Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider well who is before thee;
Uketipo kula chakula na mtawala, angalia vyema kile kilicho mbele yako,
2 and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
na utie kisu kooni mwako kama ukiwa mlafi.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties; for they are deceitful food.
Usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu kwa kuwa chakula hicho ni cha hila.
4 Weary not thyself to become rich; cease from thine own intelligence:
Usijitaabishe ili kuupata utajiri, uwe na hekima kuonyesha kujizuia.
5 wilt thou set thine eyes upon it, it is gone; for indeed it maketh itself wings and it flieth away as an eagle towards the heavens.
Kufumba na kufumbua utajiri hutoweka, huwa kama umepata mabawa ghafula, ukaruka na kutoweka angani kama tai.
6 Eat thou not the food of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties.
Usile chakula cha mtu mchoyo, usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu,
7 For as he thinketh in his soul, so is he. Eat and drink! will he say unto thee; but his heart is not with thee.
kwa maana yeye ni aina ya mtu ambaye kila mara anafikiri juu ya gharama. Anakuambia, “Kula na kunywa,” lakini moyo wake hauko pamoja nawe.
8 Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou vomit up, and thou wilt have wasted thy sweet words.
Utatapika kile kidogo ulichokula, nawe utakuwa umepoteza bure maneno yako ya kumsifu.
9 Speak not in the ears of a foolish [man], for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
Usizungumze na mpumbavu, kwa maana atadhihaki hekima ya maneno yako.
10 Remove not the ancient landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
Usisogeze jiwe la mpaka wa zamani wala kunyemelea kwenye mashamba ya yatima,
11 for their redeemer is mighty; he will plead their cause against thee.
kwa kuwa Mtetezi wao ni mwenye nguvu, atalichukua shauri lao dhidi yako.
12 Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Elekeza moyo wako kwenye mafundisho na masikio yako kwenye maneno ya maarifa.
13 Withhold not correction from the child; for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die:
Usimnyime mtoto adhabu, ukimwadhibu kwa fimbo, hatakufa.
Mwadhibu kwa fimbo na kuiokoa nafsi yake kutoka mautini. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine;
Mwanangu, kama moyo wako una hekima, basi moyo wangu utafurahi,
16 and my reins shall exult, when thy lips speak right things.
utu wangu wa ndani utafurahi, wakati midomo yako itakapozungumza lililo sawa.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners, but [be thou] in the fear of Jehovah all the day;
Usiuruhusu moyo wako kuwaonea wivu wenye dhambi, bali kila mara uwe na bidii katika kumcha Bwana.
18 for surely there is a result, and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
Hakika kuna tumaini la baadaye kwa ajili yako, nalo tarajio lako halitakatiliwa mbali.
19 Thou, my son, hear and be wise, and direct thy heart in the way.
Sikiliza, mwanangu na uwe na hekima, weka moyo wako kwenye njia iliyo sawa.
20 Be not among winebibbers, among riotous eaters of flesh.
Usiwe miongoni mwa wanywao mvinyo, au wale walao nyama kwa pupa,
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth with rags.
kwa maana walevi na walafi huwa maskini, nako kusinzia huwavika matambara.
22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Msikilize baba yako, aliyekuzaa, wala usimdharau mama yako atakapokuwa mzee.
23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; wisdom, and instruction, and intelligence.
Nunua kweli wala usiiuze, pata hekima, adabu na ufahamu.
24 The father of a righteous [man] shall greatly rejoice, and he that begetteth a wise [son] shall have joy of him:
Baba wa mwenye haki ana furaha kubwa, naye aliye na mwana mwenye hekima humfurahia.
25 let thy father and thy mother have joy, and let her that bore thee rejoice.
Baba yako na mama yako na wafurahi, mama aliyekuzaa na ashangilie!
26 My son, give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
Mwanangu, nipe moyo wako, macho yako na yafuate njia zangu,
27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
kwa maana kahaba ni shimo refu na mwanamke mpotovu ni kisima chembamba.
28 She also lieth in wait as a robber, and increaseth the treacherous among men.
Kama mnyangʼanyi, hungojea akivizia, naye huzidisha wasio waaminifu miongoni mwa wanaume.
29 Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who contentions? Who complaining? Who wounds without cause? Who redness of eyes?
Ni nani mwenye ole? Ni nani mwenye huzuni? Ni nani mwenye ugomvi? Ni nani mwenye malalamiko? Ni nani aliye na majeraha yasiyo na sababu? Ni nani mwenye macho mekundu?
30 — They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to try mixed wine.
Ni hao wakaao sana kwenye mvinyo, hao waendao kuonja mabakuli ya mvinyo uliochanganywa.
31 Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it sparkleth in the cup, and goeth down smoothly:
Usiukodolee macho mvinyo wakati ukiwa mwekundu, wakati unapometameta kwenye bilauri, wakati ushukapo taratibu!
32 at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Mwishowe huuma kama nyoka na kutia sumu yake kama nyoka mwenye sumu.
33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall speak froward things;
Macho yako yataona mambo mageni na moyo wako kuwazia mambo yaliyopotoka.
34 and thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, and as he that lieth down upon the top of a mast:
Utakuwa kama alalaye katikati ya bahari, alalaye juu ya kamba ya merikebu.
35 — “They have smitten me, [and] I am not sore; they have beaten me, [and] I knew it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.”
Utasema, “Wamenipiga lakini sikuumia! Wamenichapa, lakini sisikii! Nitaamka lini ili nikanywe tena?”
