Mhubiri 3
1 Kuna wakati kwa ajili ya kila jambo, nayo majira kwa kila tendo chini ya mbingu:
There is a right/correct time for everything, a time for everything that we do in this world.
2 wakati wa kuzaliwa na wakati wa kufa, wakati wa kupanda na wakati wa kungʼoa yaliyopandwa,
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.
3 wakati wa kuua na wakati wa kuponya, wakati wa kubomoa, na wakati wa kujenga,
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.
4 wakati wa kulia na wakati wa kucheka, wakati wa kuomboleza na wakati wa kucheza,
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].
5 wakati wa kutawanya mawe na wakati wa kukusanya mawe, wakati wa kukumbatia na wakati wa kutokumbatia,
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].
6 wakati wa kutafuta na wakati wa kupoteza, wakati wa kuweka na wakati wa kutupa,
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.
7 wakati wa kurarua na wakati wa kushona, wakati wa kunyamaza na wakati wa kuzungumza,
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.
8 wakati wa kupenda na wakati wa kuchukia, wakati wa vita na wakati wa amani.
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.
9 Mfanyakazi anapata faida gani kutokana na taabu yake?
(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]).
10 Nimeona mzigo Mungu alioweka juu ya wanadamu.
I have seen the work that God has given people to do.
11 Amefanya kila kitu kiwe kizuri kwa wakati wake. Pia ameiweka hiyo milele katika mioyo ya wanadamu, wala hawawezi kutambua kwa kina yale ambayo Mungu amefanya tangu mwanzo hadi mwisho.
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.
12 Ninajua kwamba hakuna kitu bora kwa wanadamu kuliko kuwa na furaha na kutenda mema wakati wanapoishi.
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.
13 Tena ni karama ya Mungu kila mtu apate kula na kunywa na kujiburudisha kwa mema katika kazi yake yote.
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.
14 Ninajua kwamba kila kitu anachokifanya Mungu kitadumu milele, hakuna kinachoweza kuongezwa au kupunguzwa. Mungu hufanya hivyo ili watu wamche yeye.
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.
15 Chochote kilichopo kilishakuwepo, na kitakachokuwepo kimekwishakuwepo kabla; naye Mungu huyaita yale yaliyopita yarudi tena.
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.
16 Pia nikaona kitu kingine tena chini ya jua: Mahali pa kutolea hukumu, uovu ulikuwepo, mahali pa kupatia haki, uovu ulikuwepo.
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.
17 Nikafikiri moyoni mwangu, “Mungu atawaleta hukumuni wote wawili wenye haki na waovu, kwa maana kutakuwako na wakati kwa ajili ya kila jambo, wakati kwa ajili ya kila tendo.”
[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.”
18 Pia nikafikiri, “Kuhusu wanadamu, Mungu huwajaribu ili wajione kwamba wao ni kama wanyama.
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,
19 Hatima ya mwanadamu ni kama ile ya wanyama; wote wana mwisho unaofanana: Jinsi anavyokufa mnyama, ndivyo anavyokufa mwanadamu. Wote wana pumzi inayofanana; mwanadamu hana cha zaidi kuliko mnyama. Kila kitu ni ubatili.
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.
20 Wote huenda mahali panapofanana; wote hutoka mavumbini, mavumbini wote hurudi.
[People and animals] all die and are buried. We are all made of soil, and [when we die], our corpses become soil again.
21 Ni nani ajuaye kama roho ya mtu huenda juu na roho ya mnyama hushuka chini ardhini?”
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.”
22 Kwa hiyo nikaona kwamba hakuna kitu kilicho bora zaidi kwa mwanadamu kuliko kuifurahia kazi yake, kwa sababu hilo ndilo fungu lake. Kwa maana ni nani awezaye kumrudisha ili aje kuona kile kitakachotendeka baada yake?
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.
