< Ayubu 21 >
1 Kisha Ayubu akajibu na kusema,
Then Job replied,
2 “Sikilizeni hotuba yangu kwa makini, hii na iwe faraja yenu.
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Nimeteswa, lakini pia nitasema; nikisha kusema, endeleeni kudhihaki.
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 Lakini kwangu mimi, malalamikio yangu ni kwa mtu? Kwa nini nisiwe mwenye subira?
“It is certainly not [RHQ] people against whom I am complaining, [but God] And it is certainly [RHQ] right for me to be impatient!
5 Nitazameni na mshangae, nanyi wekeni mkono wenu midomoni mwenu.
Look at me! Does what you see not cause you to be appalled and to put your hands over your mouths [and say no more]?
6 Ninapoyafikiria mateso yangu, ninaumizwa, mwili wangu unaogopa.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 Kwa nini waovu wanaendelea kuishi, wanazeeka, na kuwa na uwezo katika madaraka?
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Wazao wao wanathibitishwa mbele zao, na uzao wao unaimarika machoni pao.
They have their children around them, and they watch them while they [grow up and] start to live in their own houses, and they enjoy their grandchildren.
9 Nyumba zao ziko salama mbali na hofu; wala fimbo ya Mungu haiko juu yao.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 Dume lao la ng'ombe linazalisha; halishindwi kufanya hivyo; ng'ombe wao anazaa na hafishi ndama wake akiwa mchanga.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 Wanawapeleka wadogo wao kama kundi la kondoo, na watoto wao hucheza.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 Wanaimba kwa tari na vinubi na hufurahi kwa muziki na zomari.
Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
13 Wanatumia siku zao katika mafanikio, na wanashuka kuzimu kwa utulivu. (Sheol )
Wicked people enjoy having good things all the time that they are alive, and they die quietly/peacefully and go down to the place of the dead. (Sheol )
14 Wanamwambia Mungu, 'Ondoka kwetu kwani hatutaki ufahamu wowote juu ya njia zako.
While they are alive, they say to God, ‘Do not bother us; we do not want to know how you want us to conduct our lives!
15 Mwenye enzi ni nani, hata tumwabudu? Tutafaidika na nini tukimwabudu? Tutapata faida gani ikiwa tutamwomba?
Why do you, Almighty God, think that we should serve you? (What advantage do we get if we pray to you?/It is useless for us to pray to you.) [RHQ]’
16 Tazama, je mafanikio yao hayamo katika mikono yao wenyewe? Sina cha kufanya na ushauri wa waovu.
Think about it: Wicked people think that it is because of what they have done that they have become prosperous, but I do not understand why they think like that.
17 Mara ngapi taa za waovu huzimwa, au kwamba majanga huja juu yao? Mara ngapi inatokea kwamba Mungu husambaza huzuni kwao kwa hasira?
(“How often does it happen that wicked people die [MET] before they are old?/Very seldom do wicked people die [MET] before they are old.) [RHQ] (Do they ever experience disasters?/They seldom experience disasters.) [RHQ] (Does God ever punish them because of being very angry with them?/God never punishes them because of being very angry with them.) [RHQ]
18 Ni mara ngapi inatokea kwamba wanakuwa kama mabua mbele ya upepo au kama makapi yanayopeperushwa na dhoruba?
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 Mnasema, 'Mungu huweka hatia ya mtu kwa watoto wake kuilipa.' Na alipe yeye mwenyewe, ili kwamba aweze kujua hatia yake mwenyewe.
You say, ‘When people have committed sins, God waits and punishes their children because of those sins;’ but [I say that] God should punish those who sin, [not their children, ] in order that the sinners will know [that it is because of their own sins that they are being punished].
20 Acha macho yake yaone uangamivu wake mwenyewe, na acha anywe gadhabu ya Mwenyezi.
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 Kwani anaangaliaje familia yake mbele yake idadi ya miezi yake inapokwisha.
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 Je kuna mtu anaweza kumfundisha Mungu maarifa kwa kuwa yeye huwaukumu hata walio juu?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 Mtu mmoja ufa katika nguvu zake kamili, akiwa na utulivu kabisa na kwa amani.
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 Mwili wake hauna uhitaji, na kiini cha mifupa yake ina unyevu na afya njema.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 Mtu mwingine ufa kwa uchungu wa nafsi, bila kujifurahisha kwa jambo lolote jema.
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Wanazikwa kaburini wote kwa pamoja, funza wanawafunika wote.
But both rich and poor people die and are buried, and maggots eat their bodies. [Everyone dies, so it is clear that dying is not always the punishment for being wicked].
27 Tazama, nayajua mawazo yenu, na jinsi mnavyotaka kunikosesha.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 Kwa kuwa mwasema, 'Iko wapi sasa nyumba ya mwana wa mfalme? Liko wapi kao alipokaa mwovu?'
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 Je hamjawauliza wasafiri? Hamfahamu wanavyoweza kusema,
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 kwamba mwovu anaepushwa na siku ya shida, na kwamba anawekwa mbali na siku ya gadhabu?
that wicked people usually do not suffer at the time when there are great disasters; that wicked people are the ones who are rescued when God is angry [and punishes people] [MTY]?
31 Ni nani atakaye ituhumu siku ya mwovu mbele yake? Ni nani atakayemwadhibu kwa alichokifanya?
There is no one [RHQ] who accuses wicked people, and there is no one who (pays them back/gives them the punishment that they deserve) for all the evil things that they have done.
32 Hata hivyo atapelekwa kaburini; watu wataliona kaburi lake.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 Udongo wa bondeni utakuwa mtamu kwake; watu wote watamfuata, hata kuwe na watu wengi mbele yake.
A huge number [HYP] of people go to the grave site. Some go in front of the procession and some come behind. And the clods of dirt thrown on the graves of those wicked people who have died are like a nice blanket.
34 Ni jinsi gani basi mtanifariji bila kufikiri, kwa kuwa majibu yenu hayana lolote ila uongo?”
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”