Mithali 20
1 Divai ni dhihaka na kinywaji kikali ni mgomvi; anayepotea kwa kunywa hana busara.
Drinking a lot of wine or [other] strong drinks causes people to start fighting; it is foolish to become drunk/intoxicated.
2 Kumwogopa mfalme ni kama kumwogopa simba kijana aungurumaye, yeyote anayemkasirisha hutoa fidia ya maish yake.
Being afraid of a king when he is angry is like [SIM] being afraid of a lion when it growls/roars; if you cause the king to become angry, he may execute you.
3 Ni heshima kwa mtu yeyote kujiepusha na mafarakano, bali kila mpumbavu hurukia kwenye mabishano.
[People] respect those who stay away from disputes/arguments; foolish people [love to] quarrel.
4 Mtu mvivu halimi majira ya kipupwe; hutafuta mazao wakati wa mavuno lakini hapati kitu.
[If] a lazy man does not plow [his fields at the right/proper time], he will look for [crops] at harvest [time], but there will be nothing there.
5 Makusudi ndani ya moyo wa mtu ni kama maji yenye kina, bali mtu mwenye ufahamu huyateka.
[Just] as it is difficult to bring up water from a deep well, it is difficult to know what people are thinking, but someone who has good sense/insight will be able to find out what people are thinking.
6 Mara nyingi mtu husema yeye ni mwaminifu, lakini ni nani awezaye kumpata yule mwaminifu?
Many people proclaim that they can be trusted [to do what they say that they will do], but it is very difficult to find [RHQ] someone who can really be trusted.
7 Mtu atendaye haki hutembea katika uaminifu wake na wana wake wanaofuata baada yake wanafuraha.
If parents conduct their lives as they should, [God] blesses their children (OR, their children are very happy/fortunate).
8 Mfalme anayeketi kwenye kiti cha hukumu akifanya kazi za kuhukumu hupembua kwa macho yake mabaya yote yaliyoko mbele yake.
A king who sits on his throne to judge people can [easily] [MTY] find out what things that people have done are good and what things are evil.
9 Nani anayeweza kusema, “Nimeuweka safi moyo wangu; nipo huru na dhambi zangu”?
There is no one [RHQ] who can truthfully say, “I do not know of any wrong things that I have done; I have (gotten rid of all my sinful behavior/quit doing what is sinful).”
10 Mizani tofauti na vipimo visivyosawa - Yehova huvichukia vyote.
Yahweh detests people who use weights that are not right and measures that are not correct.
11 Hata kijana hujulikana kwa matendo yake, kwa mwenendo wake kama ni safi na uadilifu.
Even children show by what they do whether they are good or not; they show whether (what they do/their behavior) is honest and right [or not].
12 Masikio yanayosikia na macho yanayoona- Yehova aliyafanya yote.
Two of the things that Yahweh has created [for us] are ears to hear things and eyes to see things.
13 Usipende usingizi au utakuwa masikini; fumbua macho yako na utakuwa na vyakula tele.
If you want to sleep [all the time], you will become poor; if you stay awake [and work], you will have plenty of food.
14 “Mbaya! Mbaya!” anasema mnunuzi, lakini akiondoka anajisifu.
People [look at things that they are about] to buy, [and in order to get it for a lower price sometimes they] say, “(It is no good/It is poor quality),” but [after they buy it], they go and boast [about having bought it for a cheap price].
15 Ipo dhahabu na mawe ya thamani, lakini midomo yenye maarifa ni kito cha thamani.
Gold and precious stones are [valuable], but wise words [MTY] are more valuable.
16 Chukua vazi kama mmiliki wake ataweka fedha kama dhamana kwa deni la mgeni, na lichukue kama anaweka dhamana kwa uzinifu.
If you foolishly promise to a stranger that you will pay what he owes if he is unable to pay it [DOU], [you deserve to] have someone take your coat from you.
17 Mkate uliopatikana kwa ulaghai unaladha tamu, lakini baadaye kinywa chake kitajaa kokoto.
People [may] think that food that they acquire by doing what is dishonest will taste very good, but later [they will not enjoy what they have done any more than they would enjoy] eating gravel/sand.
18 Mipango huimarishwa kwa ushauri na kwa mwongozo wa busara utapigana vita.
When people give you good advice, [if you do what they suggest], your plans will succeed; so be sure to get good advice from wise people before you start fighting a war.
19 Mmbea hufunua siri na kwa hiyo hupaswi kushirikiana na watu ambao huongea sana.
Those who go around telling gossip are [always] telling secrets to [others]; so stay away from people who foolishly talk [too much].
20 Kama mtu atamlaani baba yake au mama yake, taa yake itapulizwa katikati ya giza.
If someone curses his father or his mother, his life will be ended, [just] like a lamp is extinguished.
21 Urithi uliopatikana mwanzoni kwa haraka utakuwa na mema kidogo mwishoni.
If you very quickly take the property that your parents promise will be yours after they die, you will not receive any good/blessing from it.
22 Usiseme “Mimi nitakulipiza kwa kosa hili” Msubiri Yehova na yeye atakuokoa.
Do not say, “I will do evil to those who do evil to me;” wait for Yahweh [to do something about it], and he will (help you/[do what is right]).
23 Yehova huchukia mizani isiyo sawa na vipimo vya udanganyifu si vizuri.
Yahweh detests [those who use] dishonest scales and weights that are not accurate/correct.
24 Hatua za mtu huongozwa na Yehova; namna gani basi ataifahamu njia yake?
Yahweh is the one who has decided what will happen to us, so (how can we (understand/know) what will happen before it happens?/we humans certainly cannot (understand/know) what will happen before it happens.) [RHQ]
25 Ni mtego kwa mtu kusema kwa pupa, “Kitu hiki ni kitakatifu” na kuanza kufikiri juu yake kwamba kina maana gani baada ya kufanya kiapo.
You should think carefully before you solemnly promise to dedicate something to God, because later you might be sorry you have promised to do it.
26 Mfalme mwenye busara huwapepeta waovu na huligeuza juu yao gurudumu la kupuria.
Wise kings find out [MET] which people have done what is wrong, and they punish them very severely [IDM].
27 Roho ya mtu ni taa ya Yehova, hutafiti sehemu zake zote za ndani kabisa.
Our consciences are [like] lamps that Yahweh [has given to us to enable us to know what we are thinking] [MET]; they reveal what is hidden deep in our (minds/inner beings).
28 Agano la uaminifu na udhamini humhifadhi mfalme; kiti chake cha enzi hufanywa thabiti kwa upendo.
Kings will continue to rule as long as they faithfully love their people and are loyal to them and as long as they rule righteously/fairly.
29 Utukufu wa watu vijana ni nguvu zao na fahari ya watu wazee ni mvi zao.
We honor/admire young people because they are strong, but we respect [MTY] old people more because they are wise.
30 Mapigo yanayoleta kidonda huusafisha ubaya na vichapo hufanya sehemu za ndani kabisa kuwa safi.
When we are beaten or whipped, it [can] cause us to quit doing what is evil in our lives; when someone wounds us [by punishing us], it [can] cause our behavior to become good.
