Siope 12
1 Pea naʻe tali ʻe Siope, ʻo ne pehē,
Then Job said [to his three friends],
2 Ta ko kimoutolu pe ʻae kakai, pea ʻe mate mo kimoutolu ʻae poto.
“You (talk as though/You think) [SAR] that you are the people [whom everyone should listen to], and that when you die, there will be no more wise people.
3 Ka ʻoku ai hoku loto ʻo hangē pe ko kimoutolu; ʻoku ʻikai te u siʻi hifo au kiate kimoutolu: ʻio, ko hai ʻoku ʻikai ke ne ʻilo ki he ngaahi meʻa pehē ni?
But I have as much good sense as you do; I am (not less wise than/certainly as wise as [LIT]) you. Certainly everyone knows [RHQ] all that you have said.
4 ʻOku ou tatau mo ha taha ʻoku taukaea ʻe hono kaungāʻapi, ʻo pehē, ʻoku ne ui ki he ʻOtua, pea ʻoku ne talia ia: ʻoku kata manukia ʻae tonuhia mo e angatonu.
My friends all laugh at me now. Previously I habitually requested God to help me, and he answered/helped me. I am righteous, a very godly man [DOU], but everyone laughs at me.
5 ʻO hangē ko e maama kuo fakatukutukuʻi, ʻoku pehē ʻaia ʻoku meimei hekea hono vaʻe ʻi he mahalo ʻo ia ʻoku fiemālie.
Those [like you] who have no troubles make fun of me; they cause those [like me] who are already suffering to have more troubles.
6 ʻOku monūʻia ʻae ngaahi fale ʻoe kau kaihaʻa, pea ʻoku nofo fiemālie pē ʻakinautolu ʻoku fakahouhau ki he ʻOtua; ʻoku ʻatu lahi ʻe he ʻOtua ki honau nima.
Bandits live peacefully, and no one threatens those who cause God to become angry; their own strength is the god [that they worship].
7 “Kae fehuʻi eni ki he fanga manu, pea te nau akoʻi koe; mo e fanga manu ʻoe ʻatā, pea te nau tala kiate koe:
“But ask the wild animals [what they know about God], and [if they could speak] they would teach you. [If you could] ask the birds, they would tell you.
8 Pea lea ki he fonua, pea te ne akoʻi koe: pea ʻe fakahā kiate koe ʻe he ngaahi ika ʻoe tahi.
[If you could] ask the creatures [that crawl] on the ground, or the fish in the sea, they would tell you [about God].
9 Ko hai ʻoku ʻikai te ne ʻilo ʻi he meʻa ni kotoa pē, ko e nima ʻo Sihova kuo ne fai eni?
All of them certainly know [RHQ] that it is Yahweh who has made them with his hands.
10 ʻAia ʻoku ʻi hono nima ʻae moʻui ʻae meʻa moʻui fulipē, mo e mānava ʻoe kakai kotoa pē.
He directs the lives of all living creatures; he gives breath to all [us] humans [to enable us to remain alive].
11 ʻIkai ʻoku ʻahiʻahiʻi ʻe he telinga ʻae ngaahi lea? Pea kamata ʻe he ngutu hono kai?
And when we [SYN] hear what other people [like you] say, we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say [to determine what is good and what is bad], like we [SYN] taste food [to determine what is good and what is bad].
12 Pea ʻoku ʻiate ia ʻoku talu mei muʻa ʻae poto; pea ko e ʻilo ʻi he ngaahi ʻaho lahi.
Old people are [often] very wise, and because of having lived many years, they understand much,
13 “ʻOku ʻiate ia ʻae poto mo e mālohi, ʻoku ʻiate ia ʻae fakakaukau mo e ʻilo.
but God is wise and very powerful; he has good sense and understands [everything].
14 Vakai, ʻoku ne holoki hifo, pea ʻe ʻikai faʻa toe fokotuʻu ia: ʻoku ne tāpuni ki he tangata, pea ʻoku ʻikai ke faʻa matoʻo.
If he tears [something] down, no one can rebuild it; if he puts someone in prison, no one can open [the prison doors to allow that person to escape].
15 Vakai, ʻoku ne taʻofi ki he ngaahi vai, pea matuʻu ia: ʻoku ne fekau atu foki ia, pea ʻoku fulihi ʻe ia ʻae fonua.
When he prevents rain from falling, everything dries up. When he causes a lot of rain to fall, [the result is that] there are floods.
16 ʻOku ʻiate ia ʻae mālohi mo e poto, ʻoku ʻoʻona ʻae kākāʻia mo ia ʻoku kākā.
He is the one who is truly strong and wise; he rules over those who deceive others and those whom they deceive.
17 ʻOku ne taki pōpula ʻae kau fakakaukau, pea ne fakavaleʻi ʻae kau fakamaau.
He [sometimes] causes [the king’s] officials to no longer be wise, and he causes judges to become foolish.
18 Ko e haʻi ʻoe ngaahi tuʻi kuo ne vete, ka ne haʻihaʻi honau noʻotanga vala ʻaki ʻae haʻi.
He takes from kings the robes that they wear and puts loincloths around their waists, [causing them to become slaves].
19 ʻOku ne taki pōpula ʻae ngaahi houʻeiki, pea ʻoku ne lī ki lalo ʻae mālohi.
He takes from priests the sacred clothes that they wear, [with the result that they no longer can do their work], and takes power from those who rule others.
20 ʻOku ne toʻo atu ʻae lea ʻae kau poto, pea toʻo mo e ʻilo ʻae mātuʻa.
He [sometimes] causes those whom others trust to be unable to speak, and he causes old men to no longer have good sense.
21 ʻOku ne lilingi ʻae manukia ki he ngaahi houʻeiki, pea ne vete ʻae noʻo ʻoe mālohi.
He causes those who have authority to be despised, and he causes those who are powerful to no longer have any power/strength.
22 ʻOku ne fakahā ʻae ngaahi meʻa lilo mei he fakapoʻuli, pea ne ʻomi ki he maama ʻae ʻata ʻoe mate.
He causes things that are hidden in the darkness to be revealed.
23 ʻOku ne fakatokolahi ʻakinautolu ʻoku ne fakalahi ʻae ngaahi puleʻanga, pea toe fakasiʻisiʻi ia.
He causes some nations to become very great, and [later] he destroys them; he causes the territory of some nations to become much larger, and [later] he causes them to be defeated and their people to be scattered.
24 ʻOku ne toʻo ʻo ʻave ʻae loto ʻoe ngaahi ʻeiki ʻoe kakai ʻo māmani, ʻo ne pule ke nau ʻalu fano ʻi ha toafa taʻehahala.
He causes [some] rulers to become foolish/stupid, and then he causes them to wander around, lost, in an barren desert.
25 ʻOku nau tautaufā ʻi he poʻuli taʻehamaama, pea ʻoku ne pule ke nau fehēaki fano ʻo hangē ha konā.
They grope around in the darkness, without any light, and he causes them to stagger like [SIM] people who are drunk.”
