Siope 21
1 Ka naʻe tali ʻe Siope, ʻo ne pehē,
Then Job replied,
2 “Fakafanongo lelei ki heʻeku lea, pea ko hoʻomou fakafiemālie eni.
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Mou kātaki, kau lea atu; pea hili ʻeku lea, fai pe hoʻomou manuki.
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 ʻOiauē, he ʻoku ou liunga ki he tangata? Pea ka ne ko ia, ko e hā nai ʻe ʻikai mamahi ai hoku laumālie?
“It is certainly not [RHQ] people against whom I am complaining, [but God] And it is certainly [RHQ] right for me to be impatient!
5 Tokanga mai, pea mou ofo, pea ʻai homou nima ki homou ngutu.
Look at me! Does what you see not cause you to be appalled and to put your hands over your mouths [and say no more]?
6 ʻIo, ʻi heʻeku fakamanatu ʻoku ou manavahē ʻaupito, pea ʻoku puke ʻa hoku kakano ʻe he tetetete.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 “Ko e hā ʻoku moʻui ai ʻae angakovi, ʻo hoko ʻo motuʻa, ʻio, pea lahi ʻi he mālohi?
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Kuo fakatuʻumaʻu honau hako fakataha mo kinautolu, pea mo ʻenau fānau ʻi honau ʻao.
They have their children around them, and they watch them while they [grow up and] start to live in their own houses, and they enjoy their grandchildren.
9 ʻOku malu honau fale mei he manavahē, pea ʻoku ʻikai ʻiate kinautolu ʻae meʻa tā ʻae ʻOtua.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 ʻOku fakatauʻi ʻe heʻenau pulu tangata ʻo touʻia taʻehala; ʻoku fānau ʻenau pulu fefine ʻo taʻetōhonoʻuhiki.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 ʻOku nau tuku atu ʻenau fānau ʻo hangē ko e fanga sipi, pea ʻoku meʻe hopohopo ʻenau fānau.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 ʻOku nau toʻo hake ʻae kihiʻi lali mo e haʻape, pea nau fiefia ʻi he leʻo ʻoe meʻa ifi.
Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
13 ʻOku nau fakaʻosi honau ngaahi ʻaho ʻi he fakafiemālie, pea fakafokifā pe ʻoku nau ʻalu hifo ki he faʻitoka. (Sheol h7585)
Wicked people enjoy having good things all the time that they are alive, and they die quietly/peacefully and go down to the place of the dead. (Sheol h7585)
14 Ko ia ʻoku nau pehē ai ki he ʻOtua, ‘ʻAlu ʻiate kimautolu, he ʻoku ʻikai te mau holi ke ʻilo ho ngaahi hala.
While they are alive, they say to God, ‘Do not bother us; we do not want to know how you want us to conduct our lives!
15 Ko hai ʻae Māfimafi, ke pehē ke mau tauhi ia? Pea ko e hā ʻae totongi te mau maʻu, ʻo kapau te mau lotu ki ai?’
Why do you, Almighty God, think that we should serve you? (What advantage do we get if we pray to you?/It is useless for us to pray to you.) [RHQ]’
16 Vakai, ʻoku ʻikai ʻi honau nima ʻenau monūʻia: ʻoku mamaʻo ʻiate au ʻae fakakaukau ʻoe angahala.
Think about it: Wicked people think that it is because of what they have done that they have become prosperous, but I do not understand why they think like that.
17 “ʻOku liunga fiha ʻae tāmateʻi ʻoe maama ʻae angahala? Mo e hoko ʻenau fakaʻauha kiate kinautolu? ʻoku tufaki ʻe he ʻOtua ʻae ngaahi mamahi ʻi hono houhau.
(“How often does it happen that wicked people die [MET] before they are old?/Very seldom do wicked people die [MET] before they are old.) [RHQ] (Do they ever experience disasters?/They seldom experience disasters.) [RHQ] (Does God ever punish them because of being very angry with them?/God never punishes them because of being very angry with them.) [RHQ]
18 ʻOku nau tatau mo e tefitoʻi kaho ʻi he mata ʻoe matangi, pea hangē ko e kafukafu ʻoku ʻave ʻe he afi.
