Mhubiri 3
1 Kwa kuwa kila kitu na wakati wake, na majira kwa kila kusudi chini ya mbingu.
There is a right/correct time for everything, a time for everything that we do in this world.
2 Kuna wakati wa kuzaliwa na wakati wa kufa, wakati wa kupanda na wakati wa kung'oa 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 kubomo 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 Kuna wakati wa kulia na wakati wa kucheka, wakati wa kuomboleza na wakati 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 kutupa mawe na wakati wa kukusanya mawe, wakati wa kukumbatia watu wengine 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 Kuna wakati wa kutafuta vitu na wakati wa kutotafuta, wakati wa kutunza vitu na wakati wa kuvitupa,
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 kuchana mavazi na wakati wa kuyashona, 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 Kuna 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 Ni faida gani mfanyakazi aipatayo katika kazi 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 kazi ambayo Mungu amewapa wanadamu kuitimiza.
I have seen the work that God has given people 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.
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 kuwa hakuna kilicho bora kwa mtu yeyote kuliko kufurahi na kutenda mema maadamu anaishi-
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 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.
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 chochote afanyacho Mungu kinadumu milele. Hakuna kinaweza kuongezwa au kuondolea, kwa sababu Mungu ndiye aliyekifanya, ili kwamba watu wamsogelee kwa heshima.
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 kimekwisha kuwepo; chochote kitakachokuwepo kimekwisha kuwepo. Mungu huwafanya wanadamu kutafuka vitu vilivyjificha.
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 Na nimeona kwamba chini ya jua ubaya upo mahali palipopaswa kuwa na haki, na sehemu ya haki mara nyingi ina ubaya.
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 Nikasema moyoni mwangu, “Mungu atahukumu mwenye haki na mbaya kwa wakati muafaka kwa kila jambo na 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 Nikasema moyoni mwangu, “Mungu huwajaribu wanadamu kuwaonyesha 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 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?
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 Kila kitu kinaenda sehemu moja. Kila kitu kinatoka mavumbini, na kila kitu kinarudi katika mavumbini.
[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 mwanadamu inaenda juu na roho ya wanyama inaenda chini ya nchi?
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 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 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.
