Mhubiri 6
1 Kuna ubaya ambao nimeuona chini ya jua, na ni mbaya kwa watu.
Here was an evil, I had seen under the sun, —and it is, common, among men:
2 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.
A man to whom God giveth riches and gains and honour, so that nothing doth he lack for his soul—of all that he craveth, and yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but, a man unknown, eateth it, —this, was vanity, and, an incurable evil, it was.
3 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.
Though a man should beget a hundred children, and live, many years, so that many should be the days of his years but, his own soul, should not be satisfied with the good, and he should not even have, a burial, I said, Better than he, is an untimely birth!
4 Hata mtoto huyo amezaliwa bila faida na anapita katika giza, na jina lake linabaki limefichika.
For, in vain, it came in, and, in darkness, it departeth, —and, with darkness, its name, is covered:
5 Ingawa mtoto huyu haoni jua au kujua kitu chochote, ana pumziko ingawa mtu huyo hakupumzika.
even the sun, it never saw, nor aught did it know, —more quietness, hath this than the other.
6 Hata kama mtu akiishi miaka elfu mbili lakini hajifunzi kufuraia vitu vizuri, aenda sehemu moja kama mtu yeyote yule.
Even though one hath lived a thousand years twice told, yet, good, hath he not seen, —is it not, unto one place, that, all, are going?
7 Ingawa kazi yote ya mtu ni kujaza mdomo wake, ila hamu yake haishibi.
All the toil of man, is for his mouth, —though, even the desire, is not satisfied!
8 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?
For what profit hath the wise man, over the dullard? What can, the poor man, know—so as to walk before the living?
9 Ni bora kuridhika na kile ambacho macho hukiona kuliko kutamani kile ambacho hamu isiyo tulia inatamani, ambayo pia ni mvuke na kujaribu kuuchunga upepo.
Better what the eyes behold, than the wandering of desire, —even this, was vanity, and a feeding on wind.
10 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.
Whatsoever one may be, long ago, was he called by his name, and it is known that it is—Son of Earth, —he cannot, therefore, contend with one stronger than he.
11 Maneno mengi ambayo yanaongelewa, ndivyo yasiyo na maana yanaongezeka, kwa hiyo ni faida gani iliyopo kwa mwanadamu?
Seeing there are things in abundance which make vanity abound, what profit hath man?
12 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?
For who knoweth what is good for a man throughout his life, for the number of the days of his life of vanity, seeing he will make them, like a shadow, —for who can tell a man, what shall be after him, under the sun?
