UJobe 17
1 Umoya wami wonakele, insuku zami zicitshiwe, amangcwaba ngawami.
My spirit is crushed; my life is extinguished; the grave is ready for me.
2 Kabakho lami yini abaklolodayo, lelihlo lami lichitha ubusuku ekuvukeleni kwabo?
Mockers surround me. I see how bitterly they ridicule me.
3 Akubeke isibambiso sami kuwe; ngubani yena ozatshaya esandleni sami?
God, you need to put down a pledge for me with yourself, for who else will be my guarantor?
4 Ngoba inhliziyo yabo uyifihlele ukuqedisisa; ngenxa yalokhu kawuyikubaphakamisa.
You have closed their minds to understanding, so do not let them win!
5 Okhuluma ngokuyenga kubangane, lamehlo abantwana bakhe azafiphala.
They betray friends to gain benefit for themselves and their children suffer for it.
6 Njalo ungimise ngaba yisaga sezizwe, ngaze ngaba ngokhafulelwayo phambi kwazo.
He has made me a proverb of ridicule among the people; they spit in my face.
7 Njalo ilihlo lami lifiphele ngosizi, lamalunga ami anjengesithunzi wonke.
My eyes are worn out from crying and my body is a shadow of its former self.
8 Abaqotho bazakwethuswa yikho, longelacala uvukela ongamesabiyo uNkulunkulu.
People who think they are good are shocked to see me. Those who are innocent are troubled by the godless.
9 Lolungileyo uzabambelela endleleni yakhe, lolezandla ezihlambulukileyo uzakwengeza amandla.
Those who are right keep going, and those whose hands are clean grow stronger and stronger.
10 Kodwa-ke lina lonke, phendukani ake libuye, ngoba kangitholi ohlakaniphileyo phakathi kwenu.
Why don't you come back and repeat again what you've been saying?—yet I still won't find a wise man among you!
11 Insuku zami zedlule, amacebo ami adabuke phakathi, lezifiso zenhliziyo yami.
My life is over. My plans are gone. My heart is broken.
12 Bamisa ubusuku bube yimini; ukukhanya kuseduze phambi kobumnyama.
They turn night into day, and say that daylight is close to darkness.
What am I looking for? To make my home in Sheol, to make my bed in darkness? (Sheol h7585)
14 Ngibiza ingcwaba ngisithi: Wena ungubaba; impethu ngisithi: Umama lodadewethu.
Should I call the grave my father, and the maggot my mother or my sister?
15 Pho-ke ithemba lami lingaphi? Yebo, ithemba lami ngubani ozalibona?
So then where is my hope? Can anyone see any hope for me?
