Job 38
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
INkosi yasimphendula uJobe isesivunguzaneni yathi:
2 “Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge?
Ngubani lo ofiphaza iseluleko ngamazwi angelalwazi?
3 Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
Bopha-ke ukhalo lwakho njengendoda, njalo ngizakubuza, njalo ungenze ngazi.
4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Wawungaphi lapho ngimisa izisekelo zomhlaba? Tshono uba usazi ukuqedisisa.
5 Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it?
Ngubani owabeka izilinganiso zawo, uba ukwazi? Kumbe ngubani owelulela intambo yokulinganisa phezu kwawo?
6 On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone,
Izisekelo zawo zamiswa phezu kwani? Kumbe ngubani owabeka ilitshe lawo lengonsi,
7 while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
lapho inkanyezi zokusa zahlabela kanyekanye, lamadodana wonke kaNkulunkulu amemeza ngenjabulo?
8 Who enclosed the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
Kumbe ngubani owavalela ulwandle ngezivalo, lapho lufohla luphuma esiswini,
9 when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its blanket,
lapho ngimisa iyezi laba yisembatho salo, lomnyama onzima waba yimbeleko yalo?
10 when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors,
Njalo ngaluqumela isimiso, ngamisa imigoqo lezivalo,
11 and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther; here your proud waves must stop’?
ngathi: Uzafika kuze kube lapha, kodwa ungedluli, lalapha kuzamelana lokuzigqaja kwamagagasi akho.
12 In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,
Kusukela ensukwini zakho walawula ukusa yini, wenza ukudabuka kokusa ukuthi kwazi indawo yakho,
13 that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?
ukuthi kubambe imiphetho yomhlaba, ukuze kuthintithe ababi kuwo?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.
Kuyaguquka njengebumba lophawu lokunamathisela, kuzimisa njengesembatho.
15 Light is withheld from the wicked, and their upraised arm is broken.
Lakwababi ukukhanya kwabo kuyagodlwa, lengalo ephakemeyo iyephulwa.
16 Have you journeyed to the vents of the sea or walked in the trenches of the deep?
Usungenile emithonjeni yolwandle yini, wahamba usiya le lale ekudingeni inziki?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Amasango okufa wawembulelwa yini, wawabona amasango ethunzi lokufa?
18 Have you surveyed the extent of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
Uqedisisile yini kuze kube sebubanzini bomhlaba? Tshono uba ukwazi konke.
19 Where is the way to the home of light? Do you know where darkness resides,
Ingaphi indlela lapho okuhlala khona ukukhanya? Lomnyama, ingaphi indawo yawo,
20 so you can lead it back to its border? Do you know the paths to its home?
ukuze ukuse emngceleni wakho, lokuthi uqedisise izindlela zomuzi wakho?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born! And the number of your days is great!
Uyazi, ngoba wawusuzelwe, lenani lensuku zakho likhulu.
22 Have you entered the storehouses of snow or observed the storehouses of hail,
Usungenile eziphaleni zeliqhwa elikhithikileyo yini, wabona iziphala zesiqhotho,
23 which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle?
engizigodle kuze kube yisikhathi sokuhlupheka, kuze kube lusuku lokulwa lolwempi?
24 In which direction is the lightning dispersed, or the east wind scattered over the earth?
Ingaphi indlela lapho ukukhanya okwabiwa khona, umoya wempumalanga ohlakazeka khona emhlabeni?
25 Who cuts a channel for the flood or clears a path for the thunderbolt,
Ngubani owehlukanisela impophoma indlela yamanzi, lendlela yombane wemidumo,
26 to bring rain on a barren land, on a desert where no man lives,
ukuthi line emhlabeni lapho okungelamuntu khona, enkangala okungelamuntu kuyo,
27 to satisfy the parched wasteland and make it sprout with tender grass?
ukusuthisa inkangala legwadule, lokuhlumisa ukuphuma kotshani?
28 Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew?
Izulu liloyise yini, kumbe ngubani owazala amathonsi amazolo?
29 From whose womb does the ice emerge? Who gives birth to the frost from heaven,
Ungqwaqwane waphuma esiswini sikabani? Njalo ngubani owazala iliqhwa lamazulu?
30 when the waters become hard as stone and the surface of the deep is frozen?
Amanzi afihlakele njengelitshe, lobuso bokujula bujiyile.
31 Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion?
Ungazibopha yini izibopho zesiLimela, kumbe uthukulule intambo zeziNja?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear and her cubs?
Ungakhupha yini izinkanyezi ngesikhathi sazo? Ungakhokhela yini iBhere kanye labantwana balo?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?
Uyazazi yini izimiso zamazulu, kumbe ungamisa umbuso wazo emhlabeni?
34 Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?
Ungaphakamisela yini ilizwi lakho emayezini, ukuthi ubunengi bamanzi bukusibekele?
35 Can you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
Ungathuma yini imibane ukuthi ihambe, ithi kuwe: Khangela, silapha?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart or given understanding to the mind?
Ngubani owabeka inhlakanipho emibilini? Kumbe ngubani onike ukuqedisisa engqondweni?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Or who can tilt the water jars of the heavens
Ngubani ongabala amayezi ngenhlakanipho? Njalo ngubani ongalalisa imbodlela zamazulu,
38 when the dust hardens into a mass and the clods of earth stick together?
lapho uthuli luqina lube yizigaqa, lamagade anamathelane?
39 Can you hunt the prey for a lioness or satisfy the hunger of young lions
Ungasizingelela yini isilwane ukudla, kumbe usuthise ukulamba kwezilwane ezintsha,
40 when they crouch in their dens and lie in wait in the thicket?
lapho zicathame emihomeni, zihlala esikhundleni ukuthi zicathame?
41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?
Ngubani olungisela iwabayi ukudla kwalo, lapho amaphuphu alo ekhala kuNkulunkulu, ezulazula ngoba kungelakudla?
