Proverbs 23
1 When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.
Nxa uhlalela ukudla lesiphathamandla, qaphelisa lokuqaphelisa okuphambi kwakho.
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.
Ubeke ingqamu emphinjeni wakho uba uyisiminzi.
3 Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
Ungafisi izibondlo zaso, ngoba ziyikudla kwamanga.
4 Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
Ungatshikatshikeli ukunotha; pheza ekuqedisiseni kwakho.
5 Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven.
Uzandizisa yini amehlo akho kokungekho? Ngoba kuzazenzela lokuzenzela izimpiko njengokhozi oluphaphela emazulwini.
6 Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
Ungadli ukudla kolelihlo elibi, ungafisi izibondlo zakhe.
7 Because like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.
Ngoba njengoba ecabangile emphefumulweni wakhe, unjalo. Uzakuthi: Dlana unathe; kodwa inhliziyo yakhe kayilawe.
8 The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.
Ucezu oludlileyo uzaluhlanza, wone amazwi akho amnandi.
9 Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.
Ungakhulumi endlebeni zoyisithutha, ngoba uzadelela inhlakanipho yamazwi akho.
10 Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:
Ungatshedisi isikhonkwane esidala somngcele; ungangeni emasimini ezintandane;
11 For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.
ngoba uMhlengi wazo ulamandla; yena uzamela udaba lwazo kuwe.
12 Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.
Beka inhliziyo yakho ekufundisweni, lezindlebe zakho emazwini olwazi.
13 Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
Ungagodleli umntwana isijeziso; nxa umtshaya ngoswazi kayikufa.
Wena uzamtshaya ngoswazi, ukhulule umphefumulo wakhe esihogweni. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
Ndodana yami, uba inhliziyo yakho ihlakanipha, inhliziyo yami izathokoza, yebo eyami;
16 And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.
lezinso zami zizajabula ekukhulumeni kwendebe zakho izinto eziqondileyo.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:
Inhliziyo yakho kayingahawukeli izoni; kodwa bana ekwesabeni iNkosi lonke usuku.
18 Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.
Ngoba isibili kukhona umvuzo, lomlindelo wakho kawuyikuqunywa.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
Lalela wena, ndodana yami, uhlakaniphe, uqondise inhliziyo yakho endleleni.
20 Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:
Ungabi phakathi kwabanathi bewayini, phakathi kwezihwaba zenyama.
21 Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
Ngoba isidakwa lesihwaba sizakuba ngumyanga, lokuwozela kugqokisa amadabudabu.
22 Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Lalela uyihlo owakuzalayo, ungamdeleli unyoko esemdala.
23 Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Thenga iqiniso, ungalithengisi; inhlakanipho, lemfundiso, lokuqedisisa.
24 The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.
Uyise wolungileyo uzathaba lokuthaba; lozala ohlakaniphileyo uzathokoza ngaye.
25 Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.
Uyihlo lonyoko kabathokoze, lokuzeleyo kathabe.
26 My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
Ndodana yami, ngiphe inhliziyo yakho, lamehlo akho kawananzelele indlela zami.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
Ngoba iwule lingumgodi otshonayo, lowesifazana owemzini ungumthombo ongumcingo.
28 She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.
Laye ucathama njengomphangi, andise abangathembekanga phakathi kwabantu.
29 Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Ngubani olo: Maye? Ngubani olo: Wo? Ngubani olenkani? Ngubani olesililo? Ngubani olamanxeba ngeze? Ngubani olamehlo abomvu?
30 Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.
Yilabo abalibala ewayinini, yilabo abazedinga iwayini elixutshanisiweyo.
31 Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,
Ungakhangeli iwayini, lapho lizibonakalisa libomvu, nxa linika umbala walo enkomitshini, lihamba liqondile.
32 But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.
Ekucineni kwalo liluma njengenyoka, lilume njengebululu.
33 Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
Amehlo akho azabona abesifazana bemzini, lenhliziyo yakho ikhulume izinto eziphambeneyo.
34 And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.
Yebo, uzakuba njengolala enhliziyweni yolwandle, lanjengolala esihlokweni sensika yomkhumbi.
35 And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake, and find wine again?
Bangitshayile, kangizwanga buhlungu; bangidutshuzile, kangikunanzanga. Ngizavuka nini? Ngiphinde ngilidinge futhi.
