Siope 22

1 Pea naʻe toki tali ʻe Elifasi mei Timani, ʻo ne pehē,

Then Eliphaz replied,

2 ‘ʻE faʻa ʻaonga ʻae tangata ki he ʻOtua,’ ʻo hangē ʻoku ʻaonga ʻaia ʻoku poto kiate ia pe?

“(Can anyone be useful to God?/Certainly no one can be useful to God.) [RHQ] Even people who are wise cannot be helpful to God.

3 He ʻoku ʻaonga ki he Māfimafi ʻa hoʻo māʻoniʻoni? Pe ʻaonga ki ai ʻa hoʻo fakahaohaoa ho ngaahi ʻaluʻanga?

If you were righteous, (would that benefit Almighty [God]?/that certainly would not benefit Almighty [God].) [RHQ] If you had (lived a perfect life/never done anything that is wrong), would that help him?

4 He te ne tautea koe ko ʻene manavahē kiate koe? Te ne fai koā mo koe ʻae fakamaau?

“Is it because you have an awesome respect for God that he punishes you? Is that the reason that he puts you on trial?

5 ‌ʻIkai ʻoku lahi ʻaupito hoʻo angahala? Pea taʻengata mo hoʻo ngaahi hia?

No, it certainly must be [RHQ] because you are extremely wicked. It must be that the evil things that you have done are so many that no one can count them!

6 He kuo ke maʻu taʻetotonu ʻae totongi mei ho kāinga, pea kuo ke faʻao mei he telefua honau kofu.

You must have lent money to others and wrongly forced them to give you things to guarantee that they would pay that money back to you; you must have taken all their clothes and left them with nothing to wear.

7 Naʻe ʻikai te ke fakainua ʻae vaivai ʻaki ʻae vai, pea kuo ke taʻofi ʻae mā mei he fiekaia.

You must not have given water to those who were thirsty, and you must have refused to give food to those who were hungry.

8 Ka naʻe ʻoe tangata mālohi ʻae fonua; pea nofo ai ʻae tangata ongoongolelei.

Because you were very powerful, you [must have] taken over all the people’s land, and then, being very respected, you have begun to live on that land.

9 Kuo ke fekau atu taʻehameʻa ʻae kau fefine kuo mate honau husepāniti, pea kuo fesiʻi ʻae nima ʻoe kau tamai mate.

[When] widows [came to you for help], you [must have] sent [them] away without giving them anything, and you must have oppressed orphans.

10 Ko ia kuo kāpui ai koe ʻe he ngaahi tauhele, pea ke puputuʻu ʻi he manavahē kuo fakafokifā;

Because of all that, now there are pits around you for you to fall into, and suddenly there are things that terrify you and cause you to tremble.

11 Pea ko e fakapoʻuli ke ʻoua naʻa ke mamata, pea ʻufiʻufi koe ʻe he ngaahi vai lahi.

[It is as though] it has become very dark, with the result that you cannot see anything, and [it is as though] [MET] a flood covers you.

12 “ʻIkai ʻoku ʻi he langi ʻi ʻolunga ʻae ʻOtua? Pea ke vakai ki hono māʻolunga faufau ʻoe ngaahi fetuʻu lahi!

“[But consider this, Job]: God lives [RHQ] high up in the heavens. From there he [RHQ] looks down on the highest stars.

13 Ka ke pehē ʻe koe, ‘ʻOku ʻilo fēfē ʻe he ʻOtua? Pea ʻe faʻa fakamaau ʻe ia ʻi he loto ʻao fakapoʻuli?

So why do you say, ‘What does God know [about what we are doing]? [He is hidden from us by] dark clouds, so ([how] can he judge us?/he certainly cannot judge us.) [RHQ]’

14 Ko e ʻufiʻufi kiate ia ʻae ngaahi ʻao matolu, ʻaia ʻoku ʻikai te ne mamata ai; pea ʻoku hāʻele pe ia ʻi he hāʻeleʻanga ʻi he langi.’

