Mithali 23
1 Uketipo kula chakula na mtawala, angalia vyema kile kilicho mbele yako,
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
2 na utie kisu kooni mwako kama ukiwa mlafi.
For thou puttest a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man of a craving desire.
3 Usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu kwa kuwa chakula hicho ni cha hila.
Do not long for his savory meats; they are deceitful food.
4 Usijitaabishe ili kuupata utajiri, uwe na hekima kuonyesha kujizuia.
Fatigue thyself not to become rich; because thou hast understanding, forbear.
5 Kufumba na kufumbua utajiri hutoweka, huwa kama umepata mabawa ghafula, ukaruka na kutoweka angani kama tai.
When thou lettest merely thy eyes fly over it, it is no more: for it will ever make itself wings: like an eagle will it fly toward heaven.
6 Usile chakula cha mtu mchoyo, usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu,
Eat not the bread of a man with an evil eye, and do not long for his savory meats;
7 kwa maana yeye ni aina ya mtu ambaye kila mara anafikiri juu ya gharama. Anakuambia, “Kula na kunywa,” lakini moyo wake hauko pamoja nawe.
For as though there were a division in his soul, so doth he act: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
8 Utatapika kile kidogo ulichokula, nawe utakuwa umepoteza bure maneno yako ya kumsifu.
Thy morsel which thou hast eaten must thou spit out, and thou hast wasted thy pleasant words.
9 Usizungumze na mpumbavu, kwa maana atadhihaki hekima ya maneno yako.
Speak not before the ears of a fool; for he will despise the intelligence of thy words.
10 Usisogeze jiwe la mpaka wa zamani wala kunyemelea kwenye mashamba ya yatima,
Remove not the ancient landmark, and into the fields of the fatherless must thou not enter;
11 kwa kuwa Mtetezi wao ni mwenye nguvu, atalichukua shauri lao dhidi yako.
For their redeemer is strong; he will indeed plead their cause with thee.
12 Elekeza moyo wako kwenye mafundisho na masikio yako kwenye maneno ya maarifa.
Apply thy heart unto instruction, and thy ears to the sayings of knowledge.
13 Usimnyime mtoto adhabu, ukimwadhibu kwa fimbo, hatakufa.
Withhold not from a lad correction; for if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.
Thou wilt indeed beat him with the rod; but thou wilt deliver his soul from perdition. (Sheol h7585)
15 Mwanangu, kama moyo wako una hekima, basi moyo wangu utafurahi,
My son, If thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
16 utu wangu wa ndani utafurahi, wakati midomo yako itakapozungumza lililo sawa.
And my reins shall exult when thy lips speak what is equitable.
17 Usiuruhusu moyo wako kuwaonea wivu wenye dhambi, bali kila mara uwe na bidii katika kumcha Bwana.
Let not thy heart be envious against sinners; but [remain] in the fear of the lord all the time.
18 Hakika kuna tumaini la baadaye kwa ajili yako, nalo tarajio lako halitakatiliwa mbali.
For surely there is a future, and thy hope will not be cut off.
19 Sikiliza, mwanangu na uwe na hekima, weka moyo wako kwenye njia iliyo sawa.
Hear thou, my son, and become wise, and guide thy heart on the right way.
20 Usiwe miongoni mwa wanywao mvinyo, au wale walao nyama kwa pupa,
Be not among those that drink wine immoderately, among those that over-indulge in eating flesh:
21 kwa maana walevi na walafi huwa maskini, nako kusinzia huwavika matambara.
For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty; and drowsiness clotheth a man in rags.
22 Msikilize baba yako, aliyekuzaa, wala usimdharau mama yako atakapokuwa mzee.
Hearken unto thy father that hath begotten thee, and despise not thy mother although she be old.
23 Nunua kweli wala usiiuze, pata hekima, adabu na ufahamu.
Buy the truth and sell it not; [also] wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
24 Baba wa mwenye haki ana furaha kubwa, naye aliye na mwana mwenye hekima humfurahia.
The father of the righteous will be greatly glad, and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy through him.
25 Baba yako na mama yako na wafurahi, mama aliyekuzaa na ashangilie!
Let [then] thy father and thy mother rejoice, and let her that hath born thee be glad.
26 Mwanangu, nipe moyo wako, macho yako na yafuate njia zangu,
Give, my son, thy heart unto me, and let thy eyes watch my ways.
27 kwa maana kahaba ni shimo refu na mwanamke mpotovu ni kisima chembamba.
For a harlot is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow well.
28 Kama mnyangʼanyi, hungojea akivizia, naye huzidisha wasio waaminifu miongoni mwa wanaume.
She also lieth in wait like a robber, and she increaseth the treacherous among men.
29 Ni nani mwenye ole? Ni nani mwenye huzuni? Ni nani mwenye ugomvi? Ni nani mwenye malalamiko? Ni nani aliye na majeraha yasiyo na sababu? Ni nani mwenye macho mekundu?
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath quarrels? who hath complaints? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
30 Ni hao wakaao sana kwenye mvinyo, hao waendao kuonja mabakuli ya mvinyo uliochanganywa.
They that tarry late over the wine: they that come to seek for mixed drink.
31 Usiukodolee macho mvinyo wakati ukiwa mwekundu, wakati unapometameta kwenye bilauri, wakati ushukapo taratibu!
Do not look on the wine when it looketh red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it glideth down so readily.
32 Mwishowe huuma kama nyoka na kutia sumu yake kama nyoka mwenye sumu.
At the last it will bite like a serpent, and like a basilisk will it sting.
33 Macho yako yataona mambo mageni na moyo wako kuwazia mambo yaliyopotoka.
Thy eyes will see strange forms, and thy heart will speak perverse things.
34 Utakuwa kama alalaye katikati ya bahari, alalaye juu ya kamba ya merikebu.
And thou wilt be like one that lieth down in the heart of the sea, or as he that lieth on the top of a mast.
35 Utasema, “Wamenipiga lakini sikuumia! Wamenichapa, lakini sisikii! Nitaamka lini ili nikanywe tena?”
“They smote me, [but] I suffered no pain; they struck me hard, [but] I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will continue to seek it again.”
