< Proverbs 23 >
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
Uketipo kula chakula na mtawala, angalia vyema kile kilicho mbele yako,
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou art 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 Labour not to be rich: cease from thy own wisdom.
Usijitaabishe ili kuupata utajiri, uwe na hekima kuonyesha kujizuia.
5 Wilt thou set thy eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make to themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Kufumba na kufumbua utajiri hutoweka, huwa kama umepata mabawa ghafula, ukaruka na kutoweka angani kama tai.
6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his delicacies:
Usile chakula cha mtu mchoyo, usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu,
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to 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 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
Utatapika kile kidogo ulichokula, nawe utakuwa umepoteza bure maneno yako ya kumsifu.
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
Usizungumze na mpumbavu, kwa maana atadhihaki hekima ya maneno yako.
10 Remove not the old 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 shall plead their cause with thee.
kwa kuwa Mtetezi wao ni mwenye nguvu, atalichukua shauri lao dhidi yako.
12 Apply thy heart to instruction, and thy 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.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. (Sheol )
Mwadhibu kwa fimbo na kuiokoa nafsi yake kutoka mautini. (Sheol )
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 Yea, my reins shall rejoice, 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 the LORD all the day long.
Usiuruhusu moyo wako kuwaonea wivu wenye dhambi, bali kila mara uwe na bidii katika kumcha Bwana.
18 For surely there is an end; and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
Hakika kuna tumaini la baadaye kwa ajili yako, nalo tarajio lako halitakatiliwa mbali.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thy heart in the way.
Sikiliza, mwanangu na uwe na hekima, weka moyo wako kwenye njia iliyo sawa.
20 Be not among winebibbers; among gluttonous 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 shall clothe a man with rags.
kwa maana walevi na walafi huwa maskini, nako kusinzia huwavika matambara.
22 Hearken to 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; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Nunua kweli wala usiiuze, pata hekima, adabu na ufahamu.
24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.
Baba wa mwenye haki ana furaha kubwa, naye aliye na mwana mwenye hekima humfurahia.
25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bore thee shall rejoice.
Baba yako na mama yako na wafurahi, mama aliyekuzaa na ashangilie!
26 My son, give me thy heart, and let thy eyes observe my ways.
Mwanangu, nipe moyo wako, macho yako na yafuate njia zangu,
27 For an harlot is a deep ditch; and an adulteress is a narrow pit.
kwa maana kahaba ni shimo refu na mwanamke mpotovu ni kisima chembamba.
28 She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
Kama mnyangʼanyi, hungojea akivizia, naye huzidisha wasio waaminifu miongoni mwa wanaume.
29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath 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 seek mixed wine.
Ni hao wakaao sana kwenye mvinyo, hao waendao kuonja mabakuli ya mvinyo uliochanganywa.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
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 Thy eyes shall behold strange things, and thy heart shall utter perverse 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, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
Utakuwa kama alalaye katikati ya bahari, alalaye juu ya kamba ya merikebu.
35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Utasema, “Wamenipiga lakini sikuumia! Wamenichapa, lakini sisikii! Nitaamka lini ili nikanywe tena?”