Ayubu 38
1 Ndipo Yahweh alimwita Ayubu kutoka katika dhoruba kali na kumwambia,
Then Yahweh spoke to Job from inside a great windstorm. He said to him,
2 “Huyu ni nani aletaye giza katika mipango kwa njia ya maneno bila maarifa?
“(Who are you to question what I plan to do?/You have no right/authority to question what I plan to do.) [RHQ] You are speaking ignorantly!
3 Basi sasa jifunge kiunoni mwako kama mwanaume kwa kuwa nitakuuliza maswali, nawe lazima unijibu.
I want to ask you [some] questions, so, just like men prepare themselves for a difficult task [MET], prepare to answer my questions.
4 Wewe ulikuwa wapi wakati nilipoitandaza misingi ya dunia? Niambie, kama unao ufahamu zaidi.
(“Where were you/Were you there with me) [long ago] when I (laid the foundations of/created) the earth? Since you know so much, tell me [where you were at that time].
5 Je ni nani aliyeamuru vipimo vyake? Niambie, kama unajua, ni nani alivinyosha vipimo juu yake?
Do you know how I decided how large the earth would be? Do you know who stretched a measuring tape around the earth? Surely [since you think that you know so much, ] you should know that!
6 Misingi yake ilitandazwa juu ya nini? Ni nani aliyeliweka jiwe lake la pembeni
What supports the pillars on which the earth rests? When the stars [that shine early] in the morning sang together, and someone put in place the stone that causes the earth to stay in its place, and all the angels shouted joyfully [when they saw that happening], who laid that cornerstone? [Did you?]
7 wakati nyota za asubuhi zilipoimba pamoja na wana wote wa Mungu walipopiga kelele kwa furaha?
8 Ni nani huifunga bahari kwa milango wakati inapofurika, kana kwamba inatoka katika tumbo,
“When the seas poured forth from inside the earth, who prevented the water from flooding over the land?
9 wakati nilipoyafanya mawingu kuwa ni mavazi yake, na giza nene kuwa mkanda wake wa kujifungia?
It was I, [not you, ] who caused clouds to come over the seas and caused it to become very dark [under those clouds].
10 Hapo ilikuwa wakati nilipoweka bahari mpaka wangu, na nilipoweka makomeo yake na milango,
I set limits for the seas, and I put barriers [so that the water would not come over the land].
11 na wakati nilipoiambia, 'Unaweza kuja hapa kutoka mbali, lakini si zaidi; na hapa ndipo nitauweka mpaka kwa fahari ya mawimbi yako.'
[I pointed to the shore] and said to the water, ‘I permit you to come up to here, but I do not permit you to come any farther. Your powerful waves must stop there!’
12 Je tangu mwanzo wa siku zako, ulishawahi kuigiza asubuhi ianze, na kuyafanya mapambazuko yajue sehemu yake katika mpangilio wa vitu,
“Job, have you [ever] commanded the morning [to begin]? Have you [ever] told the dawn to start a new day?
13 ili kwamba ishikilie sehemu za dunia ili watu waovu watikiswe mbali nayo.
Have you [ever] told the dawn to spread out over the whole earth, with the result that wicked people run away from the light?
14 Dunia imebadilishwa katika mwonekano kama udongo unavyobadilika chini ya muhuri; vitu vyote husimama juu yake dhahiri kama cha kibindo cha nguo.
When it becomes light after the dawn, the hills and the valleys become clear like the folds in a cloth.
15 'Mwanga' wao umeondolewa kutoka kwa watu waovu; na mkono wao ulioinuliwa umevunjwa.
When it becomes daylight, the wicked do not have the darkness [that they like]; [in the daylight] they no longer are able to raise up their arms, ready to hurt people.
16 Je umeshaenda kwenye vyanzo vya maji ya bahari? Je umeshatembea sehemu za chini kabisa za kilindi?
“[Job, ] have you traveled to the springs [in the bottom of the ocean] from which the water in the seas comes? Have you investigated/explored the very bottom of the oceans?
17 Je malango ya mauti yamefunuliwa kwako? Je umeshaona malango ya uvuli wa mauti?
Has someone shown you the gates to the place where dead people are, the gates to the place where it is very dark?
18 Je umeifahamu dunia katika upana wake? Niambie kama unayajua yote hayo.
Do you know how big the earth is? Tell me, if you know all these things!
19 Je iko wapi njia ya sehemu ya kupumzikia kwa mwanga, na kama ilivyo kwa giza, iko wapi sehemu yake?
“Where is the road to the place where light comes from? And [can you tell me] where darkness lives?
20 Je unaweza kuuongoza mwanga na giza katika sehemu zake za kazi? Waweza kuitambua njia ya kurudi katika nyumba zao?
Can take me to its home? Do you know where the road is that goes there?
