UJobe 30
1 Kodwa khathesi abatsha kulami ngensuku bayangihleka, oyise babo engangingabadelela ukubafaka lezinja zomhlambi wami.
“But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to entrust with my sheep dogs.
2 Yebo, amandla ezandla zabo ayengaba yini kimi, ukuvuthwa kwabo sekuphelile?
What use to me was the strength of their hands, since their vigor had left them?
3 Ngenswelo langendlala bajujukile, bangqathuze elizweni elomileyo, elalikade liyinkangala legwadule.
Gaunt from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, and the desolate wasteland by night.
4 Abakha imibhida yetshwayi enkotheni, lempande yesihlahla serotemu iyikudla kwabo.
They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
5 Baxotshwa phakathi kwabantu; bamemeza ngabo kungathi lisela;
They were banished from among men, shouted down like thieves,
6 ukuthi bahlale eliweni lezihotsha, imigodi yenhlabathi, lamadwala.
so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
7 Bayakhonya phakathi kwenkotha, babuthane phansi kokhula.
They cried out among the shrubs and huddled beneath the nettles.
8 Bangabantwana beziphukuphuku, yebo abantwana abangelabizo; betshaywa, bexotshwa emhlabeni.
A senseless and nameless brood, they were driven off the land.
9 Khathesi sengiyingoma yabo, sengiyisiga sabo.
And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.
10 Banengwa yimi, bamela khatshana lami; kabayekeli ukungikhafulela ebusweni ngamathe.
They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 Ngoba ukhulule intambo yami, wangicindezela, ngakho balahle itomu phambi kwami.
Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.
12 Ngakwesokunene abatsha bayasukuma, bafuqa inyawo zami, bangivusela indlela zabo zokubhubhisa.
The rabble arises at my right; they lay snares for my feet and build siege ramps against me.
13 Badiliza indlela yami, bancedisa ukuqhubela phambili incithakalo yami, kabalamncedisi.
They tear up my path; they profit from my destruction, with no one to restrain them.
14 Beza kungathi bafohlela esikhaleni esibanzi; phakathi kwencithakalo batheleka.
They advance as through a wide breach; through the ruins they keep rolling in.
15 Izesabiso ziphendukele phezu kwami; baxotshana lodumo lwami njengomoya, lempumelelo yami yedlula 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 Khathesi-ke umphefumulo wami uyazithulula phezu kwami; insuku zosizi zingibambile.
And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction grip me.
17 Ubusuku bugwaza amathambo ami phakathi kwami, lokungingqathuzayo kakuphumuli.
Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest.
18 Ngobunengi bamandla akhe isembatho sami siyaguqulwa; uyangibhinca njengesiphika sebhatshi lami.
With great force He grasps my garment; He seizes me by the collar of my tunic.
19 Ungiphosele odakeni, senginjengothuli lomlotha.
He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 Ngiyakhala kuwe, kodwa kawungiphenduli; ngiyasukuma, unginanzelele nje.
I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer; when I stand up, You merely look at me.
21 Usuphenduke waba lesihluku kimi; ngamandla esandla sakho umelana lami.
You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand.
22 Ungiphakamisela emoyeni, ungigadise kuwo, ungincibilikisele kusiphepho.
You snatch me up into the wind and drive me before it; You toss me about in the storm.
23 Ngoba ngiyazi ukuthi uzangibuyisela ekufeni, lendlini emiselwe bonke abaphilayo.
Yes, I know that You will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living.
24 Kodwa umuntu kayikwelulela isandla engcwabeni, kumbe encithakalweni yakhe akhalele usizo.
Yet no one stretches out his hand to a ruined man when he cries for help in his distress.
25 Kangimkhalelanga inyembezi yini owayelensuku ezilukhuni, umphefumulo wami wadabuka ngongumyanga?
Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
26 Lapho ngilindele okuhle, kweza okubi; lapho ngilindele ukukhanya, kweza umnyama.
But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness fell.
27 Imibilini yami yabila, kayithulanga, lensuku zosizi zingandulele.
I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me.
28 Ngahamba ngilila, kungelalanga; ngasukuma ebandleni ngakhalela usizo.
I go about blackened, but not by the sun. I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.
29 Ngingumfowabo wemigobho, lomngane wezintshe.
I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of ostriches.
30 Isikhumba sami simnyama phezu kwami, lamathambo ami atshile ngokutshisa.
My skin grows black and peels, and my bones burn with fever.
31 Ichacho lami selibe yisililo, lomhlanga wami uyilizwi labakhala inyembezi.
My harp is tuned to mourning and my flute to the sound of weeping.
