Job 9
1 Then Job replied,
UJobe wasephendula wathi:
2 “Yes, I certainly know that [much of] what you said is true. But (how can anyone say to God, ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it?’/no one can say to God ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it.’) [RHQ]
Ngeqiniso ngiyazi ukuthi kunjalo. Kodwa umuntu angalunga njani kuNkulunkulu?
3 If someone wanted to argue with God [about that], God could ask him 1,000 questions, and that person would not be able to answer any of them!
Uba efisa ukuphikisana laye, kayikumphendula okukodwa phakathi kwenkulungwane.
4 God is very wise [IDM] and very powerful; no one who has tried to challenge God has been able to win.
Uhlakaniphile enhliziyweni, uqinile emandleni: Ngubani oziqinisileyo wamelana laye waphumelela?
5 He even moves mountains, without them (OR, anyone) knowing about it. When he is angry, he turns them upside down.
Osusa izintaba njalo zingazi, ozigenqula entukuthelweni yakhe.
6 He sends earthquakes that shake the ground; he causes the pillars that support the earth to tremble.
Onyikinya umhlaba awususe endaweni yawo, lensika zawo zizamazame.
7 [Some days] he speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and [some nights] he prevents the stars from shining.
Olaya ilanga ukuthi lingaphumi, avalele inkanyezi ngophawu.
8 He alone (stretched out/put in place) the sky; he alone puts his feet on the waves (OR, on the huge sea monster).
Owendlala amazulu eyedwa, anyathele phezu kwezingqonga zolwandle.
9 He put in their places [the clusters/groups of stars that are called] The Dipper/Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars in the southern sky.
Owenza iBhere, iziNja, lesiLimela, lamakamelo eningizimu.
10 Only he does great things that we cannot understand; he does more marvelous things than we are able to count.
Owenza izinto ezinkulu ezingelakuhlolwa, lezimangalisayo ezingelakubalwa.
11 He passes by where I am, but I do not see him; he moves further on, but I do not see him go.
Khangela, uyedlula phansi kwami ngingamboni, edlulele phambili ngingamuzwa.
12 If he [wants to] snatch something away, no one [RHQ] can hinder him; no one dares to ask him, ‘Why are you doing that?’ [RHQ]
Khangela, uyahluthuna, ngubani ongamnqanda? Ngubani ongathi kuye: Wenzani?
13 God will not very easily stop being angry; he defeated [MTY] those who [tried to] help Rahab, [the great sea monster].
UNkulunkulu kayinqandi intukuthelo yakhe. Abasizi bakaRahabi bayakhothama phansi kwakhe.
14 “So, [if God took me to court], what could I say [MTY] to answer him?
Pho-ke, mina ngingamphendula ngithini, ngikhethe amazwi ami okuqondana laye?
15 Even though I (would be innocent/would not have done what is wrong), I would not be able to answer him. All I could do would be to request God, my judge/accuser, to act mercifully toward me.
Ebengingeke ngamphendula loba bengilungile; ngizacela isihawu kumahluleli wami.
16 If I summoned him to [come to the courtroom] and he said that he would come, I would not believe that he would pay attention to what I would say.
Uba bengibizile, wangiphendula, bengingayikukholwa ukuthi ubekile indlebe elizwini lami.
17 He sends storms to batter me, and he bruises me many times (without any reason to do that/even though I am innocent).
Ngoba uyangihlifiza ngesiphepho, andise amanxeba ami kungelasizatho.
18 [It is as though] he will not let me get/catch my breath, because he causes me to suffer all the time.
Kangivumeli ukukhokha umoya, kodwa engigcwalisa ngezinto ezibabayo.
19 If I would try to (wrestle with/fight against) him, [there is no way that I could defeat him, ] [because] he is stronger than I am. If I would request him to appear in court, there is no one who could [RHQ] force him to go there.
Uba kungamandla, khangela, ulamandla. Njalo uba kungesahlulelo, ngubani ozangibiza?
20 Even though I was innocent, what I would say would cause him to say that I must be punished [MTY]; even though I had not done anything wrong, he would prove that I am guilty.
Aluba ngilungile, umlomo wami uzangilahla; uba ngiphelele, uzakuthi ngonakele.
21 “I have not done what is wrong, but that is not important. I despise continuing to remain alive.
Ngiphelele, angikhathaleli umphefumulo wami, ngidelela impilo yami.
22 But it doesn’t matter, because God will get rid of [all of us, ] both those who are innocent and those who are wicked.
Kunye lokho, ngenxa yalokho ngithi: Uyabhubhisa olungileyo lomubi.
23 When people experience disaster and it causes them to suddenly die, God laughs at it, even if they are innocent.
Lapho isiswepu sibulala ngokujumayo, uzahleka ukudangala kwabangelacala.
24 God has allowed wicked people to control [what happens in] the world. [It is as though] he has caused judges to be blindfolded, [with the result that they cannot judge fairly]. If it is not God who has put wicked people in control, who has done it?
Umhlaba unikelwe esandleni somubi; wembesa ubuso babehluleli bawo. Uba kungenjalo, pho, ngubani?
25 “My days go by very quickly, like a fast runner; [it is as though] they run away, and nothing good happens to me on those days.
Njalo insuku zami zilejubane kulesigijimi; ziyabaleka, kaziboni okuhle.
26 My life goes by very rapidly, like a boat made from reeds sailing swiftly, or like an eagle that swoops down to seize a small animal.
Ziyedlula njengezikepe zomhlanga, njengokhozi olutheleka empangweni.
27 If I smile and say [to God], ‘I will forget what I am complaining about; I will stop looking sad and try to be cheerful/happy,’
Uba ngisithi: Ngizakhohlwa ukusola kwami, ngitshiye ukunyukumala kwami, ngithokoze,
28 then I become afraid because of all that I am suffering, because I know that God does not consider that I am innocent.
ngiyesaba zonke insizi zami, ngiyazi ukuthi kawuyikungiphatha njengongelacala.
29 He will (condemn me/declare that I should be punished), so why should I keep trying in vain [to defend myself]?
Ngilecala mina, pho, ngizatshikatshikelelani ize?
30 If I washed myself with snow or cleansed my hands with lye/soap [to get rid of my guilt],
Uba ngizigezisa ngamanzi eliqhwa elikhithikileyo, ngihlambulule izandla zami ngesepa,
31 he would still throw me into a filthy pit; as a result [it would be as though] even my clothes would detest me.
khona uzangiphosela emgodini, besengisenyanywa yizigqoko zami.
32 “God is not a human, as I am, so there is no way that I could answer him [to prove that I am innocent] if we went together to have a trial [in a courtroom].
Ngoba kasuye umuntu njengami ukuze ngimphendule, ukuze siye ndawonye kusahlulelo.
33 There is no one to (mediate/hear us and decide who is right), no one who has authority over both of us [IDM].
Kakukho umqamuli phakathi kwethu ongabeka isandla sakhe phezu kwethu sobabili.
34 I wish/desire that he would stop punishing [MTY] me, and that he would not continue to terrify me.
Kasuse uswazi lwakhe kimi, njalo uvalo ngaye lungangethusi.
35 If he did that, I would declare [that I am innocent] without being afraid of him, because I know that I really have not [done what is wrong like God thinks that I have].”
Bengingakhuluma ngingamesabi, kodwa anginjalo ngokwami.
