you read that others have written, [because] writing proverbs/books is endless, and [trying to] study them all will cause you to become exhausted.
13 Yoka suka ya mateya nyonso: Tosa Nzambe mpe batela mibeko na Ye, pamba te yango nde eleki na tina mpo na moto.
[Now] you have heard all [that I have told you], and here is the conclusion: Revere God, and obey his commandments, because those commandments summarize everything that people should do.
14 Pamba te, Nzambe akomema misala nyonso na kosambisama, ezala oyo ebombama, ya malamu to ya mabe.
And do not forget that God will judge everything that we do, good things and bad things, [even] things that we do secretly.
