Izaga 23
1 Nxa uhlalela ukudla lesiphathamandla, qaphelisa lokuqaphelisa okuphambi kwakho.
When you sit down to eat with a leader, pay close attention to what has been set before your face,
2 Ubeke ingqamu emphinjeni wakho uba uyisiminzi.
and put a knife to your throat, if, in such a way, you could hold your soul in your own power.
3 Ungafisi izibondlo zaso, ngoba ziyikudla kwamanga.
Do not desire his foods, in which is the bread of deceit.
4 Ungatshikatshikeli ukunotha; pheza ekuqedisiseni kwakho.
Do not be willing to labor so that you may be enriched. But set limits by your prudence.
5 Uzandizisa yini amehlo akho kokungekho? Ngoba kuzazenzela lokuzenzela izimpiko njengokhozi oluphaphela emazulwini.
Do not raise your eyes toward wealth that you are not able to have. For they will make themselves wings, like those of an eagle, and they will fly in the sky.
6 Ungadli ukudla kolelihlo elibi, ungafisi izibondlo zakhe.
Do not eat with an envious man, and do not desire his foods.
7 Ngoba njengoba ecabangile emphefumulweni wakhe, unjalo. Uzakuthi: Dlana unathe; kodwa inhliziyo yakhe kayilawe.
For, like a seer and an interpreter of dreams, he presumes what he does not know. “Eat and drink,” he will say to you; and his mind is not with you.
8 Ucezu oludlileyo uzaluhlanza, wone amazwi akho amnandi.
The foods that you had eaten, you will vomit up. And you will lose the beauty in your words.
9 Ungakhulumi endlebeni zoyisithutha, ngoba uzadelela inhlakanipho yamazwi akho.
Do not speak into the ears of the unwise. They will despise the doctrine of your eloquence.
10 Ungatshedisi isikhonkwane esidala somngcele; ungangeni emasimini ezintandane;
Do not touch the boundaries of little ones, and do not enter into the field of the fatherless.
11 ngoba uMhlengi wazo ulamandla; yena uzamela udaba lwazo kuwe.
For their close relative is strong, and he will judge their case against you.
12 Beka inhliziyo yakho ekufundisweni, lezindlebe zakho emazwini olwazi.
Let your heart enter into doctrine, and let your ears enter into words of knowledge.
13 Ungagodleli umntwana isijeziso; nxa umtshaya ngoswazi kayikufa.
Do not be willing to take away discipline from a child. For if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
You will strike him with the rod, and so shall you deliver his soul from Hell. (Sheol h7585)
15 Ndodana yami, uba inhliziyo yakho ihlakanipha, inhliziyo yami izathokoza, yebo eyami;
My son, if your soul will become wise, my heart will be glad with you.
16 lezinso zami zizajabula ekukhulumeni kwendebe zakho izinto eziqondileyo.
And my temperament will exult, when your lips will have spoken what is upright.
17 Inhliziyo yakho kayingahawukeli izoni; kodwa bana ekwesabeni iNkosi lonke usuku.
Let not your heart compete with sinners. But be in the fear of the Lord all day long.
18 Ngoba isibili kukhona umvuzo, lomlindelo wakho kawuyikuqunywa.
For you will have hope in the end, and your expectation will not be taken away.
19 Lalela wena, ndodana yami, uhlakaniphe, uqondise inhliziyo yakho endleleni.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and direct your soul along the way.
20 Ungabi phakathi kwabanathi bewayini, phakathi kwezihwaba zenyama.
Do not be willing to be in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in the carousings of those who gather to feed on flesh.
21 Ngoba isidakwa lesihwaba sizakuba ngumyanga, lokuwozela kugqokisa amadabudabu.
For those who waste time drinking, and who surrender themselves to symbols, will be consumed. And those who sleep will be clothed in rags.
22 Lalela uyihlo owakuzalayo, ungamdeleli unyoko esemdala.
Listen to your father, who conceived you. And do not despise your mother, when she is old.
23 Thenga iqiniso, ungalithengisi; inhlakanipho, lemfundiso, lokuqedisisa.
Purchase truth, and do not sell wisdom, or doctrine, or understanding.
24 Uyise wolungileyo uzathaba lokuthaba; lozala ohlakaniphileyo uzathokoza ngaye.
The father of the just exults in gladness; he who has conceived the wise will rejoice in him.
25 Uyihlo lonyoko kabathokoze, lokuzeleyo kathabe.
Let your father and your mother be joyful, and may she who conceived you exult.
26 Ndodana yami, ngiphe inhliziyo yakho, lamehlo akho kawananzelele indlela zami.
My son, offer me your heart, and let your eyes keep to my ways.
27 Ngoba iwule lingumgodi otshonayo, lowesifazana owemzini ungumthombo ongumcingo.
For a loose woman is a deep pit, and a foreign woman is a constricted well.
28 Laye ucathama njengomphangi, andise abangathembekanga phakathi kwabantu.
She lies in wait along the way like a robber. And the incautious one whom she sees, she will put to death.
29 Ngubani olo: Maye? Ngubani olo: Wo? Ngubani olenkani? Ngubani olesililo? Ngubani olamanxeba ngeze? Ngubani olamehlo abomvu?
Who has woe? Whose father has woe? Who has quarrels? Who falls into pits? Who has wounds without cause? Who has watery eyes?
30 Yilabo abalibala ewayinini, yilabo abazedinga iwayini elixutshanisiweyo.
Is it not those who linger over wine, and who strive to be drinking from their cups?
31 Ungakhangeli iwayini, lapho lizibonakalisa libomvu, nxa linika umbala walo enkomitshini, lihamba liqondile.
Do not gaze into the wine when it turns gold, when its color shines in the glass. It enters pleasantly,
32 Ekucineni kwalo liluma njengenyoka, lilume njengebululu.
but in the end, it will bite like a snake, and it will spread poison like a king of snakes.
33 Amehlo akho azabona abesifazana bemzini, lenhliziyo yakho ikhulume izinto eziphambeneyo.
Your eyes will see women who are outsiders, and your heart will utter perversities.
34 Yebo, uzakuba njengolala enhliziyweni yolwandle, lanjengolala esihlokweni sensika yomkhumbi.
And you will be like someone sleeping in the middle of the sea, and like a pilot, fast asleep, who has lost his hold on the helm.
35 Bangitshayile, kangizwanga buhlungu; bangidutshuzile, kangikunanzanga. Ngizavuka nini? Ngiphinde ngilidinge futhi.
And you will say: “They have beaten me, but I did not feel pain. They have dragged me, and I did not realize it. When will I awaken and find more wine?”
