Mithali 23
1 Unapoketi kula pamoja na mtawala, angalia kwa uangalifu kilichopo mbele yako,
When you sit down to eat with a leader, pay close attention to what has been set before your face,
2 na kama ni mtu unayependa kula chakula sana weka kisu kooni.
and put a knife to your throat, if, in such a way, you could hold your soul in your own power.
3 Usitamani vinono vyake maana ni chakula cha uongo.
Do not desire his foods, in which is the bread of deceit.
4 Usifanye kazi sana ili kupata mali; uwe na busara ya kutosha ili ujue wakati wa kuacha.
Do not be willing to labor so that you may be enriched. But set limits by your prudence.
5 Je utaruhusu macho yako yaangaze juu yake? Itaondoka, maana itawaa mabawa kama tai na kuruka angani.
Do not raise your eyes toward wealth that you are not able to have. For they will make themselves wings, like those of an eagle, and they will fly in the sky.
6 Usile chakula cha yule mwenye jicho baya- na usiwe na shauku ya vinono vyake,
Do not eat with an envious man, and do not desire his foods.
7 maana ni mtu mwenye kuhesabu gharama ya chakula. “Kula na kunywa!” anakuambia, lakini moyo wake haupo pamoja nawe.
For, like a seer and an interpreter of dreams, he presumes what he does not know. “Eat and drink,” he will say to you; and his mind is not with you.
8 Utatapika kiasi kidogo ulichokula na utakuwa umepoteza sifa zako njema.
The foods that you had eaten, you will vomit up. And you will lose the beauty in your words.
9 Usiongee katika usikivu wa mpumbavu, maana atadharau hekima ya maneno yako.
Do not speak into the ears of the unwise. They will despise the doctrine of your eloquence.
10 Usihamishe jiwe la mpaka wa kale au kunyang'anya mashamba ya yatima,
Do not touch the boundaries of little ones, and do not enter into the field of the fatherless.
11 maana Mkombozi wao ni imara na atatetea kesi yao dhidi yako.
For their close relative is strong, and he will judge their case against you.
12 Elekeza moyo wako katika mafundisho na masikio yako kwenye maneno ya maarifa.
Let your heart enter into doctrine, and let your ears enter into words of knowledge.
13 Usizuie kuadilisha mtoto, maana ukimchapa kwa fimbo, hatakufa.
Do not be willing to take away discipline from a child. For if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
You will strike him with the rod, and so shall you deliver his soul from Hell. (Sheol h7585)
15 Mwanangu, kama moyo wako una busara, basi moyo wangu utafurahi pia;
My son, if your soul will become wise, my heart will be glad with you.
16 sehemu zangu ndani kabisa zitafurahi sana midomo yako inaponena haki.
And my temperament will exult, when your lips will have spoken what is upright.
17 Usiruhusu moyo wako kuwahusudu wenye dhambi, lakini endelea kumcha Yehova siku zote.
Let not your heart compete with sinners. But be in the fear of the Lord all day long.
18 Hakika tumaini lako halitaondolewa na siku zako za hapo baadaye.
For you will have hope in the end, and your expectation will not be taken away.
19 Sikia- wewe! - mwanangu, na uwe mwenye busara na uelekeze moyo wako katika njia.
Listen, my son, and be wise, and direct your soul along the way.
20 Usishirikiane pamoja na walevi, au pamoja na walaji wa nyama walafi,
Do not be willing to be in the feasts of great drinkers, nor in the carousings of those who gather to feed on flesh.
21 maana mlevi na mlafi wanakuwa masikini na usingizi utawavika kwa matambara.
For those who waste time drinking, and who surrender themselves to symbols, will be consumed. And those who sleep will be clothed in rags.
22 Msikilize baba yako ambaye alikuzaa na usimdharau mama yako wakati akiwa mzee.
Listen to your father, who conceived you. And do not despise your mother, when she is old.
23 Inunue kweli, lakini usiiuze; nunua hekima, nidhamu, na ufahamu.
Purchase truth, and do not sell wisdom, or doctrine, or understanding.
24 Baba yake mwenye haki atafurahia sana, na yule amzaaye mtoto mwenye busara atamfurahia.
The father of the just exults in gladness; he who has conceived the wise will rejoice in him.
25 Mfurahishe baba yako na mama yako na yule aliyekuzaa afurahie.
Let your father and your mother be joyful, and may she who conceived you exult.
26 Mwanangu, nipe moyo wako na macho yako yachunguze njia zangu.
My son, offer me your heart, and let your eyes keep to my ways.
27 Maana malaya ni shimo refu, na mke wa mume mwingine ni kisima chembamba.
For a loose woman is a deep pit, and a foreign woman is a constricted well.
28 Anavizia kama mnyang'anyi na huongeza idadi ya wadanganyifu miongoni mwa wanadamu.
She lies in wait along the way like a robber. And the incautious one whom she sees, she will put to death.
29 Nani mwenye taabu? Nani mwenye huzuni? Nani mwenye mapigano? Nani mwenye malalamiko? Nani mwenye majeraha bila sababu? Nani mwenye macho mekundu?
Who has woe? Whose father has woe? Who has quarrels? Who falls into pits? Who has wounds without cause? Who has watery eyes?
30 Ni wale ambao huzengea kwenye mvinyo, wale wanaojaribu kuchanganya mvinyo.
Is it not those who linger over wine, and who strive to be drinking from their cups?
31 Usiutazame mvinyo ukiwa mwekundu, wakati unametameta kwenye kikombe na kutelemka kwa uraini.
Do not gaze into the wine when it turns gold, when its color shines in the glass. It enters pleasantly,
32 Mwisho wake unauma kama nyoka na sumu yake kama kifutu.
but in the end, it will bite like a snake, and it will spread poison like a king of snakes.
33 Macho yako yataona vitu vigeni na moyo wako utatamka vitu vya ukaidi.
Your eyes will see women who are outsiders, and your heart will utter perversities.
34 Utakuwa kama anayelala kwenye bahari au anayelala juu ya mlingoti. “
And you will be like someone sleeping in the middle of the sea, and like a pilot, fast asleep, who has lost his hold on the helm.
35 Wamenipiga,” utasema, “lakini sikuumia. Wamenichapa, lakini sikuwa na hisia. Nitaamka lini? Nitatafuta kinywaji kingine.”
And you will say: “They have beaten me, but I did not feel pain. They have dragged me, and I did not realize it. When will I awaken and find more wine?”
