Mithali 23
1 Uketipo kula chakula na mtawala, angalia vyema kile kilicho mbele yako,
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, thou shalt consider well, what is before thee;
2 na utie kisu kooni mwako kama ukiwa mlafi.
And shalt put a knife to thy throat, if, of great appetite, thou art:
3 Usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu kwa kuwa chakula hicho ni cha hila.
Do not crave his dainties, for, the same, are deceitful food.
4 Usijitaabishe ili kuupata utajiri, uwe na hekima kuonyesha kujizuia.
Do not toil to get wealth, of thine own understanding, forbear:
5 Kufumba na kufumbua utajiri hutoweka, huwa kama umepata mabawa ghafula, ukaruka na kutoweka angani kama tai.
Wilt thou let thine eye fly thereupon, when it is nothing? for it will, surely make, itself wings, Like an eagle, will it wing its way across the heavens.
6 Usile chakula cha mtu mchoyo, usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu,
Do not eat the food of him that hath a begrudging eye, neither crave thou his dainties;
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, just as he hath thought in his own mind, so, he is: Eat and drink! he may say to thee, but, his heart, is not with thee.
8 Utatapika kile kidogo ulichokula, nawe utakuwa umepoteza bure maneno yako ya kumsifu.
As for thy morsel thou hast eaten, thou shalt vomit it, so shalt thou waste thy things so sweet.
9 Usizungumze na mpumbavu, kwa maana atadhihaki hekima ya maneno yako.
In the ears of a dullard, do not speak, for he will despise the good sense of thy words.
10 Usisogeze jiwe la mpaka wa zamani wala kunyemelea kwenye mashamba ya yatima,
Do not move back the ancient boundary, and, into the fields of the fatherless, do not enter;
11 kwa kuwa Mtetezi wao ni mwenye nguvu, atalichukua shauri lao dhidi yako.
For, their near of kin, is strong, he, will plead their cause with thee.
12 Elekeza moyo wako kwenye mafundisho na masikio yako kwenye maneno ya maarifa.
Bring, to correction, thy heart, and thine ears, to the sayings of knowledge.
13 Usimnyime mtoto adhabu, ukimwadhibu kwa fimbo, hatakufa.
Do not withhold, from a child, correction, When thou smitest him with the rod, he shall not die:
Thou, with the rod, shalt smite him, and, his soul from hades, shalt thou deliver. (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.
So shall my reins exult, when thy lips speak the things that are right.
17 Usiuruhusu moyo wako kuwaonea wivu wenye dhambi, bali kila mara uwe na bidii katika kumcha Bwana.
Let not thy heart be envious of sinners, only of the reverence of Yahweh, all day long;
18 Hakika kuna tumaini la baadaye kwa ajili yako, nalo tarajio lako halitakatiliwa mbali.
For surely there is a future, and, thine expectation, shall not be cut off.
19 Sikiliza, mwanangu na uwe na hekima, weka moyo wako kwenye njia iliyo sawa.
Hear, thou, my son, and be wise, and lead forward, in duty, thy heart.
20 Usiwe miongoni mwa wanywao mvinyo, au wale walao nyama kwa pupa,
Do not be among them who tipple with wine, —among them who are gluttons;
21 kwa maana walevi na walafi huwa maskini, nako kusinzia huwavika matambara.
For, the tippler and the glutton, shall come to poverty, and, rags, shall Slumber put on!
22 Msikilize baba yako, aliyekuzaa, wala usimdharau mama yako atakapokuwa mzee.
Hearken to thy father here, who begat thee, and despise not, when she is old, thy mother.
23 Nunua kweli wala usiiuze, pata hekima, adabu na ufahamu.
Truth, buy thou, but do not sell, wisdom, and correction, and understanding.
24 Baba wa mwenye haki ana furaha kubwa, naye aliye na mwana mwenye hekima humfurahia.
Greatly shall exult, the father of a righteous man, and, he that begetteth a wise son, shall rejoice in him:
25 Baba yako na mama yako na wafurahi, mama aliyekuzaa na ashangilie!
Rejoice shall thy father and thy mother, yea she, shall exult, who bare thee.
26 Mwanangu, nipe moyo wako, macho yako na yafuate njia zangu,
Oh give, my son, thy mind unto me, and let, thine eyes, observe, my ways;
27 kwa maana kahaba ni shimo refu na mwanamke mpotovu ni kisima chembamba.
For, a deep chasm, is the unchaste woman, and, a narrow pit, the female unknown;
28 Kama mnyangʼanyi, hungojea akivizia, naye huzidisha wasio waaminifu miongoni mwa wanaume.
Yea, she, as for prey, lieth in wait, and, the treacherous among mankind, she causeth to abound.
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 outcry of pain? Who hath contentions? Who hath complaining? Who hath needless wounds? Who hath dullness of eyes?
30 Ni hao wakaao sana kwenye mvinyo, hao waendao kuonja mabakuli ya mvinyo uliochanganywa.
They who tarry over wine, they who go in to search for mixed wine.
31 Usiukodolee macho mvinyo wakati ukiwa mwekundu, wakati unapometameta kwenye bilauri, wakati ushukapo taratibu!
Do not look on wine when it becometh red, when it giveth in the cup its sparkle, glideth down smoothly.
32 Mwishowe huuma kama nyoka na kutia sumu yake kama nyoka mwenye sumu.
Its after effect, is that, like a serpent, it biteth, and, like a viper, it doth sting.
33 Macho yako yataona mambo mageni na moyo wako kuwazia mambo yaliyopotoka.
Thine eyes, will see strange women, and, thy heart, will speak perverse things:
34 Utakuwa kama alalaye katikati ya bahari, alalaye juu ya kamba ya merikebu.
So shalt thou become, as one lying down in the heart of the sea, —or as one lying down on the top of the mastgear:
35 Utasema, “Wamenipiga lakini sikuumia! Wamenichapa, lakini sisikii! Nitaamka lini ili nikanywe tena?”
They smote me—I felt no pain, They struck me down—I noticed it not, —When shall I wake up? I will go on, I will seek it, again!
