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.
And put a knife to thy throat, if thou [art] a man given to appetite.
3 Usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu kwa kuwa chakula hicho ni cha hila.
Be not desirous of his dainties: for they [are] deceitful food.
4 Usijitaabishe ili kuupata utajiri, uwe na hekima kuonyesha kujizuia.
Labor not to be rich: cease from thy own wisdom.
5 Kufumba na kufumbua utajiri hutoweka, huwa kama umepata mabawa ghafula, ukaruka na kutoweka angani kama tai.
Wilt thou set thy eyes upon that which is not? for [riches] certainly make to themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle towards heaven.
6 Usile chakula cha mtu mchoyo, usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu,
Eat thou not the bread of [him that hath] an evil eye, neither desire 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 as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he: 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.
The morsel [which] thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
9 Usizungumze na mpumbavu, kwa maana atadhihaki hekima ya maneno yako.
Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Usisogeze jiwe la mpaka wa zamani wala kunyemelea kwenye mashamba ya yatima,
Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11 kwa kuwa Mtetezi wao ni mwenye nguvu, atalichukua shauri lao dhidi yako.
For their redeemer [is] mighty; he will plead their cause with thee.
12 Elekeza moyo wako kwenye mafundisho na masikio yako kwenye maneno ya maarifa.
Apply thy heart to instruction, and thy ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Usimnyime mtoto adhabu, ukimwadhibu kwa fimbo, hatakufa.
Withhold not correction from the child: for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. (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.
Yes, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
17 Usiuruhusu moyo wako kuwaonea wivu wenye dhambi, bali kila mara uwe na bidii katika kumcha Bwana.
Let not thy heart envy sinners: but [be thou] in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
18 Hakika kuna tumaini la baadaye kwa ajili yako, nalo tarajio lako halitakatiliwa mbali.
For surely there is an end; and thy 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 guide thy heart in the way.
20 Usiwe miongoni mwa wanywao mvinyo, au wale walao nyama kwa pupa,
Be not among wine-bibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
21 kwa maana walevi na walafi huwa maskini, nako kusinzia huwavika matambara.
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe [a man] with rags.
22 Msikilize baba yako, aliyekuzaa, wala usimdharau mama yako atakapokuwa mzee.
Hearken to thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is 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 shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise [child] shall have joy of him.
25 Baba yako na mama yako na wafurahi, mama aliyekuzaa na ashangilie!
Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bore thee shall rejoice.
26 Mwanangu, nipe moyo wako, macho yako na yafuate njia zangu,
My son, give me thy heart, and let thy eyes observe my ways.
27 kwa maana kahaba ni shimo refu na mwanamke mpotovu ni kisima chembamba.
For a lewd woman [is] a deep ditch; and a strange woman [is] a narrow pit.
28 Kama mnyangʼanyi, hungojea akivizia, naye huzidisha wasio waaminifu miongoni mwa wanaume.
She also lieth in wait as [for] a prey, and increaseth the transgressors 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 contentions? who hath babbling? 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 long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
31 Usiukodolee macho mvinyo wakati ukiwa mwekundu, wakati unapometameta kwenye bilauri, wakati ushukapo taratibu!
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, [when] it moveth itself aright.
32 Mwishowe huuma kama nyoka na kutia sumu yake kama nyoka mwenye sumu.
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
33 Macho yako yataona mambo mageni na moyo wako kuwazia mambo yaliyopotoka.
Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things.
34 Utakuwa kama alalaye katikati ya bahari, alalaye juu ya kamba ya merikebu.
And thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
35 Utasema, “Wamenipiga lakini sikuumia! Wamenichapa, lakini sisikii! Nitaamka lini ili nikanywe tena?”
They have stricken me, [wilt thou say], [and] I was not sick; they have beaten me, [and] I felt [it] not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
