1 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:
Kuna baa nililoliona mimi chini ya jua, nalo linawalemea wanadamu kwa uzito;
2 a man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
mtu aliyepewa na Mungu mali, ukwasi, na heshima, hata asipungukiwe na kitu cho chote kwa nafsi yake, katika yote anayoyatamani walakini Mungu hamwezeshi kula katika hizo; bali mgeni hula. Hayo ndiyo ubatili hasa, nayo ni ugonjwa mbaya.
3 If a man beget an hundred children , and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.
Mtu akizaa watoto mia, akaishi miaka mingi, nazo siku za maisha yake ni nyingi, lakini nafsi yake haikushiba mema; tena ikiwa, zaidi ya hayo, amekosa maziko; mimi nasema, Heri mimba iliyoharibika kuliko huyo;
4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
yaani, hiyo huja katika ubatili, na huenda gizani, nalo jina lake limefunikwa giza;
5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
tena, haikuliona jua wala kulifahamu; basi, hii imepata kustarehe kuliko yule;
6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told , yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
naam, ajapoishi miaka elfu mara mbili, asijiburudishe kwa mema; je! Wote hawaendi mahali pamoja?
7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
Kazi yote ya binadamu ni kwa kinywa chake, Walakini hata hivyo nafsi yake hashibi.
8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
Kwa maana mwenye hekima hupata faida gani kuliko mpumbavu? Au maskini ana nini kuliko yeye ajuaye kwenda mbele ya walio hai?
9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
Heri kuona kwa macho, Kuliko kutanga-tanga kwa tamaa. Hayo nayo ni ubatili, na kujilisha upepo.
10 That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.
Na awe kitu cho chote, aliitwa jina lake zamani za kale, naye amejulikana kuwa ndiye mwanadamu; wala hawezi kabisa kushindana na yeye aliye na uwezo kuliko yeye mwenyewe.
11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?
Basi, kwa kuwa kuna mambo mengi yaongezayo ubatili, mwanadamu hufaidiwa nini?
12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
Kwa maana ni nani ajuaye yaliyo mema ya mwanadamu katika maisha yake, siku zote za maisha yake ya ubatili, anayoishi kama kivuli? Kwa maana ni nani awezaye kumweleza mwanadamu mambo yatakayofuata baada yake chini ya jua?