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 ‘ʻOku hili ʻe he ʻOtua ʻa ʻene angahala ki heʻene fānau:’ ʻoku ne totongi kiate ia, pea te ne ʻilo ia.
You say, ‘When people have committed sins, God waits and punishes their children because of those sins;’ but [I say that] God should punish those who sin, [not their children, ] in order that the sinners will know [that it is because of their own sins that they are being punished].
20 ʻE mamata ʻe hono mata ki hono fakaʻauha, pea ʻe inu ia ʻi he houhau ʻoe Māfimafi.
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 He ko e hā ʻene fiemālie ʻi hono fale ʻamui ʻiate ia, ʻoka tuʻu ua mālie ʻae lau ʻo hono ngaahi māhina?
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 “ʻE akonakiʻi ʻe ha taha ʻae ʻOtua ke ʻilo? He ʻoku ne fakamaau ʻe ia ʻakinautolu ʻoku māʻolunga.
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 ʻOku mate ha tokotaha lolotonga ʻene mālohi lahi, mo ʻene nofo tofu pe mo fiemālie.
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 ʻOku fonu hono sino ʻi he ngako, pea lolololo hono ngaahi hui ʻi he uho.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 Pea ʻoku mate ha tokotaha ʻi he mamahi lahi ʻo hono laumālie, pea ʻikai ʻaupito haʻane kai ʻe fiemālie ai.
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Te na tokoto tatau pe ʻi he efu, pea ʻe ʻuʻufi ʻakinaua ʻe he fanga kelemutu.
But both rich and poor people die and are buried, and maggots eat their bodies. [Everyone dies, so it is clear that dying is not always the punishment for being wicked].
27 “Vakai, ʻoku ou ʻilo hoʻomou ngaahi mahalo, mo e ngaahi filioʻi kovi ʻoku mou mahalo ʻaki kiate au.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 He ʻoku mou pehē, ‘Kofaʻā ʻae fale ʻoe ʻeiki? Pea kofaʻā ʻae ngaahi nofoʻanga ʻoe kakai angahala?’
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 ʻIkai kuo mou ʻeke kiate kinautolu ʻoku feʻaluʻaki ʻi he hala? Pea ʻikai ʻoku mou ʻilo ʻenau ngaahi tala,
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 ʻAia kuo tuku tolonga ʻae angahala ki he ʻaho ʻoe fakaʻauha? ʻE taki atu ʻakinautolu ki he ʻaho ʻoe houhau.
that wicked people usually do not suffer at the time when there are great disasters; that wicked people are the ones who are rescued when God is angry [and punishes people] [MTY]?
31 Ko hai te ne fakahā hono hala ki hono mata? Pea ʻe totongi ʻe hai kiate ia ʻae meʻa kuo ne fai?
There is no one [RHQ] who accuses wicked people, and there is no one who (pays them back/gives them the punishment that they deserve) for all the evil things that they have done.
32 Ka ʻe ʻomi ia ki he faʻitoka, ʻe nofomaʻu ia ʻi he fonualoto.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 ʻE melie kiate ia ʻae ngaahi tutuʻanga kelekele ʻoe luo, pea ʻe fusi kiate ia ʻae kakai kotoa pē, ʻo hangē ko e taʻefaʻalaua ʻae kakai naʻe muʻa ʻiate ia.
A huge number [HYP] of people go to the grave site. Some go in front of the procession and some come behind. And the clods of dirt thrown on the graves of those wicked people who have died are like a nice blanket.
34 Pea ka kuo pehē, pea ko e hā ʻoku mou fakafiemālie taʻeʻaonga kiate au, kae vakai ʻoku ai ʻae loi ʻi hoʻomou ngaahi lea?”
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
