1 I thought long and hard about all this and saw that God controls the actions of wise and righteous people, even their love and their hate. No one knows anything about what lies ahead. 2 It makes no difference. The same fate comes to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the bad, to those who are religious and those who are not, to those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. A good person is no better off than a sinner; one who takes an oath is no better off than one who does not. 3 One fate comes to all alike, and this is as wrong as anything that happens in this world. As long as people live, their minds are full of evil and madness, and suddenly they die. 4 But anyone who is alive in the world of the living has some hope; a live dog is better off than a dead lion. 5 Yes, the living know they are going to die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward; they are completely forgotten. 6 Their loves, their hates, their passions, all died with them. They will never again take part in anything that happens in this world.
7 Go ahead—eat your food and be happy; drink your wine and be cheerful. It's all right with God. 8 Always look happy and cheerful. 9 Enjoy life with the one you love, as long as you live the useless life that God has given you in this world. Enjoy every useless day of it, because that is all you will get for all your trouble. 10 Work hard at whatever you do, because there will be no action, no thought, no knowledge, no wisdom in the world of the dead—and that is where you are going.
11 I realized another thing, that in this world fast runners do not always win the races, and the brave do not always win the battles. The wise do not always earn a living, intelligent people do not always get rich, and capable people do not always rise to high positions. Bad luck happens to everyone. 12 You never know when your time is coming. Like birds suddenly caught in a trap, like fish caught in a net, we are trapped at some evil moment when we least expect it.
Thoughts on Wisdom and Foolishness
13 There is something else I saw, a good example of how wisdom is regarded in this world. 14 There was a little town without many people in it. A powerful king attacked it. He surrounded it and prepared to break through the walls. 15 Someone lived there who was poor, but so clever that he could have saved the town. But no one thought about him. 16 I have always said that wisdom is better than strength, but no one thinks of the poor as wise or pays any attention to what they say. 17 It is better to listen to the quiet words of someone wise than to the shouts of a ruler at a council of fools. 18 Wisdom does more good than weapons, but one sinner can undo a lot of good.
Bhelelo linofanana la bose
1 Koga ikoku kose ndakakulingisisa, ha kushakisisa kose, kuti balulwami ne batjenjedu ne mishingo yabo bamu luboko gwe Ndzimu tjini, kungabe ludo kene lubengo koga nthu aatoziba tjimwe. Tjimwe ne tjimwe mbeli kwabo madatha, 2 ngobe bhelelo labo bose ling'ompela, ku balulwami ne babiibi, ku babuya ne babiibi, kuna bakatjenapala ne kuna bakatemapala, kuna unodusa zwibhayilo ne kuna usingaduse zwibhayilo. Sekwa kuli iko ku nlulwami kwaka jalobo ku ntjinyi, ne unotuna unofanana koga ne usingatune. 3 Ikoku bubi mu tjimwe ne tjimwe tjinoshingwa mu shango, kuti bhelelo le bathu ling'ompela, kakale kuti mimoyo ye bathu izhele bubi ne bupengo gumu mimoyo yabo ha batjatjila, kudwa ipapo banoyenda ku bafi. 4 Koga iye unozwibhatshanya ne banotjila una kugalabgwe, mbgwa phenyu inoyita pa shumba yakafa. 5 Bathu banotjila banoziba kuti banowofa, koga bafi abatoziba tjimwe, abatjina mbhayilo, akutjakumbugwa nge kwabo. 6 Ludo gwabo ne benga kwabo ne yemula kwabo kwakadzima, abatjowobe ne gobe muna zwinoshingikala mu shango. 7 Yenda, unoja zojiwa ne kushatha, ung'we nkumbi we zhambi nge moyo wakashatha, ngobe Ndzimu waka kudumila kale kwaunothama. 8 Zwiambalo zwizo ngazwigale zwili zwitjena, usitongo letja kugala wakazhodza nsholo uwo mafuta. 9 Zipigwa ne butjilo ne nkadzi uwo wa unoda, mazhuba wose asi a tjimwe awakapiwa ne Ndzimu mu shango, ngobe ndilo gobe lilo mu butjilo ne mu kushinga kwaunoshinga mu shango. 10 Tjaunoshinga ne maboko awo, utjishinge ne masimba, ngobe akuna nshingo kene njalakang'wa kene luzibo kene butjenjedu ku bugalo gwe bafi, iko kwaunoyenda. 11 Ndakabona kakale mu shango kuti lubilo ate gwe balelu kene kuti ngwa aitokundiwa ne bakasima kene zojiwa ku batjenjedu, kene fumwa kuna be luzibo gupezhugwi kene kudiwa kuna bana bunyambi, koga banowigwa bose ne zwinoyitikala. 12 Nthu aatoziba tjibaka tjitje. Se hwobe dzinobhakwa ne gwanga gwakabangalala, kakale se nyuni dzinobhatshigwa ne bhuzhu, ndiko bakololo be nthu sekwa banoteyiwa ne dati nge tjibaka tjakabipa atjibawila.
Mikumbulo ye butjenjedu ne ye bulengwe
13 Ndakabona ifaniso tje butjenjedu igogu mu shango, kukalingika kuli kukulu kwazo kundili. 14 Kwakabe kuna ne nzi ntukununu una balume bashomanana, mambo mmwe nkulu kaunginilila kaukomba, akabaka makuma makulu e ngwa kuwopoteleka. 15 Koga kwakawanika mu nzi iwoyo kuna nlume we nshayi wakatjenjela, ngono nge butjenjedu gugwe akasunungula nzi uwoyo. Koga akuna nthu wakadwapo kakumbula nlume iwoyo we nshayi. 16 Imi ndinoti butjenjedu gopinda masimba, nenguba butjenjedu gwe nshayi gulingigwa pasi ne matama awe asingatjengetiwe. 17 Matama e ntjenjedu ha eteedzegwa pasina zhoba anoyita kupinda kumimila kwe ntungamili pakati pe zwilengwe. 18 Butjenjedu go pinda zwibhayano zwe ngwa, koga ntjinyi ung'ompela unopaladza bubuya gunjinji.