There Is a Time for Everything
1There is a time for everything.
There’s a time for everything that is done on earth.
2There is a time to be born.
And there’s a time to die.
There is a time to plant.
And there’s a time to pull up what is planted.
3There is a time to kill.
And there’s a time to heal.
There is a time to tear down.
And there’s a time to build up.
4There is a time to weep.
And there’s a time to laugh.
There is a time to be sad.
And there’s a time to dance.
5There is a time to scatter stones.
And there’s a time to gather them.
There is a time to embrace someone.
And there’s a time not to embrace.
6There is a time to search.
And there’s a time to stop searching.
There is a time to keep.
And there’s a time to throw away.
7There is a time to tear.
And there’s a time to mend.
There is a time to be silent.
And there’s a time to speak.
8There is a time to love.
And there’s a time to hate.
There is a time for war.
And there’s a time for peace.
9What do workers get for their hard work? 10I’ve seen the heavy load God has put on human beings. 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also given people a sense of who he is. But they can’t completely understand what God has done from beginning to end. 12People should be happy and do good while they live. I know there’s nothing better for them to do than that. 13Each of them should eat and drink. People should be satisfied with all their hard work. That is God’s gift to them. 14I know that everything God does will last forever. Nothing can be added to it. And nothing can be taken from it. God does that so people will have respect for him.
15Everything that now exists has already been.
And what is coming has existed before.
God will judge those who treat others badly.
16Here’s something else I saw on earth.
Where people should be treated right,
they are treated wrong.
Where people should be treated fairly,
they are treated unfairly.
17I said to myself,
“God will judge
godly and sinful people alike.
He has a time for every act.
He has a time to judge everything that is done.”
18I also said to myself, “God tests human beings. He does this so they can see that in certain ways they are like animals. 19Surely what happens to animals happens to people too. Death waits for people and animals alike. People die, just as animals do. All of them have the same breath. People don’t have any advantage over animals. Nothing has any meaning. 20People and animals go to the same place. All of them come from dust. And all of them return to dust. 21Who can know whether the spirit of a person goes up? Who can tell whether the spirit of an animal goes down into the earth?”
22So a person should enjoy their work. That’s what God made them for. I saw that there’s nothing better for them to do than that. After all, who can show them what will happen after they are gone?
Chilichonse Chili ndi Nthawi
1Chinthu chilichonse chili ndi nthawi yake,
ndi nyengo yake yomwe anayika Mulungu:
2Nthawi yobadwa ndi nthawi yomwalira,
nthawi yodzala ndi nthawi yokolola.
3Nthawi yakupha ndi nthawi yochiritsa,
nthawi yogwetsa ndi nthawi yomanga.
4Nthawi yomva chisoni ndi nthawi yosangalala,
nthawi yolira maliro ndi nthawi yovina.
5Nthawi yotaya miyala ndi nthawi yokundika miyala,
nthawi yokumbatirana ndi nthawi yoleka kukumbatirana.
6Nthawi yofunafuna ndi nthawi yoleka kufunafuna,
nthawi yosunga ndi nthawi yotaya.
7Nthawi yongʼamba ndi nthawi yosoka,
nthawi yokhala chete ndi nthawi yoyankhula.
8Nthawi yokondana ndi nthawi yodana,
nthawi ya nkhondo ndi nthawi ya mtendere.
9Kodi wantchito amapeza phindu lanji pa ntchito yake yolemetsa? 10Ine ndinaona chipsinjo chimene Mulungu anayika pa anthu. 11Iye anapanga chinthu chilichonse kuti chikhale chabwino pa nthawi yake. Anayika nzeru zamuyaya mʼmitima ya anthu; komabe anthuwo sangathe kuzindikira zomwe Mulungu wachita kuyambira pa chiyambi mpaka chimaliziro. 12Ine ndikudziwa kuti palibenso kanthu kabwino kwa anthu kopambana kusangalala ndi kuchita zabwino pamene ali ndi moyo. 13Ndi mphatso ya Mulungu kwa munthu kuti azidya, azimwa ndi kumakondwera ndi ntchito zake zolemetsa. 14Ndikudziwa kuti chilichonse chimene Mulungu amachita chidzakhala mpaka muyaya; palibe zimene zingawonjezedwe kapena kuchotsedwa. Mulungu amazichita kuti anthu azimuopa.
15Chilichonse chimene chilipo chinalipo kale,
ndipo chimene chidzakhalapo chinalipo poyamba;
Mulungu amabwezanso zakale zimene zinapita kuti zichitikenso.
16Ndipo ndinaona chinthu chinanso pansi pano:
ku malo achiweruzo, kuyipa mtima kuli komweko,
ku malo achilungamo, kuyipa mtima kuli komweko.
17Ndinalingalira mu mtima mwanga kuti;
“Mulungu adzaweruza
olungama pamodzi ndi oyipa omwe,
pakuti anayika nthawi yochitikira chinthu chilichonse,
nthawi ya ntchito iliyonse.”
18Ndinalingaliranso kuti, “Kunena za anthu, Mulungu amawayesa ndi cholinga choti awaonetse kuti iwo ali ngati nyama. 19Zimene zimachitikira munthu, zomwezonso zimachitikira nyama; chinthu chimodzi chomwecho chimachitikira onse: Monga munthu amafa momwemonso nyama imafa. Zonsezi zimapuma mpweya umodzimodzi omwewo; munthu saposa nyama. Zonsezi ndi zopandapake. 20Zonse zimapita kumodzimodzi; zonsezi zimachokera ku fumbi, ndipo zimabwereranso ku fumbi komweko. 21Kodi ndani amene amadziwa ngati mzimu wa munthu umakwera kumwamba, ndipo mzimu wa nyama umatsikira kunsi kwa dziko?”
22Kotero ndinaona kuti palibe chinthu chabwino kwa munthu kuposa kuti munthu azisangalala ndi ntchito yake, pakuti ichi ndiye chake chenicheni. Pakuti ndani amene angamubweretse kuti adzaone zimene zidzamuchitikira iye akadzamwalira?