21 Bila shaka unajua, kwa kuwa ulizaliwa wakati huo; hesabu ya siku zako ni kubwa sana!
I am sure that you know these things, because you [talk as though you] were born before the time when all things were created; you [must] be very old!
22 Je ulishaingia katika ghala ya barafu, au umeshaiona ghala ya mawe ya mvua,
“Have you entered the place where I store the snow and the place where I keep the hail?
23 vitu hivi nimeviweka kwa ajili ya siku za mateso, kwa siku za mapigano na vita?
I store the snow and the hail [in order that I can use them to help my people] when [they have] troubles, in times when [they are fighting] wars [DOU].
24 Je iko wapi njia ya mshindo wa mwanga hutokea au je upepo husambazwa kutoka mashariki juu ya dunia?
And where is the road to the place from which I cause the lightning to flash? Where is the place from where the east wind begins to blow over all the earth?
25 Ni nani aliyezitengeneza mifereji ya gharika ya mvua, au ni nani aliyezifanya njia za milipuko ya radi,
Who created the channels in which the rain comes down from the sky? Who makes the roads for the thunder/lightning?
26 na kuifanya mvua inyeshe juu ya nchi ambazo hakuna mtu aishiye ndani yake, na juu ya jangwa, ambayo ndani yake hakuna mtu yeyote,
Who causes rain to fall in the desert, in places where no one lives?
27 kwa kusudi la kutimiza mahitaji ya mikoa iliyo kame na yenye ukiwa, na kuyastawisha majani mororo?
Who sends the rain that gives moisture/water to areas where nothing has grown, with the result that grass begins to grow again?
28 Je kuna baba wa mvua? Ni nani aliyeyafanya matone ya umande?
Does the rain have a father? Does the dew [also] have a father?
29 Je barafu ilitoka katika tumbo la nani? Na ni nani aliyeizaa theluji nyeupe katika anga?
And from whose womb does ice come [in the (winter/cold season)]? Who gives birth to the frost that comes down from the sky?
30 Maji hujificha menyewe na kuwa kama jiwe; sehemu za juu za vilindi huwa kama barafu.
[In the winter, ] the water [freezes and] becomes hard, like a rock, and the surface of lakes becomes frozen.
31 Je unaweza kuzifunga minyororo ya Kilimia, au kuvifungua vifundo vya Orioni?
“[Job], can you fasten the chains that hold the stars together in clusters/groups in the sky?
32 Je unaweza kuziongoza nyota kutokea katika nyakati zake? Je waweza kuongoza dubu pamoja na watoto wake?
Can you tell the stars when they should shine? Can you guide [the stars in the groups in the northern sky whose names are] the Big Bear and the Little Bear?
33 Je unazijua sheria za anga? Wewe uliweza kuanzisha sheria za anga juu ya dunia?
Do you know the laws that the stars must obey? Can you cause those same laws to rule [everything here] on the earth?
34 Je waweza kupaza sauti yako hadi mawinguni, ili kwamba maji mengi ya mvua yakufunike?
“Can you shout to the clouds and cause rain to pour down on you?
35 Je waweza kuagiza miali ya mwanga ili itokee, na kukwambia, 'Sisi tupo hapa'?
Can you cause flashes of lightning to come down and strike where you want it to strike? Do those flashes say to you, ‘Where do you want us to strike next?’
36 Ni nani ameweka hekima katika mawingu au ni nani ameweka ufahamu kwa ukungu?
Who enables the clouds to know when they should cause rain to fall?
37 Nani anaweza kuyahesabu mawingu kwa maarifa yake? Na ni nani awezaye kuvimwaga viriba vya anga
And who is skilled/wise enough to be able to count the clouds? Who can tilt the jugs of water in the sky [to cause the rain to fall],
38 wakati mavumbi yanapoungana kuwa kitu kigumu na mabonge ya dunia yanaposhikama kwa pamoja?
with the result that the dry ground becomes hard as the dry (clods/lumps of soil) [become wet and] stick together?
39 Je waweza kuwinda mawindo kwa ajili ya simba jike au kutosheleza hamu ya watoto wadogo wa simba
“When a lioness and her cubs crouch in their dens or hide in a thicket, [waiting for some animal to pass by that they can kill, ] can you find animals for a lioness to kill so that [she and] her cubs can [eat the meat and] not be hungry any more?
40 wakati wanapokwaruza kwaruza katika pango lao na kukaa katika kificho ili kulala katika hali ya kuvizia?
41 Ni nani aletaye mawindo kwa ajili ya kunguru wakati ambapo watoto wao wanapomlilia Mungu na kutangatanga kwa kukosa chakula?
Who provides dead animals for crows, when the baby crows are calling out to me [for food], [when they are so weak] because of their lack of food [that] they (stagger around/can hardly stand up) [in their nests]?”
