Mithali 23
1 Uketipo kula chakula na mtawala, angalia vyema kile kilicho mbele yako,
When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, Thou considerest diligently that which [is] before thee,
2 na utie kisu kooni mwako kama ukiwa mlafi.
And thou hast put a knife to thy throat, If thou [art] a man of appetite.
3 Usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu kwa kuwa chakula hicho ni cha hila.
Have no desire to his dainties, seeing it [is] lying food.
4 Usijitaabishe ili kuupata utajiri, uwe na hekima kuonyesha kujizuia.
Labour not to make wealth, From thine own understanding cease, Dost thou cause thine eyes to fly upon it? Then it is not.
5 Kufumba na kufumbua utajiri hutoweka, huwa kama umepata mabawa ghafula, ukaruka na kutoweka angani kama tai.
For wealth maketh to itself wings, As an eagle it flieth to the heavens.
6 Usile chakula cha mtu mchoyo, usitamani vyakula vyake vitamu,
Eat not the bread of an evil eye, And have no desire to 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 hath thought in his soul, so [is] he, 'Eat and drink,' saith he to thee, And his heart [is] not with thee.
8 Utatapika kile kidogo ulichokula, nawe utakuwa umepoteza bure maneno yako ya kumsifu.
Thy morsel thou hast eaten thou dost vomit up, And hast marred thy words that [are] sweet.
9 Usizungumze na mpumbavu, kwa maana atadhihaki hekima ya maneno yako.
In the ears of a fool speak not, For he treadeth on the wisdom of thy words.
10 Usisogeze jiwe la mpaka wa zamani wala kunyemelea kwenye mashamba ya yatima,
Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,
11 kwa kuwa Mtetezi wao ni mwenye nguvu, atalichukua shauri lao dhidi yako.
For their Redeemer [is] strong, He doth plead their cause with thee.
12 Elekeza moyo wako kwenye mafundisho na masikio yako kwenye maneno ya maarifa.
Bring in to instruction thy heart, And thine ear to sayings of knowledge.
13 Usimnyime mtoto adhabu, ukimwadhibu kwa fimbo, hatakufa.
Withhold not from a youth chastisement, When thou smitest him with a rod he dieth not.
Thou with a rod smitest him, And his soul from Sheol thou deliverest. (Sheol h7585)
15 Mwanangu, kama moyo wako una hekima, basi moyo wangu utafurahi,
My son, if thy heart hath been wise, My heart rejoiceth, even mine,
16 utu wangu wa ndani utafurahi, wakati midomo yako itakapozungumza lililo sawa.
And my reins exult when thy lips speak uprightly.
17 Usiuruhusu moyo wako kuwaonea wivu wenye dhambi, bali kila mara uwe na bidii katika kumcha Bwana.
Let not thy heart be envious at sinners, But — in the fear of Jehovah all the day.
18 Hakika kuna tumaini la baadaye kwa ajili yako, nalo tarajio lako halitakatiliwa mbali.
For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not cut off.
19 Sikiliza, mwanangu na uwe na hekima, weka moyo wako kwenye njia iliyo sawa.
Hear thou, my son, and be wise, And make happy in the way thy heart,
20 Usiwe miongoni mwa wanywao mvinyo, au wale walao nyama kwa pupa,
Be not thou among quaffers of wine, Among gluttonous ones of flesh,
21 kwa maana walevi na walafi huwa maskini, nako kusinzia huwavika matambara.
For the quaffer and glutton become poor, And drowsiness clotheth with rags.
22 Msikilize baba yako, aliyekuzaa, wala usimdharau mama yako atakapokuwa mzee.
Hearken to thy father, who begat thee, And despise not thy mother when she hath become old.
23 Nunua kweli wala usiiuze, pata hekima, adabu na ufahamu.
Truth buy, and sell not, 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 rejoiceth greatly, The begetter of the wise rejoiceth in him.
25 Baba yako na mama yako na wafurahi, mama aliyekuzaa na ashangilie!
Rejoice doth thy father and thy mother, Yea, she that bare thee is joyful.
26 Mwanangu, nipe moyo wako, macho yako na yafuate njia zangu,
Give, my son, thy heart to me, And let thine 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 strait pit.
28 Kama mnyangʼanyi, hungojea akivizia, naye huzidisha wasio waaminifu miongoni mwa wanaume.
She also, as catching prey, lieth in wait, And the treacherous among men she increaseth.
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 plaint? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?
30 Ni hao wakaao sana kwenye mvinyo, hao waendao kuonja mabakuli ya mvinyo uliochanganywa.
Those tarrying by the wine, Those going in to search out mixed wine.
31 Usiukodolee macho mvinyo wakati ukiwa mwekundu, wakati unapometameta kwenye bilauri, wakati ushukapo taratibu!
See not wine when it showeth itself red, When it giveth in the cup its colour, It goeth up and down through the upright.
32 Mwishowe huuma kama nyoka na kutia sumu yake kama nyoka mwenye sumu.
Its latter end — as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.
33 Macho yako yataona mambo mageni na moyo wako kuwazia mambo yaliyopotoka.
Thine eyes see strange women, And thy heart speaketh perverse things.
34 Utakuwa kama alalaye katikati ya bahari, alalaye juu ya kamba ya merikebu.
And thou hast been as one lying down in the heart of the sea, And as one lying down on the top of a mast.
35 Utasema, “Wamenipiga lakini sikuumia! Wamenichapa, lakini sisikii! Nitaamka lini ili nikanywe tena?”
'They smote me, I have not been sick, They beat me, I have not known. When I awake — I seek it yet again!'
