< Engero 23 >
1 Bw’otuulanga okulya n’omufuzi, weetegerezanga ebiri mu maaso go;
When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.
2 era weegendereze bw’obanga omanyi ng’olulunkanira ebyokulya.
And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.
3 Tolulunkanira mmere ye ennungi, kubanga erimbalimba.
Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
4 Teweemalangako mirembe ng’oyaayaanira obugagga; weefuge obeere mukkakkamu.
Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
5 Eby’obugagga obikubako eriiso limu nga by’agenze dda, kubanga ddala bimera ebiwaawaatiro ne bibuuka mu bbanga ng’empungu.
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.
6 Tolyanga mmere ya muntu mukodo, wadde okwegomba ebirungi by’alya.
Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
7 Kubanga ye muntu abalirira ensimbi z’asaasaanyizza, n’akugamba nti, “Weeriire, weenywere,” naye ng’omutima gwe tegukusanyukira.
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.
8 Akatono k’onooba olidde onookasesema, ebigambo byo ebirungi eby’okwebaza bibe bya bwereere.
The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.
9 Totegana kubuulirira musirusiru, kubanga ajja kunyooma ebigambo byo eby’amagezi.
Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.
10 Tojjululanga nsalo ey’edda, so toyingiriranga nnimiro za bamulekwa,
Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:
11 kubanga abalwanirira w’amaanyi, alikuggulako omusango.
For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.
12 Ossangayo omwoyo eri okuyigirizibwa, n’amatu go eri ebigambo by’okutegeera.
Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.
13 Tolekangayo kukangavvula mwana, bw’omubonereza n’akaggo tekimutta.
Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
14 Mubonerezenga n’akaggo, kiwonye emmeeme ye okufa. (Sheol )
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell. (Sheol )
15 Mwana wange, bw’oba n’omutima ogw’amagezi, kinsanyusa.
My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
16 Nnaajjaguzanga okuva ku ntobo y’omutima gwange, bw’onooyogeranga ebituufu.
And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.
17 Omutima gwo gulemenga okukwatirwa aboonoonyi obuggya, kyokka nyiikira okutya Mukama ebbanga lyonna.
Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:
18 Mazima ddala onoobanga n’essuubi mu biseera eby’omu maaso, n’essuubi lyo eryo teririggwaawo.
Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.
19 Mwana wange wulirizanga, obeerenga n’amagezi, okumenga omutima gwo mu kkubo ettuufu.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
20 Teweegattanga ku abo abeekamirira omwenge, n’abalulunkanira ennyama:
Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:
21 Kubanga omutamiivu n’omuluvu baavuwala, n’okubongoota olutata kubambaza enziina.
Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
22 Wulirizanga kitaawo eyakuzaala, so togayanga nnyoko ng’akaddiye.
Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Gula amazima so togatunda, ffuna amagezi, n’okuyigirizibwa n’okutegeera.
Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Kitaawe w’omutuukirivu alina essanyu lingi, n’oyo azaala omwana ow’amagezi amwenyumiririzaamu.
The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.
25 Leka kitaawo ne nnyoko basanyuke, omukazi eyakuzaala ajaguzenga.
Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.
26 Mwana wange mpa omutima gwo, n’amaaso go geekalirize amakubo gange,
My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
27 kubanga omukazi omwenzi lukonko luwanvu, n’omukazi omubambaavu luzzi lufunda.
For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 Ateega ng’omutemu, n’ayongera ku muwendo gw’abasajja abatali beesigwa eri bakazi baabwe.
She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.
29 Ani alina obuyinike? Ani alina ennaku? Ani alina ennyombo? Ani alina okwemulugunya? Ani alina ebiwundu eby’obwereere? Ani amyuse amaaso?
Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 Abo abatava ku mwenge, nga bagenda baloza ku mwenge omutabule.
Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.
31 Totunuulira wayini ng’amyuse, bw’atemaganira mu ggiraasi ng’akka empolampola;
Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,
32 ku nkomerero aluma ng’omusota, wa busagwa ng’essalambwa.
But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.
33 Amaaso go galiraba ebyewuunyo, n’omutwe gwo ne gulowooza ebitategeerekeka.
Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Oliba ng’omuntu eyeebase wakati mu nnyanja, obanga oyo alengejjera waggulu ku mulongooti.
And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.
35 Olyogera nti, “Bankubye, naye sirumiddwa. Bankubye naye sirina kye mpuliddemu. Nnaazuukuka ddi, neeyongere okunywa?”
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?