UJobe 21
1 UJobe wasephendula wathi:
Then Job replied,
2 “Lalelani kuhle amazwi ami; lokhu akube yinduduzo elingipha yona.
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Ake lingibekezelele nxa ngisakhuluma, ngithi nxa sengikhulumile liklolode.
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 Ukusola kwami kuqonde umuntu yini? Ngingayekelelani ukucunuka pho?
“It is certainly not [RHQ] people against whom I am complaining, [but God] And it is certainly [RHQ] right for me to be impatient!
5 Ngikhangelani, lizamangala; vulani imilomo yenu ngezandla.
Look at me! Does what you see not cause you to be appalled and to put your hands over your mouths [and say no more]?
6 Nxa ngikhumbula ngalokhu ngitshaywa luvalo; ngizwa umzimba wami uqhaqhazela.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 Kungani ababi bephila impilo ende, baluphale nje amandla abo esanda?
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Babona abantwababo bezinza benamile, inzalo yabo layo beyikhangele.
They have their children around them, and they watch them while they [grow up and] start to live in their own houses, and they enjoy their grandchildren.
9 Imizi yabo ihlezi kayilakwesaba; induku kaNkulunkulu kayikho phezu kwabo.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 Inkunzi zabo zikhuthele ziyazala; amankomokazi abo azala kuhle kawaphunzi.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 Abantwababo bayazihambela njengomhlambi; izingane zabo ziyazigidela zichelesile.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 Bayahlabela betshaya izigubhu lamachacho; bayazithokozisa ngomsindo wemiqangala.
Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
Wicked people enjoy having good things all the time that they are alive, and they die quietly/peacefully and go down to the place of the dead. (Sheol h7585)
14 Kodwa bathi kuNkulunkulu, ‘Tshiyana lathi! Kasifisi ukuzazi izindlela zakho.
While they are alive, they say to God, ‘Do not bother us; we do not want to know how you want us to conduct our lives!
15 Ungubani yena uSomandla ofuna ukuthi simkhonze na? Sizazuzani nxa sikhuleka kuye na?’
Why do you, Almighty God, think that we should serve you? (What advantage do we get if we pray to you?/It is useless for us to pray to you.) [RHQ]’
16 Kodwa ukuphumelela kwabo kakukho ezandleni zabo, ngakho kangisondeli ezelulekweni zababi.
Think about it: Wicked people think that it is because of what they have done that they have become prosperous, but I do not understand why they think like that.
17 Kodwa kukangaki na isibane sababi sicinywa? Kukangaki besehlelwa ngamabhadi na, abawabelwa nguNkulunkulu ezondile?
(“How often does it happen that wicked people die [MET] before they are old?/Very seldom do wicked people die [MET] before they are old.) [RHQ] (Do they ever experience disasters?/They seldom experience disasters.) [RHQ] (Does God ever punish them because of being very angry with them?/God never punishes them because of being very angry with them.) [RHQ]
18 Kukangaki besiba njengomule emoyeni na, njengamakhoba ephetshulwa yisivunguzane?
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 Kuthiwa, ‘UNkulunkulu ulomba isijeziso somuntu asibekele amadodana akhe.’ Kajezise yena umuntu ngokwakhe ukuze akwazi!
You say, ‘When people have committed sins, God waits and punishes their children because of those sins;’ but [I say that] God should punish those who sin, [not their children, ] in order that the sinners will know [that it is because of their own sins that they are being punished].
20 Amehlo akhe kawakubone ukuchithwa kwakhe; kalunathe ulaka lukaSomandla.
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 Ngoba uvele uzihlupha ngani ngemuli avele ezayitshiya nxa izinyanga zakhe azabelweyo seziphelile na?
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 Kambe ukhona ongafundisa uNkulunkulu ulwazi, njengoba yena esahlulela labaphezulu na?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 Umuntu uyafa ephilile kuhle, kukuhle konke ekhululekile,
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 umzimba wakhe uzimukile, amathambo akhe egcwele umnkantsho.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 Omunye ufa elobuhlungu emphefumulweni wakhe, evele engakaze akholise lutho oluhle.
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Bobabili balaliswe ndawonye eceleni komunye othulini, impethu zinyakaze phezu kwabo bobabili.
But both rich and poor people die and are buried, and maggots eat their bodies. [Everyone dies, so it is clear that dying is not always the punishment for being wicked].
27 Ngiyazi kamhlophe ukuthi licabangani, amacebo elidinga ukungilimaza ngawo.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 Lithi, ‘Ingaphi-ke manje indlu yesikhulu, amathente okwakuhlala kuwo abantu ababi?’
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 Kalikaze libuze labo abahambayo na? Kalize lananzelela izinto abazilandisayo,
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 ukuthi umuntu omubi uyaphepha ngosuku lokubhujiswa na, ukuthi uyakhululwa ngosuku lwesiphithiphithi?
that wicked people usually do not suffer at the time when there are great disasters; that wicked people are the ones who are rescued when God is angry [and punishes people] [MTY]?
31 Kambe ngubani omtshela ngobubi bakhe ebusweni bakhe na? Ngubani ophindiselayo ngalokho akwenzileyo na?
There is no one [RHQ] who accuses wicked people, and there is no one who (pays them back/gives them the punishment that they deserve) for all the evil things that they have done.
32 Uthwalelwa engcwabeni, lilindwe ingcwaba lakhe ngemfanelo.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 Inhlabathi esigodini leso imnandi kuye; bonke abantu bayamlandela, banengi kakhulu njalo abahamba kuqala kulaye.
A huge number [HYP] of people go to the grave site. Some go in front of the procession and some come behind. And the clods of dirt thrown on the graves of those wicked people who have died are like a nice blanket.
34 Pho-ke lingangiduduza njani likhuluma ize nje? Akusalanga lutho elilutshoyo ngaphandle kwenkohliso.”
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
