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

¹Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.

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

²I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.

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

³Don’t be hasty to go out of his presence. Don’t persist in an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him,

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

⁴for the king’s word is supreme. Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

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

⁵Whoever keeps the commandment shall not come to harm, and his wise heart will know the time and procedure.

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

⁶For there is a time and procedure for every purpose, although the misery of man is heavy on him.

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

⁷For he doesn’t know that which will be; for who can tell him how it will be?

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 who has power over the spirit to contain the spirit; neither does he have power over the day of death. There is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who practice it.

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

⁹All this have I seen, and applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has power over another to his hurt.

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

¹⁰So I saw the wicked buried. Indeed they came also from holiness. They went and were forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is vanity.

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

¹¹Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in 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 commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him.

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

¹³But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow; because he doesn’t fear 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 which is done on the earth, that there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked. Again, there are wicked men to whom it happens according to the work of the righteous. I 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.

¹⁵Then I commended mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful: for that will accompany him in his labor all the days of his life which God has given 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 applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on the earth (for also there is that neither day nor night sees sleep with his eyes),

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 saw all the work of God, that man can’t find out the work that is done under the sun, because however much a man labors to seek it out, yet he won’t find it. Yes even though a wise man thinks he can comprehend it, he won’t be able to find it.