Ayubu 22
1 Kisha Elifazi Mtemani akajibu na kusema,
Then Eliphaz replied,
2 Je mtu anaweza kumfaa Mungu “Je mwenye hekima anaweza kufaa kwake.
“(Can anyone be useful to God?/Certainly no one can be useful to God.) [RHQ] Even people who are wise cannot be helpful to God.
3 Je inafurahisha kwa Mwenyezi ikiwa u mwenye haki? Je ni faida yake ukiyafanya safi maisha yako?
If you were righteous, (would that benefit Almighty [God]?/that certainly would not benefit Almighty [God].) [RHQ] If you had (lived a perfect life/never done anything that is wrong), would that help him?
4 Je ni kwa sababu ya uchaji wako kwake hata akukemee na kukuadhibu?
“Is it because you have an awesome respect for God that he punishes you? Is that the reason that he puts you on trial?
5 Je si kwa sababu ya wingi wa uovu wako? Je hakuna mwisho wa makosa yako?
No, it certainly must be [RHQ] because you are extremely wicked. It must be that the evil things that you have done are so many that no one can count them!
6 Kwa maana umechukua dhamana kutoka kwa ndugu yako bila sababu; umechukua mavazi ya mtu na kumwacha uchi.
You must have lent money to others and wrongly forced them to give you things to guarantee that they would pay that money back to you; you must have taken all their clothes and left them with nothing to wear.
7 Haukuwapa wenye kiu maji ya kunywea; umewanyima chakula wenye njaa
You must not have given water to those who were thirsty, and you must have refused to give food to those who were hungry.
8 japokuwa wewe, mwenye uwezo, uliimiliki nchi, japokuwa wewe, mwenye kuheshimiwa, uliishi ndani yake.
Because you were very powerful, you [must have] taken over all the people’s land, and then, being very respected, you have begun to live on that land.
9 Umewaacha wajane waondoke bila kitu; umewatesa yatima.
[When] widows [came to you for help], you [must have] sent [them] away without giving them anything, and you must have oppressed orphans.
10 Kwa hiyo, mabaya yanakuzunguka, na hofu za ghafla zinakusumbua.
Because of all that, now there are pits around you for you to fall into, and suddenly there are things that terrify you and cause you to tremble.
11 Kuna giza, hata usione; gharika inakufunika.
[It is as though] it has become very dark, with the result that you cannot see anything, and [it is as though] [MET] a flood covers you.
12 Je Mungu hayupo juu mbinguni? Anaangalia juu ya nyota, jinsi zilivyo juu!
“[But consider this, Job]: God lives [RHQ] high up in the heavens. From there he [RHQ] looks down on the highest stars.
13 Unasema, 'Mungu anajua nini? Je anaweza kuamua kupitia giza totoro?
So why do you say, ‘What does God know [about what we are doing]? [He is hidden from us by] dark clouds, so ([how] can he judge us?/he certainly cannot judge us.) [RHQ]’
14 Mawingu ni kifuniko chake, hata asituone; anatembea anga la mbinguni.'
[Do you think that] while he walks on the dome that covers the sky, there are thick clouds around him, with the result that he cannot see [what we do]?
15 Je utayaishi maisha ya zamani walioishi waovu -
Will you continue to conduct your life the old way that evil people have done [for many years]?
16 walioondolewa kabla ya siku zao, ambao misingi yao imeondolewa kama mto,
They suddenly died while they were still young; they disappeared [like everything disappears when there is] a flood [MET].
17 waliomwambia Mungu, 'Ondoka kwetu'; waliosema, 'Mwenyezi anaweza kututenda nini?
They kept saying to God, ‘Do not bother us,’ and they also said [defiantly], ‘Almighty [God] can do nothing [RHQ] to [harm] us!’
18 Hata hivyo bado alizijaza nyumba zao kwa mema; mipango ya waovu iko mbali nami.
But it was God who filled their houses with good things, so I cannot at all understand why wicked people think like they do.
19 Wenye haki wanayaona yawapatayo waovu na kufurahi; wasio na hatia wanawacheka kwa dhihaka.
“But when God punishes wicked people, and righteous people see that, they are glad, and they laugh, ridiculing the wicked people.
20 Wanasema, 'Bila shaka walioinuka kinyume chetu wameondolewa; moto umeteketeza mali zao.'
They say, ‘Now our enemies have been destroyed, and all [their possessions] that were left have been burned in a fire.’
21 Basi patana na Mungu na uwe na amani naye; kwa njia hiyo, mema yatakujia.
“So, [Job, ] be reconciled to God and make peace with him; if you do that, good things will happen to you.
22 Nakusihi, pokea, maelekezo yake; uyatii maneno yake.
Allow him to teach you, and keep thinking about what he has told you.
23 Ukimrudia Mwenyezi, utajengwa, ukiacha kutenda uovu makaoni mwako.
If you humble yourself and return to God, if you stop doing all the evil things that you have been doing in your house,
24 Weka hazina zako mavumbini, dhahabu ya Ofiri kati ya mawe ya vijito,
if you throw away your gold, even the fine gold from the dry stream beds in Ophir [land],
25 na Mwenyezi atakuwa hazina zako, fedha ya thamani kwako.
and if you allow Almighty [God] to be [as precious to you as] your gold and your silver [have been],
26 Nawe utajifurahisha katika Mwenyezi; utamwangalia Mungu.
you will be happy because of your close relationship with God, and you will be able to approach him [IDM] [confidently].
27 Utamwomba, naye atakusikiliza; utamtolea nadhiri.
You will pray to him, and he will do what you request him to do; you will do the things that you promised him that you would do.
28 Lakini pia utatamka lolote, nawe utapewa; nuru itaangaza maishani mwako.
Everything that you decide to do will be successful; [it] will [be as though] a light [is] shining on the road in front of you.
29 Mungu humshusha mwenye kiburi, naye humwinua mnyenyekevu.
God humbles those who are proud, but he saves those who are downcast/discouraged.
30 Atamwokoa asiye na hatia; utaokolewa kupitia usafi wa mikono yako.”
God rescues those who (are innocent/have not done things that are wrong), so he will rescue you if you (start doing things that are right/are not guilty [IDM] of doing things that are wrong).”
