Izaga 23
1 Nxa uhlalela ukudla lesiphathamandla, qaphelisa lokuqaphelisa okuphambi kwakho.
When thou shalt sit to eat with a prince, consider diligently what is set before thy face.
2 Ubeke ingqamu emphinjeni wakho uba uyisiminzi.
And put a knife to thy throat, if it be so that thou have thy soul in thy own power.
3 Ungafisi izibondlo zaso, ngoba ziyikudla kwamanga.
Be not desirous of his meats, in which is the bread of deceit.
4 Ungatshikatshikeli ukunotha; pheza ekuqedisiseni kwakho.
Labour not to be rich: but set bounds to thy prudence.
5 Uzandizisa yini amehlo akho kokungekho? Ngoba kuzazenzela lokuzenzela izimpiko njengokhozi oluphaphela emazulwini.
Lift not up thy eyes to riches which thou canst not have: because they shall make themselves wings like those of an eagle, and shall fly towards heaven.
6 Ungadli ukudla kolelihlo elibi, ungafisi izibondlo zakhe.
Eat not with an envious man, and desire not his meats:
7 Ngoba njengoba ecabangile emphefumulweni wakhe, unjalo. Uzakuthi: Dlana unathe; kodwa inhliziyo yakhe kayilawe.
Because like a soothsayer, and diviner, he thinketh that which he knoweth not. Eat and drink, will he say to thee: and his mind is not with thee.
8 Ucezu oludlileyo uzaluhlanza, wone amazwi akho amnandi.
The meats which thou hadst eaten, thou shalt vomit up: and shalt loose thy beautiful words.
9 Ungakhulumi endlebeni zoyisithutha, ngoba uzadelela inhlakanipho yamazwi akho.
Speak not in the ears of fools: because they will despise the instruction of thy speech.
10 Ungatshedisi isikhonkwane esidala somngcele; ungangeni emasimini ezintandane;
Touch not the bounds of little ones: and enter not into the field of the fatherless:
11 ngoba uMhlengi wazo ulamandla; yena uzamela udaba lwazo kuwe.
For their near kinsman is strong: and he will judge their cause against thee.
12 Beka inhliziyo yakho ekufundisweni, lezindlebe zakho emazwini olwazi.
Let thy heart apply itself to instruction: and thy ears to words of knowledge.
13 Ungagodleli umntwana isijeziso; nxa umtshaya ngoswazi kayikufa.
Withhold not correction from a child: for if thou strike him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and deliver his soul from hell. (Sheol h7585)
15 Ndodana yami, uba inhliziyo yakho ihlakanipha, inhliziyo yami izathokoza, yebo eyami;
My son, if thy mind be wise, my heart shall rejoice with thee:
16 lezinso zami zizajabula ekukhulumeni kwendebe zakho izinto eziqondileyo.
And my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips shall speak what is right.
17 Inhliziyo yakho kayingahawukeli izoni; kodwa bana ekwesabeni iNkosi lonke usuku.
Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long:
18 Ngoba isibili kukhona umvuzo, lomlindelo wakho kawuyikuqunywa.
Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away.
19 Lalela wena, ndodana yami, uhlakaniphe, uqondise inhliziyo yakho endleleni.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise: and guide thy mind in the way.
20 Ungabi phakathi kwabanathi bewayini, phakathi kwezihwaba zenyama.
Be not in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in their revellings, who contribute flesh to eat:
21 Ngoba isidakwa lesihwaba sizakuba ngumyanga, lokuwozela kugqokisa amadabudabu.
Because they that give themselves to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed; and drowsiness shall be clothed with rags.
22 Lalela uyihlo owakuzalayo, ungamdeleli unyoko esemdala.
Hearken to thy father, that beget thee: and despise not thy mother when she is old.
23 Thenga iqiniso, ungalithengisi; inhlakanipho, lemfundiso, lokuqedisisa.
Buy truth, and do not sell wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Uyise wolungileyo uzathaba lokuthaba; lozala ohlakaniphileyo uzathokoza ngaye.
The father of the just rejoiceth greatly: he that hath begotten a wise son, shall have joy in him.
25 Uyihlo lonyoko kabathokoze, lokuzeleyo kathabe.
Let thy father, and thy mother be joyful, and let her rejoice that bore thee.
26 Ndodana yami, ngiphe inhliziyo yakho, lamehlo akho kawananzelele indlela zami.
My son, give me thy heart: and let thy eyes keep my ways.
27 Ngoba iwule lingumgodi otshonayo, lowesifazana owemzini ungumthombo ongumcingo.
For a harlot is a deep ditch: and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
28 Laye ucathama njengomphangi, andise abangathembekanga phakathi kwabantu.
She lieth in wait in the way as a robber, and him whom she shall see unwary, she will kill.
29 Ngubani olo: Maye? Ngubani olo: Wo? Ngubani olenkani? Ngubani olesililo? Ngubani olamanxeba ngeze? Ngubani olamehlo abomvu?
Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who falls into pits? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 Yilabo abalibala ewayinini, yilabo abazedinga iwayini elixutshanisiweyo.
Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink of their cups.
31 Ungakhangeli iwayini, lapho lizibonakalisa libomvu, nxa linika umbala walo enkomitshini, lihamba liqondile.
Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass: it goeth in pleasantly,
32 Ekucineni kwalo liluma njengenyoka, lilume njengebululu.
But in the end, it will bite like a snake, and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk.
33 Amehlo akho azabona abesifazana bemzini, lenhliziyo yakho ikhulume izinto eziphambeneyo.
Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Yebo, uzakuba njengolala enhliziyweni yolwandle, lanjengolala esihlokweni sensika yomkhumbi.
And thou shalt be as one sleeping in the midst of the sea, and as a pilot fast asleep, when the stern is lost.
35 Bangitshayile, kangizwanga buhlungu; bangidutshuzile, kangikunanzanga. Ngizavuka nini? Ngiphinde ngilidinge futhi.
And thou shalt say: They have beaten me, but I was not sensible of pain: they drew me, and I felt not: when shall I awake, and find wine again?
