Job 21
1 Then Job answered:
Kisha Ayubu akajibu na kusema,
2 “Listen carefully to my words; let this be your consolation to me.
“Sikilizeni hotuba yangu kwa makini, hii na iwe faraja yenu.
3 Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.
Nimeteswa, lakini pia nitasema; nikisha kusema, endeleeni kudhihaki.
4 Is my complaint against a man? Then why should I not be impatient?
Lakini kwangu mimi, malalamikio yangu ni kwa mtu? Kwa nini nisiwe mwenye subira?
5 Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
Nitazameni na mshangae, nanyi wekeni mkono wenu midomoni mwenu.
6 When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
Ninapoyafikiria mateso yangu, ninaumizwa, mwili wangu unaogopa.
7 Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?
Kwa nini waovu wanaendelea kuishi, wanazeeka, na kuwa na uwezo katika madaraka?
8 Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes.
Wazao wao wanathibitishwa mbele zao, na uzao wao unaimarika machoni pao.
9 Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.
Nyumba zao ziko salama mbali na hofu; wala fimbo ya Mungu haiko juu yao.
10 Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.
Dume lao la ng'ombe linazalisha; halishindwi kufanya hivyo; ng'ombe wao anazaa na hafishi ndama wake akiwa mchanga.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,
Wanawapeleka wadogo wao kama kundi la kondoo, na watoto wao hucheza.
12 singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.
Wanaimba kwa tari na vinubi na hufurahi kwa muziki na zomari.
Wanatumia siku zao katika mafanikio, na wanashuka kuzimu kwa utulivu. (Sheol h7585)
14 Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
Wanamwambia Mungu, 'Ondoka kwetu kwani hatutaki ufahamu wowote juu ya njia zako.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
Mwenye enzi ni nani, hata tumwabudu? Tutafaidika na nini tukimwabudu? Tutapata faida gani ikiwa tutamwomba?
16 Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
Tazama, je mafanikio yao hayamo katika mikono yao wenyewe? Sina cha kufanya na ushauri wa waovu.
17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?
Mara ngapi taa za waovu huzimwa, au kwamba majanga huja juu yao? Mara ngapi inatokea kwamba Mungu husambaza huzuni kwao kwa hasira?
18 Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
Ni mara ngapi inatokea kwamba wanakuwa kama mabua mbele ya upepo au kama makapi yanayopeperushwa na dhoruba?
19 It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.
Mnasema, 'Mungu huweka hatia ya mtu kwa watoto wake kuilipa.' Na alipe yeye mwenyewe, ili kwamba aweze kujua hatia yake mwenyewe.
20 Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty.
Acha macho yake yaone uangamivu wake mwenyewe, na acha anywe gadhabu ya Mwenyezi.
21 For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out?
Kwani anaangaliaje familia yake mbele yake idadi ya miezi yake inapokwisha.
22 Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?
Je kuna mtu anaweza kumfundisha Mungu maarifa kwa kuwa yeye huwaukumu hata walio juu?
23 One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.
Mtu mmoja ufa katika nguvu zake kamili, akiwa na utulivu kabisa na kwa amani.
24 His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow.
Mwili wake hauna uhitaji, na kiini cha mifupa yake ina unyevu na afya njema.
25 Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.
Mtu mwingine ufa kwa uchungu wa nafsi, bila kujifurahisha kwa jambo lolote jema.
26 But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.
Wanazikwa kaburini wote kwa pamoja, funza wanawafunika wote.
27 Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.
Tazama, nayajua mawazo yenu, na jinsi mnavyotaka kunikosesha.
28 For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’
Kwa kuwa mwasema, 'Iko wapi sasa nyumba ya mwana wa mfalme? Liko wapi kao alipokaa mwovu?'
29 Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports?
Je hamjawauliza wasafiri? Hamfahamu wanavyoweza kusema,
30 Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.
kwamba mwovu anaepushwa na siku ya shida, na kwamba anawekwa mbali na siku ya gadhabu?
31 Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?
Ni nani atakaye ituhumu siku ya mwovu mbele yake? Ni nani atakayemwadhibu kwa alichokifanya?
32 He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
Hata hivyo atapelekwa kaburini; watu wataliona kaburi lake.
33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows behind him, and those before him are without number.
Udongo wa bondeni utakuwa mtamu kwake; watu wote watamfuata, hata kuwe na watu wengi mbele yake.
34 So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”
Ni jinsi gani basi mtanifariji bila kufikiri, kwa kuwa majibu yenu hayana lolote ila uongo?”
