Job 24
1 “Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
“Kungani uSomandla engabeki izikhathi zokwahlulela na? Kungani labo abamaziyo belindela ize bengazazi lezinsuku na?
2 Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
Abantu bayayiguqula imingcele ngokususa izikhonkwane; bayayelusa imihlambi entshontshiweyo.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
Bayathatha bahambe lobabhemi wentandane, bathathe inkabi yomfelokazi ibe yisibambiso.
4 They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
Abaswelayo bayabagudlula endleleni bancindezele abayanga belizweni baze bayocatsha.
5 Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.
Njengabobabhemi beganga enkangala, abayanga babhudula ukudla; egwaduleni kulapho okuzuzwa khona ukudla kwabantwababo.
6 They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
Babutha ukudla kwenkomo emasimini badobhe okuseleyo ezivinini zababi.
7 Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
Ngoba bengelazigqoko balala beze ubusuku bonke; kabalalutho lokuzembesa emqandweni.
8 Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
Bagxonxwa lizulu lezintabeni bakhusele emadwaleni beswele indawo yokuphephela.
9 The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
Umntwana oyintandane uhluthunwa ebeleni; usane lomyanga luyathunjelwa isikwelede.
10 Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
Ngoba bengelazigqoko bahamba nqunu; bathwala izikhwebu zamabele kodwa belambile.
11 They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
Bahluza ama-oliva emigelweni; bagidagida esikhamelweni sewayini kodwa bomile.
12 From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
Ukububula kwabafayo kuzwakala kuphuma edolobheni, lemiphefumulo yabalimeleyo ikhala icela uncedo. Kodwa uNkulunkulu kabeki muntu icala ngenxa yokona.
13 Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
Bakhona labo abahlamukela ukukhanya, abangazaziyo izindlela zalokho kukhanya loba ukuhlala kuzo.
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
Nxa ukukhanya kwemini sekuhambile isigebenga siyaphuma sibulale abampofu labaswelayo; ebusuku siyanyonyoba njengesela.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
Ilihlo lesiphingi lilindela ukuhlwa; sikhumbula sithi, ‘Akulamuntu ozangibona,’ sihlala sibusithile ubuso baso.
16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
Ebumnyameni abantu bayagqekeza izindlu, kodwa emini bayazivalela endlini; kabakufuni ukukhanya.
17 For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
Bonke labo ubumnyama obukhulu buyikusa kubo; bathandana lezinto ezesabekayo ezobumnyama.
18 They are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards.
Ikanti baligwebu phezu kwamanzi; esabo isabelo selizwe siqalekisiwe, ukuze kungayi muntu ezivinini.
19 As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
Njengalokhu ukutshisa lokoma kuhangula ungqwaqwane oncibilikayo, kanjalo ingcwaba liyabahlwitha abenze isono. (Sheol h7585)
20 The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.
Isibeletho siyabakhohlwa, impethu zizitike phezu kwabo; abantu ababi kabasakhunjulwa kodwa bayafohlozwa njengesihlahla.
21 They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
Bancindezela owesifazane oyinyumba longelamntwana, kumfelokazi kabalamusa.
22 Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
Kodwa uNkulunkulu uyazihudulela kude izikhulu ngamandla akhe. Noma bangaze bahlale bazinze kodwa kabalathemba lempilo.
23 He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
Angabayekela bahlale besizwa bevikelekile, kodwa amehlo akhe ayazibona izindlela zabo.
24 They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.
Okwesikhatshana nje balodumo, baphinde banyamalale; bayehliswa njalo bafe njengabo bonke abanye; bayaqunywa njengezihloko zamabele.
25 If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
Aluba lokhu kungenjalo, ngubani ongathi ngilamanga alulazise amazwi ami abe yize?”
