Yobu 4
1 Pamenepo Elifazi wa ku Temani anayankha kuti,
Then Eliphaz the Thaemanite answered and said,
2 “Ngati wina atakuyankha, kodi ungakhumudwe? Koma ndani angakhale chete wosayankhula?
Hast you been often spoken to in distress? but who shall endure the force of your words?
3 Taganiza momwe iwe walangizira anthu ambiri, momwe walimbitsira anthu ofowoka.
For whereas you have instructed many, and have strengthened the hands of the weak one,
4 Mawu ako analimbitsa anthu ofuna kugwa; unachirikiza anthu wotha mphamvu.
and have supported the failing with words, and have imparted courage to feeble knees.
5 Koma tsopano mavuto akufikira ndipo wataya mtima, zakukhudza ndipo uli ndi mantha.
Yet now [that] pain has come upon you, and touched you, you are troubled.
6 Kodi kuopa Mulungu kwako sindiko kulimbika mtima kwako? Ndipo moyo wako wosalakwa ndiye chiyembekezo chako?
Is not your fear [founded] in folly, your hope also, and the mischief of your way?
7 “Ganiza bwino tsopano: Kodi munthu wosalakwa anawonongekapo nʼkale lonse? Nʼkuti kumene munthu wolungama mtima anaphedwa?
Remember then who has perished, being pure? or when were the true-hearted utterly destroyed?
8 Monga ndaonera ine, anthu amene amatipula zoyipa, ndi iwo amene amadzala mavuto, amakolola zomwezo.
Accordingly as I have seen men ploughing barren places, and they that sow them will reap sorrows for themselves.
9 Iwo amaphedwa ndi mpweya wa Mulungu; amawonongeka ndi mpweya waukali wa mkwiyo wake.
They shall perish by the command of the Lord, and shall be utterly consumed by the breath of his wrath.
10 Mikango imabangula ndi kulira, komabe mano a mikango yamphamvu amathyoledwa.
The strength of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched.
11 Mkango umafa chifukwa chosowa nyama, ndipo ana amkango amamwazikana.
The old lion has perished for lack of food, and the lions' whelps have forsaken one another.
12 “Mawu anabwera kwa ine mwamseri, makutu anga anamva kunongʼona kwake.
But if there had been any truth in your words, none of these evils would have befallen you. Shall not mine ear receive excellent [revelations] from him?
13 Mʼkati mwa maloto ochititsa mantha usiku, nthawi imene anthu amagona tulo tofa nato,
But [as when] terror falls upon men, with dread and a sound in the night,
14 ndinagwidwa ndi mantha, ndi kuyamba kunjenjemera ndipo mafupa anga onse anaweyeseka.
horror and trembling seized me, and caused all my bones greatly to shake.
15 Pamenepo mzimu unadutsa pamaso panga, ndipo ubweya wa pa thupi langa unayima kuti njoo.
And a spirit came before my face; and my hair and flesh quivered.
16 Chinthucho chinayimirira koma sindinathe kuzindikira kuti chinali chiyani. Chinthu chinayima patsogolo panga, kunali zii ndipo ndinamva mawu akuti,
I arose and perceived it not: I looked, and there, was no form before my eyes: but I only heard a breath and a voice, [saying],
17 ‘Kodi munthu angathe kukhala wolungama kupambana Mulungu? Kodi munthu angathe kukhala wangwiro kupambana Mlengi wake?
What, shall a mortal be pure before the Lord? or a man be blameless in regard to his works?
18 Ngati Mulungu sakhulupirira atumiki ake omwe, ngati Iye amawapeza angelo ake ndi cholakwa,
Whereas he trust not in his servants, and perceives perverseness in his angels.
19 nanga kuli bwanji ndi iwo amene amakhala mʼnyumba zadothi, amene maziko awo ndi fumbi, amene amathudzuka mosavuta ngati kadziwotche!
But [as for] them that dwell in houses of clay, of whom we also are formed of the same clay, he smites them like a moth.
20 Mmawa ali moyo, pofika madzulo afa; mwakachetechete, amawonongeka kwamuyaya.
And from the morning to evening they no longer exist: they have perished, because they can’t help themselves.
21 Kodi zonse zimene ali nazo sizimatheratu, kotero kuti amafa osadziwa nʼkanthu komwe?’
For he blows upon them, and they are withered: they have perished for lack of wisdom.
