¹Ndiani akafanana nomunhu akachenjera? Ndiani anoziva kududzira chinhu? Uchenjeri hwomunhu hunobwinyisa chiso chake; hasha dzechiso chake dzinoshandurwa.

¹Who [is] as the wise? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? The wisdom of man causeth his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.

²Ndinoti, Chengeta murayiro wamambo, uzviite nokuda kwezvawakapikira Mwari.

²I pray thee, the commandment of a king keep, even for the sake of the oath of God.

³Usakurumidza kubva pamberi pake; usatsungirira pachinhu chakaipa, nekuti anoita zvose zvaanoda.

³Be not troubled at his presence, thou mayest go, stand not in an evil thing, for all that he pleaseth he doth.

⁴nekuti shoko ramambo rine simba, ndiani angati kwaari, Munoiteiko?

⁴Where the word of a king [is] power [is], and who saith to him, `What dost thou?`

⁵Munhu anochengeta murayiro, haangaoni chinhu chakaipa; moyo wowakachenjera unoziva nguva nokutongwa.

⁵Whoso is keeping a command knoweth no evil thing, and time and judgment the heart of the wise knoweth.

⁶nekuti chinhu chimwe nechimwe chine nguva yacho nokutongwa kwacho; nekuti kushata komunhu kunomuremedza;

⁶For to every delight there is a time and a judgment, for the misfortune of man is great upon him.

⁷nekuti haazivi zvichazovapo; nekuti ndiani angamuzivisa kuti zvichava zvakadini?

⁷For he knoweth not that which shall be, for when it shall be who declareth to him?

⁸Hakuna munhu ane simba pamusoro pemhepo, kuti adzivirire mhepo; uye haana simba pamusoro pezuva rorufu; hakuna kukangamwirwa pakurwa; saizvozvo zvakaipa hazvingarwiri iye anozviita.

⁸There is no man ruling over the spirit to restrain the spirit, and there is no authority over the day of death, and there is no discharge in battle, and wickedness delivereth not its possessors.

⁹Izvozvi zvose ndakazviona, ndikarangarira nomoyo wangu mabasa ose anoitwa pasi pezuva, panguva kana mumwe munhu ane simba pamusoro pomumwe, achimuitira zvakaipa.

⁹All this I have seen so as to give my heart to every work that hath been done under the sun; a time that man hath ruled over man to his own evil.

¹⁰Saizvozvo ndakaona akaipa achivigwa, vanhu vakauya kuhwiro hwake; asi vakanga vaita zvakarurama vakabva panzvimbo tsvene, vakakanganikwa muguta; naizvozvo hazvina maturo.

¹⁰And so I have seen the wicked buried, and they went in, even from the Holy Place they go, and they are forgotten in the city whether they had so done. This also [is] vanity.

¹¹Kutongwa zvakusingakurumidzi kuuya pamusoro pebasa rakaipa, moyo yavanakomana vavanhu inotsungirira kuita zvakaipa.

¹¹Because sentence hath not been done [on] an evil work speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of man is full within them to do evil.

¹²Kunyange mutadzi akaita zvakaipa rune zana, akava namazuva mazhinji, kunyange zvakadaro ndinoziva zvirokwazvo kuti vanotya Mwari, vanotya pamberi pake, vachagara zvakanaka;

¹²Though a sinner is doing evil a hundred [times], and prolonging [himself] for it, surely also I know that there is good to those fearing God, who fear before Him.

¹³asi akaipa haangagari zvakanaka, haangavi namazuva mazhinji, zvaakafanana nomumvuri; nekuti haatyi pamberi paMwari.

¹³And good is not to the wicked, and he doth not prolong days as a shadow, because he is not fearing before God.

¹⁴Chinhu chisina maturo chiripo, chinoitwa panyika, ndicho kuti vakarurama variko vanoitirwa sezvinoitirwa mabasa avakaipa, uyezve vakaipa variko vanoitirwa sezvinoitirwa mabasa avakarurama; ndikati, Naizvozvi hazvina maturo.

¹⁴There is a vanity that hath been done upon the earth, that there are righteous ones unto whom it is coming according to the work of the wicked, and there are wicked ones unto whom it is coming according to the work of the righteous. I have said that this also [is] vanity.

¹⁵Ipapo ndakarumbidza mufaro, nekuti munhu haane chinhu chinopfuura ichi, kuti adye, amwe, afare; kuti izvozvo zvigare naye pakubata kwake mazuva ose ohupenyu hwake, hwaakapiwa naMwari pasi pezuva.

¹⁵And I have praised mirth because there is no good to man under the sun except to eat and to drink, and to rejoice, and it remaineth with him of his labour the days of his life that God hath given to him under the sun.

¹⁶Zvino ndakati ndichirangarira nomoyo wangu kuti ndizive uchenjeri nokuona kubata kunoitwa panyika (nokuti vamwe variko vasingaoni hope nameso avo masikati novusiku),

¹⁶When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that hath been done on the earth, (for there is also a spectator in whose eyes sleep is not by day and by night),

¹⁷ndikaona mabasa ose aMwari, kuti munhu haanganzwisisi mabasa ose anoitwa pasi pezuva; nekuti kunyange munhu akatambura hake kuti azvinzvere, haanganzwisisi hake; zvirokwazvo, kunyange munhu, akachenjera, achiti, ndinozviziva, kunyange zvakadaro, haangagoni kuzvinzwisisa.

¹⁷then I considered all the work of God, that man is not able to find out the work that hath been done under the sun, because though man labour to seek, yet he doth not find; and even though the wise man speak of knowing he is not able to find.