Yobu 4
1 Pamenepo Elifazi wa ku Temani anayankha kuti,
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “Ngati wina atakuyankha, kodi ungakhumudwe? Koma ndani angakhale chete wosayankhula?
“If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied? Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Taganiza momwe iwe walangizira anthu ambiri, momwe walimbitsira anthu ofowoka.
Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
4 Mawu ako analimbitsa anthu ofuna kugwa; unachirikiza anthu wotha mphamvu.
Your words have steadied those who stumbled; you have braced the knees that were buckling.
5 Koma tsopano mavuto akufikira ndipo wataya mtima, zakukhudza ndipo uli ndi mantha.
But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary. It strikes you, and you are dismayed.
6 Kodi kuopa Mulungu kwako sindiko kulimbika mtima kwako? Ndipo moyo wako wosalakwa ndiye chiyembekezo chako?
Is your reverence not your confidence, and the uprightness of your ways your hope?
7 “Ganiza bwino tsopano: Kodi munthu wosalakwa anawonongekapo nʼkale lonse? Nʼkuti kumene munthu wolungama mtima anaphedwa?
Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?
8 Monga ndaonera ine, anthu amene amatipula zoyipa, ndi iwo amene amadzala mavuto, amakolola zomwezo.
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
9 Iwo amaphedwa ndi mpweya wa Mulungu; amawonongeka ndi mpweya waukali wa mkwiyo wake.
By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
10 Mikango imabangula ndi kulira, komabe mano a mikango yamphamvu amathyoledwa.
The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 Mkango umafa chifukwa chosowa nyama, ndipo ana amkango amamwazikana.
The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12 “Mawu anabwera kwa ine mwamseri, makutu anga anamva kunongʼona kwake.
Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.
13 Mʼkati mwa maloto ochititsa mantha usiku, nthawi imene anthu amagona tulo tofa nato,
In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
14 ndinagwidwa ndi mantha, ndi kuyamba kunjenjemera ndipo mafupa anga onse anaweyeseka.
fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder.
15 Pamenepo mzimu unadutsa pamaso panga, ndipo ubweya wa pa thupi langa unayima kuti njoo.
Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled.
16 Chinthucho chinayimirira koma sindinathe kuzindikira kuti chinali chiyani. Chinthu chinayima patsogolo panga, kunali zii ndipo ndinamva mawu akuti,
It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:
17 ‘Kodi munthu angathe kukhala wolungama kupambana Mulungu? Kodi munthu angathe kukhala wangwiro kupambana Mlengi wake?
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?
18 Ngati Mulungu sakhulupirira atumiki ake omwe, ngati Iye amawapeza angelo ake ndi cholakwa,
If God puts no trust in His servants, and He charges His angels with error,
19 nanga kuli bwanji ndi iwo amene amakhala mʼnyumba zadothi, amene maziko awo ndi fumbi, amene amathudzuka mosavuta ngati kadziwotche!
how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!
20 Mmawa ali moyo, pofika madzulo afa; mwakachetechete, amawonongeka kwamuyaya.
They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever.
21 Kodi zonse zimene ali nazo sizimatheratu, kotero kuti amafa osadziwa nʼkanthu komwe?’
Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’
