Yobo 24
1 Mpo na nini Nkolo-Na-Nguya-Nyonso akataka tango te mpo na esambiselo? Mpo na nini bato oyo bayebi Ye basengeli koluka na pamba mikolo ya boye?
“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
2 Bato bapusaka bandelo, bakendaka koleisa bibwele oyo bayibaki,
Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
3 babotolaka ane ya mwana etike mpe bazwaka lokola ndanga ngombe ya mobali ya mwasi oyo akufisi mobali;
They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 balongolaka babola na nzela, mpe batindaka na makasi babola nyonso ya mokili ete babombama.
They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Lokola ba-ane ya zamba, babola bakendaka tongo-tongo na mosala mpo na koluka biloko ya kolia, kasi kaka esobe nde epesaka bana na bango bilei;
Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.
6 bakataka matiti na bilanga mpo na bibwele mpe balokotaka bambuma oyo etikalaka na bilanga ya vino ya moto mabe.
They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Na butu, balalaka bolumbu mpo na kozanga bilamba, bazangi bulangeti mpo na komifinika na tango ya malili;
Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
8 bapoli na mvula ya ngomba, bakangami na mabanga mpo na kozanga esika ya kobombama.
Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
9 Bazali kobotola mwana etike na mabele ya mama na ye, bazali kokanga mwana ya mobola mpo na niongo.
The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 Soki bazangi bilamba, batambolaka bolumbu; bamemaka maboke ya nzete ya ble, kasi bazongaka kaka na nzala.
Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 Bakamolaka bambuma ya olive kati na mapango ya bato mosusu, bakamolaka bambuma ya vino, kasi bazongaka kaka na posa ya komela.
They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
12 Bileli ya kufa ezali koyokana wuta na mboka, mpe milimo ya bato oyo bazoki ezali koganga mpo na koluka lisungi, kasi Nzambe azali kopesa etumbu ata na moto moko te.
From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13 Bato oyo bazali kosala bongo, bazali kotombokela pole, bayebi nzela na Ye te mpe batambolaka ata kati na yango te.
Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
14 Mobomi azali kotelema na moyi mpe koboma mobola elongo na moto akelela; na butu, azali lokola moyibi.
When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
15 Liso ya moto ya ekobo ezelaka ete molili ekota; amilobelaka: ‹ Moto moko te akomona ngai, › mpe abombaka elongi na ye.
The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
16 Kati na molili, bato balukaka kobuka bandako ya bato; kasi na moyi, bamikangelaka na ndako, bazali koboya pole.
In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
17 Mpo na bango, molili makasi ezali nde tongo, somo ya molili ekomaka moninga na bango.
For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
18 Nzokande bazali lokola fulufulu likolo ya etando ya mayi, eteni ya mabele na bango elakelami mabe epai ya bato ya mboka, yango wana moko te azali kokende na bilanga ya vino.
They are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards.
19 Ndenge kokawuka mpe moyi makasi emelaka mayi ya mvula pembe, ndenge wana mpe mboka ya bakufi emelaka bato oyo basalaka masumu. (Sheol h7585)
As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 Libumu ya mama ebosanaka bango mpe bankusu esepelaka kolia bango. Bakanisaka bango lisusu te, pamba te mabe na bango esili kobukana lokola nzete.
The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.
21 Bato mabe basepelisaka basi bazangi bana mpe bato oyo babotaka te, kasi basalaka bolamu te epai ya mwasi oyo akufisa mobali.
They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
22 Kasi Nzambe, na nguya na Ye, abakisaka mikolo ya banyokoli na bango; ata batombolami, bazalaka na elikya te mpo na bomoi na bango.
Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
23 Nzambe apesaka bango kimia, kasi miso na Ye etalaka nzela na bango.
He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
24 Mpe atako sik’oyo bazali bato minene, na tango moke bakozala lisusu te, bakokweya mpe bakokufa lokola moto nyonso, bakokatama lokola mito ya ble.
They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.
25 Soki ezali bongo te, nani akoki kolakisa ngai ete nazali koloba lokuta? Nani akoloba ete maloba na ngai ezali ya pamba? »
If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
