< Proverbs 23 >

1 When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.
Unapoketi kula pamoja na mtawala, angalia kwa uangalifu kilichopo mbele yako,
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.
na kama ni mtu unayependa kula chakula sana weka kisu kooni.
3 Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
Usitamani vinono vyake maana ni chakula cha uongo.
4 Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
Usifanye kazi sana ili kupata mali; uwe na busara ya kutosha ili ujue wakati wa kuacha.
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.
Je utaruhusu macho yako yaangaze juu yake? Itaondoka, maana itawaa mabawa kama tai na kuruka angani.
6 Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
Usile chakula cha yule mwenye jicho baya- na usiwe na shauku ya vinono vyake,
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.
maana ni mtu mwenye kuhesabu gharama ya chakula. “Kula na kunywa!” anakuambia, lakini moyo wake haupo pamoja nawe.
8 The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.
Utatapika kiasi kidogo ulichokula na utakuwa umepoteza sifa zako njema.
9 Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.
Usiongee katika usikivu wa mpumbavu, maana atadharau hekima ya maneno yako.
10 Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:
Usihamishe jiwe la mpaka wa kale au kunyang'anya mashamba ya yatima,
11 For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.
maana Mkombozi wao ni imara na atatetea kesi yao dhidi yako.
12 Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.
Elekeza moyo wako katika mafundisho na masikio yako kwenye maneno ya maarifa.
13 Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
Usizuie kuadilisha mtoto, maana ukimchapa kwa fimbo, hatakufa.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell. (Sheol h7585)
Ni wewe unayepaswa kumchapa kwa fimbo na kuikoa nafsi yake kuzimu. (Sheol h7585)
15 My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
Mwanangu, kama moyo wako una busara, basi moyo wangu utafurahi pia;
16 And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.
sehemu zangu ndani kabisa zitafurahi sana midomo yako inaponena haki.
17 Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:
Usiruhusu moyo wako kuwahusudu wenye dhambi, lakini endelea kumcha Yehova siku zote.
18 Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.
Hakika tumaini lako halitaondolewa na siku zako za hapo baadaye.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
Sikia- wewe! - mwanangu, na uwe mwenye busara na uelekeze moyo wako katika njia.
20 Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:
Usishirikiane pamoja na walevi, au pamoja na walaji wa nyama walafi,
21 Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
maana mlevi na mlafi wanakuwa masikini na usingizi utawavika kwa matambara.
22 Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Msikilize baba yako ambaye alikuzaa na usimdharau mama yako wakati akiwa mzee.
23 Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Inunue kweli, lakini usiiuze; nunua hekima, nidhamu, na ufahamu.
24 The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.
Baba yake mwenye haki atafurahia sana, na yule amzaaye mtoto mwenye busara atamfurahia.
25 Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.
Mfurahishe baba yako na mama yako na yule aliyekuzaa afurahie.
26 My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
Mwanangu, nipe moyo wako na macho yako yachunguze njia zangu.
27 For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
Maana malaya ni shimo refu, na mke wa mume mwingine ni kisima chembamba.
28 She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.
Anavizia kama mnyang'anyi na huongeza idadi ya wadanganyifu miongoni mwa wanadamu.
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?
Nani mwenye taabu? Nani mwenye huzuni? Nani mwenye mapigano? Nani mwenye malalamiko? Nani mwenye majeraha bila sababu? Nani mwenye macho mekundu?
30 Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.
Ni wale ambao huzengea kwenye mvinyo, wale wanaojaribu kuchanganya mvinyo.
31 Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,
Usiutazame mvinyo ukiwa mwekundu, wakati unametameta kwenye kikombe na kutelemka kwa uraini.
32 But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.
Mwisho wake unauma kama nyoka na sumu yake kama kifutu.
33 Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
Macho yako yataona vitu vigeni na moyo wako utatamka vitu vya ukaidi.
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.
Utakuwa kama anayelala kwenye bahari au anayelala juu ya mlingoti. “
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?
Wamenipiga,” utasema, “lakini sikuumia. Wamenichapa, lakini sikuwa na hisia. Nitaamka lini? Nitatafuta kinywaji kingine.”

< Proverbs 23 >