Mhubiri 3
1 Kwa kuwa kila kitu na wakati wake, na majira kwa kila kusudi chini ya mbingu.
Everything has its own time—a time for all that happens here:
2 Kuna wakati wa kuzaliwa na wakati wa kufa, wakati wa kupanda na wakati wa kung'oa yaliyopandwa,
A time of birth, and a time of death. A time of planting, and a time of harvest.
3 wakati wa kuua na wakati wa kuponya, wakati wa kubomo na wakati wa kujenga.
A time of killing, and a time of healing. A time of tearing down, and a time of building up.
4 Kuna wakati wa kulia na wakati wa kucheka, wakati wa kuomboleza na wakati kucheza,
A time of crying, and a time of laughing. A time of mourning, and a time of dancing.
5 wakati wa kutupa mawe na wakati wa kukusanya mawe, wakati wa kukumbatia watu wengine wakati wa kutokumbatia.
A time of throwing away stones, and a time of gathering up stones. A time of embracing, and a time of avoiding embracing.
6 Kuna wakati wa kutafuta vitu na wakati wa kutotafuta, wakati wa kutunza vitu na wakati wa kuvitupa,
A time of searching, and a time of giving up searching. A time of keeping, and a time of throwing away.
7 wakati kuchana mavazi na wakati wa kuyashona, wakati wa kunyamaza na wakati wa kuzungumza.
A time of tearing, and a time of mending. A time of keeping quiet, a time of speaking up.
8 Kuna wakati wa kupenda na wakati wa kuchukia, wakati wa vita na wakati wa amani.
A time of loving, and a time of hating. A time of warfare, and a time of peace.
9 Ni faida gani mfanyakazi aipatayo katika kazi yake?
So what do you get for all your hard work?
10 Nimeona kazi ambayo Mungu amewapa wanadamu kuitimiza.
I have examined what God gives us to do.
11 Mungu amefanya kila kitu kufaa kwa wakati wake. Pia ameweka umilele ndani ya mioyo yao. Lakini mwanadamu hawezi kuelewa matendo ambayo Mungu ameyafanya, tangu mwanzo wao hadi mwisho.
Everything God does is beautifully timed, and even though he has also placed the idea of eternity in our minds, we can't fully understand what God does from beginning to end.
12 Ninajua kuwa hakuna kilicho bora kwa mtu yeyote kuliko kufurahi na kutenda mema maadamu anaishi-
I concluded that there's nothing better than being happy and looking for the good in life.
13 na kwamba kila mmoja anapaswa ale na kunywa na anapaswa kuelewa jinsi ya kufurahia mazuri ambayo yanatoka katika kazi zake zote. Hii ni zawadi kutoka kwa Mungu.
In addition everyone should eat and drink and enjoy their work—this is God's gift to us.
14 Ninajua kwamba chochote afanyacho Mungu kinadumu milele. Hakuna kinaweza kuongezwa au kuondolea, kwa sababu Mungu ndiye aliyekifanya, ili kwamba watu wamsogelee kwa heshima.
I also concluded that everything God does lasts forever: nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. God acts in this way so that people may stand in awe of him.
15 Chochote kilichopo kimekwisha kuwepo; chochote kitakachokuwepo kimekwisha kuwepo. Mungu huwafanya wanadamu kutafuka vitu vilivyjificha.
Whatever was, is; and whatever will be, has been, and God examines the whole of time.
16 Na nimeona kwamba chini ya jua ubaya upo mahali palipopaswa kuwa na haki, na sehemu ya haki mara nyingi ina ubaya.
I also observed that here on earth there was evil even in the place where there was supposed to be justice; even where things were meant to be right, there was evil.
17 Nikasema moyoni mwangu, “Mungu atahukumu mwenye haki na mbaya kwa wakati muafaka kwa kila jambo na kila tendo.
But then I thought to myself, “Ultimately God will judge both those who do right and those who do wrong, and every deed and action, at the appointed time.”
18 Nikasema moyoni mwangu, “Mungu huwajaribu wanadamu kuwaonyesha kwamba wao ni kama wanyama.”
I also thought to myself, “Regarding what happens to human beings—God proves to us that we're no better than animals.”
19 Kwa kuwa mwisho watoto wa wanadamu na mwisho wa wanyama ni sawa. Kifo cha mmoja ni sawa na kifo cha mwingine. Wote wana pumzi sawa. Hakuna faida kwa mwanadamu zaidi ya wanyama. Kwa kuwa hakuna kila kitu isipokuwa pumzi?
For what happens to human beings is the same as what happens to animals—in the same way one dies, the other dies too. They all have the breath of life—so regarding any advantage human beings have over animals, there is none. Definitely this is very hard to understand!
20 Kila kitu kinaenda sehemu moja. Kila kitu kinatoka mavumbini, na kila kitu kinarudi katika mavumbini.
They all end up in the same place—they all came from dust, and they all return to dust.
21 Ni nani ajuaye kama roho ya mwanadamu inaenda juu na roho ya wanyama inaenda chini ya nchi?
Who really knows whether the breath of life of human beings goes up above, and the breath of life of animals goes down below to the earth?
22 kwa hiyo tena nikatambua kwamba hakuna lililo jema kwa yeyote zaidi ya kufurahia kazi yake, kwa kuwa hilo ndilo jukumu lake. Ni nani awezaye kumleta tena kuona kinachotokea baada yake?
So I concluded that there's nothing better than for people to enjoy their work. This is what we are meant to do. For who can bring anyone back from the dead to show them what will happen after they die?
