Ayubu 4
1 Ndipo Elifazi Mtemani akajibu:
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “Kama mtu akithubutu kuzungumza nawe, kutakukasirisha? Lakini ni nani awezaye kujizuia asiseme?
“If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied? Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Fikiri jinsi ambavyo umewafundisha watu wengi, jinsi ambavyo umeitia nguvu mikono iliyokuwa dhaifu.
Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
4 Maneno yako yamewategemeza wale waliojikwaa; umeyatia nguvu magoti yaliyokuwa dhaifu.
Your words have steadied those who stumbled; you have braced the knees that were buckling.
5 Lakini sasa hii taabu imekujia wewe, nawe unashuka moyo; imekupiga wewe, nawe unafadhaika.
But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary. It strikes you, and you are dismayed.
6 Je, kumcha Mungu kwako hakupaswi kuwa ndiyo matumaini yako na njia zako kutokuwa na lawama ndilo taraja lako?
Is your reverence not your confidence, and the uprightness of your ways your hope?
7 “Fikiri sasa: Ni mtu yupi asiye na hatia ambaye aliwahi kuangamia? Ni wapi wanyofu waliwahi kuangamizwa?
Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?
8 Kwa jinsi ambavyo mimi nimechunguza, wale walimao ubaya na wale hupanda uovu, huvuna hayo hayo hayo.
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
9 Kwa pumzi ya Mungu huangamizwa; kwa mshindo wa hasira zake huangamia.
By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
10 Simba anaweza kunguruma na kukoroma, lakini bado meno ya simba mkubwa huvunjika.
The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 Simba anaweza kuangamia kwa kukosa mawindo, nao wana wa simba jike hutawanyika.
The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12 “Neno lililetwa kwangu kwa siri, masikio yangu yakasikia mnongʼono wake.
Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.
13 Katikati ya ndoto za kutia wasiwasi wakati wa usiku, hapo usingizi mzito uwapatapo wanadamu,
In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
14 hofu na kutetemeka kulinishika na kufanya mifupa yangu yote itetemeke.
fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder.
15 Kuna roho aliyepita mbele ya uso wangu, nazo nywele za mwili wangu zikasimama.
Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled.
16 Yule roho akasimama, lakini sikuweza kutambua kilikuwa kitu gani. Umbo fulani lilisimama mbele ya macho yangu, kukawa na ukimya kisha nikasikia sauti:
It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:
17 ‘Je, binadamu aweza kuwa mwadilifu kuliko Mungu? Je, mtu aweza kuwa safi kuliko Muumba wake?
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?
18 Kama Mungu hawaamini watumishi wake, kama yeye huwalaumu malaika zake kwa kukosea,
If God puts no trust in His servants, and He charges His angels with error,
19 ni mara ngapi zaidi wale waishio katika nyumba za udongo wa mfinyanzi, ambazo misingi yake ipo mavumbini, ambao wamepondwa kama nondo!
how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!
20 Kati ya mawio na machweo huvunjwa vipande vipande; bila yeyote kutambua, huangamia milele.
They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever.
21 Je, kamba za hema yao hazikungʼolewa, hivyo hufa bila hekima?’
Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’
