Butjenjedu
1 Zina buya lopinda tjizholo tjakanaka, ne zhuba le lufu lopinda le kuzwagwa. 2 Koyita kuyenda ku ng'umba ye tjililo pana ku ng'umba ye zojiwa, ngobe ndilo bhelelo le bathu bose, kakale banotjila banowokulonga mu moyo. 3 Buyendasi goyita pa tjiseko, ngoti buso gungalakidza kusashatha ngono moyo wakashatha. 4 Mimoyo ye batjenjedu imu ng'umba ye tjililo, koga mimoyo ye zwilengwe imu ng'umba ye mizipo. 5 Koyita kuti nthu aamutjile kutjemegwa nge ntjenjedu pana kuteedza lumbo gwe zwilengwe. 6 Koga se kuthathanya kwe miwa kusi kwe hali, tjakajalo tjiseko tje zwilengwe, ikoku naiko madatha. 7 Nge malebeswa tshambilidzo ino thama ntjenjedu akabe tjilengwe, ne tjizwimbanlomo tjobodza nkumbulo. 8 Koyita bhelelo le tjithu pana kutangisa kwatjo, kakale moyonlefu unoyita pa mazwikudzo. 9 Usitjimbidze wagwadzamoyo, ngobe kugwadzamoyo kogala mu zwifuba zwe zwilengwe. 10 Usitongoti, “Ini misi ya ntolo ipinda misi ya ngwenu?” Ngobe ha uyijalo aautobhuzwa ne butjenjedu. 11 Butjenjedu gwakanaka aguna thaka, i bhatsho muna ibabo banotjila. 12 Ngobe butjenjedu gobakilila koga se mari e bakilila, bhatsho ye luzibo hwuti butjenjedu gotjengeta butjilo gwa iye unago. 13 Kumbulani mishingo ye Ndzimu, ndiyani unga tambunudza tjithu tjawakakombamisa? 14 Zhuba le kubhudilila ushathe, koga mu zhuba le manikano kumbula woku, Ndzimu wakalithama koga sa ilelije, kuti nthu asitongo ziba tjinowoshingikala shule. 15 Mu butjilo gwangu gusigwatjimwe ndakazwibona zose, kuna nlulwami unoloba mu bululwami gugwe, kukabe ne nthu mbi unobe ne butjilo gulefu mu kushinga bubi kukwe. 16 Usibe nlulwami kwaka pindilila, kakale usitongobe ntjenjedusa, unowobe uzwibulailani? 17 Usitongobe mbimbi, kakale usitongobe tjilengwe, unowobe ufilani tjibaka tjitjo tjisathu tjikaswika? 18 Kubuya kuti ubhate ikoku, usitongo letja, ngobe iye unotja Ndzimu unowokunda zose. 19 Butjenjedu go pa simba nthu wakatjenjela kupinda gumi le balauli mu nzi nkulu. 20 Malebeswa hwuti akuna nlulwami mu shango unothama bubuya asingatongoyita tjibi. 21 Usibe ne hanya ne zwithu zose zwinolebgwa ne bathu, ngobe ungadwa uhwa nlanda uwo ekulonga bhiso, 22 unoziba tjamu moyo uwo kuti iwe ngekuko wakatongo longa bamwe bhiso. 23 Kose ikoku ndaka kulika nge butjenjedu, ndakati, “Ndowotjenjela,” koga kwake kuli kule nami. 24 Itjo tjiyapo, tjikulekule ntome tjimukati mukatikati, ndiani ungatjiwana? 25 Ndakalonga meya mu nyama mukushakisisa butjenjedu ne tjimo tje zwithu, ne kuziba bubi gwe bulengwe ne bulengwe gwe bupengo. 26 Ndakawana tjithu tjinogwadza kupinda lufu, kuli nkadzi ali dati ali bhuzhu, maboko awe ali ketani, koga iye unoshathisa Ndzimu unomphunyuka, koga ntjinyi unosungwa nge nkadzi wakajalo. 27 “Bonani, tjandakawana,” koleba Nsumikili, “Ndakati ndishanganya zwithu kuti ndibone tjimo tjazo, 28 shule kwe kushakisisa kanjinji, akuna tjandakawana. Ndakawana nlume nng'ompela pakati kwe tjiwulu (1 000) tje bathu, koga we tjikadzi pakati kwa bose ibabo ndakansheta. 29 Bonani, tjithu tjing'ompela tjandakawana ndikuti Ndzimu wakabumba nthu akalulwama, koga bathu banoshaka mano manjinji.”
Thoughts about Life
1 A good reputation is better than expensive perfume; and the day you die is better than the day you are born.
2 It is better to go to a home where there is mourning than to one where there is a party, because the living should always remind themselves that death is waiting for us all.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter; it may sadden your face, but it sharpens your understanding.
4 Someone who is always thinking about happiness is a fool. A wise person thinks about death.
5 It is better to have wise people reprimand you than to have stupid people sing your praises.
6 When a fool laughs, it is like thorns crackling in a fire. It doesn't mean a thing.
7 You may be wise, but if you cheat someone, you are acting like a fool. If you take a bribe, you ruin your character.
8 The end of something is better than its beginning.
Patience is better than pride.
9 Keep your temper under control; it is foolish to harbor a grudge.
10 Never ask, “Oh, why were things so much better in the old days?” It's not an intelligent question.
11 Everyone who lives ought to be wise; it is as good as receiving an inheritance 12 and will give you as much security as money can. Wisdom keeps you safe—this is the advantage of knowledge.
13 Think about what God has done. How can anyone straighten out what God has made crooked? 14 When things are going well for you, be glad, and when trouble comes, just remember: God sends both happiness and trouble; you never know what is going to happen next.
15 My life has been useless, but in it I have seen everything. Some good people may die while others live on, even though they are evil. 16 So don't be too good or too wise—why kill yourself? 17 But don't be too wicked or too foolish, either—why die before you have to? 18 Avoid both extremes. If you have reverence for God, you will be successful anyway.
19 Wisdom does more for a person than ten rulers can do for a city.
20 There is no one on earth who does what is right all the time and never makes a mistake.
21 Don't pay attention to everything people say—you may hear your servant insulting you, 22 and you know yourself that you have insulted other people many times.
23 I used my wisdom to test all of this. I was determined to be wise, but it was beyond me. 24 How can anyone discover what life means? It is too deep for us, too hard to understand. 25 But I devoted myself to knowledge and study; I was determined to find wisdom and the answers to my questions, and to learn how wicked and foolish stupidity is.
26 I found something more bitter than death—the woman who is like a trap. The love she offers you will catch you like a net, and her arms around you will hold you like a chain. A man who pleases God can get away, but she will catch the sinner. 27 Yes, said the Philosopher, I found this out little by little while I was looking for answers. 28 I have looked for other answers but have found none. I found one man in a thousand that I could respect, but not one woman. 29 This is all that I have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.