Kudziyidzika mu shango
1 Kakale ndakabona kutshambilidziwa kose kunoshingikala mu shango. Tjidzobona, mishodzi ye banotshambilidziwa, ngono akuna unobanyaladza! Ku lubizho gwe batshambilidzi babo kwakabe kuna simba, ngono kwakabe kusina unobanyaladza. 2 Ndakaalakana zwangu kuti bathu bakafazwabo kale banoyita pana banotjila, 3 koga unobapinda bose ndeusathu akabepo, kakale aathu akabona mishingo mibiibi inoshingikala mu shango. 4 Ipapo ndakabona kuti kukakanyala ne kushinga ne bunyambi zodwa mu kuyemula zwe mbakidzani naye. Ikoku naiko madatha ne tatana ne phepo. 5 Tjilengwe tjofukata maboko atjo, tjikazwija nyama. 6 Koyita kutukununu kunozhala luboko ngono una mbakiso, pana kunozhala maboko mabili ngono azhele kushinga ne kutatana ne phepo. 7 Kakale, ndakabona madatha mu shango, 8 nthu usina uwe, kene mwana we tjilume kene nnung'una, koga egala eshinga koga ne mesho awe aatoguta fumwa, kwaasingake akabhuzwa kuti, “Iko ndodziyilila ani zwingapa ndizwinyima nzipo?” Ikokubo madatha ne nja usingashathise. 9 Bathu babili banopinda nng'ompela, ngobe bana mbhayilo mbuya we nshingo wabo. 10 Ngobe ha bewila pasi, mmwe unomusa nkwinya, yee mme wee wapalala iye uyega unoti ewila pasi akashaya unommusa. 11 Kakale, ha babili beyizela bose, banodziyigwa, koga nthu ungadziyigwa tjini aliyega? 12 Nthu unotubula kunda mmwe unobe aliyega, koga babili aangamililane nabo. Nsungo wakakoshiwa katatu autothubuka tjinyolotjo. 13 Nzhuzha we nshayi kakale akatjenjela unopinda mambo we nthuntana we tjilengwe, usingatole mikumbulo ye bathu, 14 nenguba akati edwa ku ng'umba ye busungwa kabigwa mambo koga mu bumambo gugwe wakabe azwagwa ali nshayi. 15 Ndakabona bose batjili banoyendayenda mu shango, kang'ompela ne ntjetjana iwouje wakabe akafanila kuma mu bumo gugwe, 16 kwakabe kuna bathu basibashoma ntjetjana ali pezhugwi kwabo bose. Nekwakajalo ibabo banowozha shule abatowon'amutjila. Malebeswa wose ikoku madatha ne kutatana ne phepo.
1 I looked again and saw people being mistreated everywhere on earth. They were crying, but no one was there to offer comfort, and those who mistreated them were powerful. 2 I said to myself, “The dead are better off than the living. 3 But those who have never been born are better off than anyone else, because they have never seen the terrible things that happen on this earth.”
4 Then I realized that we work and do wonderful things just because we are jealous of others. This makes no more sense than chasing the wind.
5 Fools will fold their hands
and starve to death.
6 Yet a very little food
eaten in peace
is better than twice as much
earned from overwork
and chasing the wind.
7 Once again I saw that nothing on earth makes sense. 8 For example, some people don't have friends or family. But they are never satisfied with what they own, and they never stop working to get more. They should ask themselves, “Why am I always working to have more? Who will get what I leave behind?” What a senseless and miserable life!
It Is Better To Have a Friend
9 You are better having a friend than to be all alone, because then you will get more enjoyment out of what you earn. 10 If you fall, your friend can help you up. But if you fall without having a friend nearby, you are really in trouble. 11 If you sleep alone, you won't have anyone to keep you warm on a cold night. 12 Someone might be able to beat up one of you, but not both of you. As the saying goes, “A rope made from three strands of cord is hard to break.”
13 You may be poor and young, but if you are wise, you are better off than a foolish old king who won't listen to advice. 14 Even if you were not born into the royal family and have been a prisoner and poor, you can still be king. 15 I once saw everyone in the world follow a young leader who came to power after the king was gone. 16 His followers could not even be counted. But years from now, no one will praise him—this makes no more sense than chasing the wind.