UJobe 30
1 “Kodwa manje bayangiklolodela, amadoda angabantwana kimi, oyise engangingabehlisa ngibelusise izimvu zami.
“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs.
2 Amandla ezandla zabo ayengangisiza ngani mina, ngoba amadlabuzane abo ayesephelile;
What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them?
3 sebejujukile ngokuswela langendlala, bazula elizweni elomileyo emangweni eyinkangala engelalutho ebusuku.
Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night.
4 Enkotheni khonale bakha imibhida emunyu, ukudla kwabo kuzimpande zezihlahla.
They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
5 Baxotshwa ebantwini bakibo, bathethiswa kungathi babengamasela.
They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves,
6 Kwasekumele bahlale ezihotsheni zezifula ezomileyo, ezimbalwini emadwaleni lemilindini emhlabathini.
so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
7 Bakhonya phakathi kwezihlahla baququbala ezixukwini.
They cried out among the shrubs and huddled beneath the nettles.
8 Base bengabantu abaphansi abangaselabizo, sebexotshiwe elizweni.
A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
9 Kodwa manje amadodana abo asengihaya ngengoma; sengiyisiga kubo.
And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.
10 Bayangenyanya njalo bamela khatshana lami; kabathikazi ukungikhafulela ebusweni.
They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 Khathesi njengoba uNkulunkulu eselithukulule idandili lami wangitshaya ngezinhlupheko, sebeklamasa kabasazithinti.
Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.
12 Kwesokunene kwami ixuku liyangihlasela; bathiya inyawo zami ngemijibila bakhe imibundu yokungivimbezela.
The rabble arises at my right; they lay snares for my feet and build siege ramps against me.
13 Badiliza indlela yami; bayaphumelela ukungibhidliza besithi ‘Akekho ozamsiza.’
They tear up my path; they profit from my destruction, with no one to restrain them.
14 Bahlasela ingathi bafohlela esikhaleni esivulekileyo; beza bethululeka phezu kwezinqwaba zamanxiwa.
They advance as through a wide breach; through the ruins they keep rolling in.
15 Ukwesaba okukhulu kungiphethe; isithunzi sami sobuntu singathi siphethwe ngumoya, ukuvikeleka kwami kunyamalala njengeyezi.
Terrors are turned loose against me; they drive away my dignity as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed like a cloud.
16 Manje impilo yami isincipha; insuku zokuhlupheka zingibambe nko.
And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction grip me.
17 Ubusuku bugwaza amathambo ami; lokuqaqamba kobuhlungu bami kakupheli.
Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest.
18 Ngamandla akhe amakhulu uNkulunkulu unjengelembu kimi; uyangikhama ngamabheqe entanyeni yami.
With great force He grasps my garment; He seizes me by the collar of my tunic.
19 Ungivoxela edakeni, ngicina sengiluthuli lomlotha.
He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 Ngikhala kuwe, Oh Nkulunkulu, kodwa kawuphenduli; ngiyasukuma, kodwa uyangikhangela kuphela.
I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer; when I stand up, You merely look at me.
21 Ungisukela ngesihluku; ungihlasela ngamandla esandla sakho.
You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand.
22 Uyangihlwitha ngiphetshulwe ngumoya; ngiphoseke le lale phakathi kwesiphepho.
You snatch me up into the wind and drive me before it; You toss me about in the storm.
23 Ngiyazi ukuthi uzangilalisa phansi ekufeni, endaweni emiselwe konke okuphilayo.
Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
24 Ngempela kakho ombeka isandla umuntu oswelayo nxa ekhalela ukusizwa esebunzimeni.
Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress.
25 Kangibakhalelanga yini labo abahluphekileyo? Umoya wami kawubazwelanga usizi abayanga na?
Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
26 Kodwa ngathi ngilindele ubuhle, kweza ububi; ngathi ngilindele ukukhanya kweza ubumnyama.
But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell.
27 Ukudunguluka ngaphakathi kwami kakukhawuli; insuku zokuhlupheka zingijamele.
I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me.
28 Ngihamba nje ngimnyama kubi, kungesikutshiswa lilanga; ngiyasukuma enkundleni ngicele uncedo.
I go about blackened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29 Sengingumfowabo wamakhanka, umkhula wezikhova.
I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of ostriches.
30 Isikhumba sami siba mnyama, siyaxathuka; umzimba wami uyatshisa ngomkhuhlane.
My skin grows black and peels, and my bones burn with fever.
31 Ichacho lami selilungiselwe isililo, lomqangala wami ulindele umkhosi wokukhala.”
My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of weeping.
