< Ayubu 15 >
1 Ndipo Elifazi Mtemani alijibu na kusema,
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
2 Mtu mwenye hekima anapaswa kujibu kwa maarifa yasiyofaa na kujijaza mwenyewe na upepo wa mashariki?
“Should a wise man answer with vain knowledge, and fill himself with the east wind?
3 Anapaswa kuhojiana na mazungumzo yasiyo na faida au na hotuba ambazo kwa hizo yeye hawezi kufanya mema?
Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or with speeches with which he can do no good?
4 Dhahiri, wewe wafifisha heshima ya Mungu; Wewe wazuia heshima kwa yeye,
Yes, you do away with fear, and hinder devotion before God.
5 kwa maana uovu wako hufundisha midomo yako; Wewe wachagua kuwa na ulimi wa mtu mwenye hila.
For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.
6 Mdomo wako mwenyewe hukukukumu wewe, siyo wangu; hakika, midomo yako mwenyewe hushuhudia dhidi yako wewe.
Your own mouth condemns you, and not I. Yes, your own lips testify against you.
7 Je, wewe ni mwanadamu wa kwanza ambaye aliyezaliwa? Wewe ulikuwepo kabla ya vilima kuwepo?
“Are you the first man who was born? Or were you brought out before the hills?
8 Wewe Umewahi kusikia maarifa ya siri ya Mungu? Je, wewe wajihesabia mwenye hekima wewe mwenyewe?
Have you heard the secret counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 Ni kitu gani unachokifahamu wewe ambacho sisi hatukijui? Ni kitu gani unachokifahamu wewe ambacho hakiko katika sisi?
What do you know that we don’t know? What do you understand which is not in us?
10 Pamoja nasi wapo pia wenye mvi na watu wazee sana ambao ni wazee zaidi kuliko baba yako.
With us are both the grey-headed and the very aged men, much older than your father.
11 Je, faraja ya Mungu ni ndogo sana kwako, maneno ambayo ni ya upole dhidi yako wewe?
Are the consolations of God too small for you, even the word that is gentle towards you?
12 Kwa nini moyo wako wewe unakupeleka mbali? Kwa nini macho yako yananga'ra,
Why does your heart carry you away? Why do your eyes flash,
13 ili ya kwamba kuirejesha roho yako kwa Mungu na kuyatoa maneno hayo kutoka katika mdomo wako?
that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?
14 Je, mwanadamu yeye ni nini kwamba yeye anapaswa kuwa safi? Yeye mwanadamu aliyezaliwa na mwanamke ni nini kwamba yeye anapaswa awe mwenye haki?
What is man, that he should be clean? What is he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 Tazama, Mungu haweki tumaini lake hata kwa mmoja wake aliye mtakatifu; Hakika, mbingu haziko safi machoni pake yeye;
Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones. Yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight;
16 jinsi gani asivyo safi ni mmoja aliye mbaya na mla rushwa, mtu ambaye hunywa uovu kama maji!
how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water!
17 Mimi nitakuonyesha wewe; Nisikilize mimi; Mimi nitakutangazia wewe vitu ambavyo nimeviona,
“I will show you, listen to me; that which I have seen I will declare
18 vitu ambavyo watu wenye hekima wamepita chini yake kutoka kwa baba zao, vile vitu ambavyo mababu zao hawakuvificha.
(which wise men have told by their fathers, and have not hidden it;
19 Hawa walikuwa mababu zao, ambao kwao pekee nchi walipewa, na miongoni mwao hakuna mgeni aliyepita.
to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed amongst them):
20 Mtu mwovu hupitia katika maumivu siku zake zote, idadi ya miaka iliyowekwa juu kwa mtesaji kuteseka.
the wicked man writhes in pain all his days, even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor.
21 Sauti ya vitisho katika masikio yake; pindi yeye yuko katika kufanikiwa, mharibu atakuja juu yake yeye.
A sound of terrors is in his ears. In prosperity the destroyer will come on him.
22 Yeye hafikiri kwamba yeye atarudi kutoka katika giza; Upanga humngojea yeye.
He doesn’t believe that he will return out of darkness. He is waited for by the sword.
23 Yeye huenda sehemu mbali mbali kwa ajili ya mkate, akisema, 'Kiko wapi? ' Yeye anatambua kuwa siku ya giza iko mkononi.
He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24 Dhiki na mateso makali humfanya aogope; wao hushinda dhidi yake yeye, kama mfalme tayari kwa vita.
Distress and anguish make him afraid. They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
25 Kwa sababu yeye ameunyosha mkono wake dhidi ya Mungu na ameishi kwa kiburi dhidi ya aliye mkuu,
Because he has stretched out his hand against God, and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty,
26 huyu mtu mwovu hukimbia kwa Mungu na shingo ngumu, kwa vifundo vikubwa vya ngao.
he runs at him with a stiff neck, with the thick shields of his bucklers,
27 Hii ni kweli, hata ingawa yeye amefunika uso wake kwa mafuta yake na amekusanya mafuta juu ya viuno vyake,
because he has covered his face with his fatness, and gathered fat on his thighs.
28 na ameishi katika miji yenye ukiwa; katika nyumba ambazo hakuna mwanadamu anayeishi humo sasa na ambazo zilikuwa tayari kuwa magofu.
He has lived in desolate cities, in houses which no one inhabited, which were ready to become heaps.
29 Yeye hatakuwa tajiri; utajiri wake yeye hautadumu; hata kivuli chake hakitadumu katika nchi.
He will not be rich, neither will his substance continue, neither will their possessions be extended on the earth.
30 Yeye hatatoka nje ya giza; mwali wa moto utakausha matawi yake; katika pumzi ya kinywa cha Mungu yeye ataenda zake.
He will not depart out of darkness. The flame will dry up his branches. He will go away by the breath of God’s mouth.
31 Mwacheni yeye asitumaini katika vitu visivyofanya kazi, akijidanganya yeye mwenyewe; maana upuuzi utakuwa mshahara wake yeye.
Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself, for emptiness will be his reward.
32 Itatokea kabla ya wakati wake yeye atapaswa kufa; tawi lake halitakuwa kijani.
It will be accomplished before his time. His branch will not be green.
33 Yeye atazipukutisha zabibu zake zisizovunwa kama mzabibu; yeye atayaondoa maua yake kama mti wa mzeituni.
He will shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and will cast off his flower as the olive tree.
34 Kwa maana msaada wa watu wasiomcha Mungu utakuwa tasa; moto utateketeza hema za rushwa.
For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 Wao wanabeba mimba yenye ubaya na kuzaa uovu; tumbo lao hutunga mimba ya udanganifu.
They conceive mischief and produce iniquity. Their heart prepares deceit.”