[Do you think that] while he walks on the dome that covers the sky, there are thick clouds around him, with the result that he cannot see [what we do]?

15 He kuo ke fakaʻilongaʻi ʻe koe ʻae hala motuʻa, naʻe fou ai ʻae kakai angahala?

Will you continue to conduct your life the old way that evil people have done [for many years]?

16 ‌ʻAkinautolu naʻe tuʻusi hifo ʻi he teʻeki hoko honau kuonga, ʻakinautolu naʻe lōmaki honau tuʻunga ʻaki ʻae vai:

They suddenly died while they were still young; they disappeared [like everything disappears when there is] a flood [MET].

17 ‌ʻAkinautolu naʻe pehē ki he ʻOtua, ‘ʻAlu ʻiate kimautolu:’ pea, ‘Ko e hā ʻe faʻa fai ʻe he Māfimafi maʻanautolu?’

They kept saying to God, ‘Do not bother us,’ and they also said [defiantly], ‘Almighty [God] can do nothing [RHQ] to [harm] us!’

18 Ka naʻa ne fakapito ʻaki ʻae ngaahi meʻa lelei honau ngaahi fale: ka ʻoku mamaʻo ʻiate au ʻae fakakaukau ʻoe angahala.

But it was God who filled their houses with good things, so I cannot at all understand why wicked people think like they do.

19 ‌ʻOku mamata ki ai ʻae māʻoniʻoni, pea fiefia: pea ʻoku kata manuki kiate kinautolu ʻe he taʻeangahala.

“But when God punishes wicked people, and righteous people see that, they are glad, and they laugh, ridiculing the wicked people.

20 ‘Koeʻuhi naʻe ʻikai tuʻusi ʻetau koloa, ka ko honau toe ʻoku fakaʻauha ʻe he afi.’

They say, ‘Now our enemies have been destroyed, and all [their possessions] that were left have been burned in a fire.’

21 “Fai ke ke ʻiloʻi ia, pea ke melino: pea ko ia ʻe hoko ai ʻae lelei kiate koe.

“So, [Job, ] be reconciled to God and make peace with him; if you do that, good things will happen to you.

22 ‌ʻOku ou kole kiate koe, ke ke maʻu ʻae fono mei hono ngutu, pea ke faʻo ki ho loto ʻa ʻene ngaahi folofola.

Allow him to teach you, and keep thinking about what he has told you.

23 Kapau te ke tafoki ki he Māfimafi, ʻe langa hake koe, pea te ke tukuange ke mamaʻo ʻae hia mei ho ngaahi fale.

If you humble yourself and return to God, if you stop doing all the evil things that you have been doing in your house,

24 Pea te ke toki fokotuʻu ʻae koloa ʻo hangē ko e efu, mo e koula ʻo Ofeli ʻo hangē ko e ngaahi maka teka ʻoe tafeʻanga vai.

if you throw away your gold, even the fine gold from the dry stream beds in Ophir [land],

25 ‌ʻIo, ʻe hoko ʻae Māfimafi ko ho fakaū, pea te ke maʻu ʻo lahi ʻae siliva.

and if you allow Almighty [God] to be [as precious to you as] your gold and your silver [have been],

26 He te ke toki fiefia ʻi he Māfimafi, pea hanga hake ho mata ki he ʻOtua.

you will be happy because of your close relationship with God, and you will be able to approach him [IDM] [confidently].

27 Te ke fai haʻo lotu kiate ia, pea te ne ongoʻi koe, pea te ke fai hoʻo ngaahi fuakava.

You will pray to him, and he will do what you request him to do; you will do the things that you promised him that you would do.

28 Te ke tuʻutuʻuni foki ha meʻa, pea ʻe fakamoʻoni ia kiate koe: pea ʻe ulo ʻae maama ki ho ngaahi hala.

Everything that you decide to do will be successful; [it] will [be as though] a light [is] shining on the road in front of you.

29 ‌ʻOka ai ha tōkilalo, te ke toki pehē, ‘ʻOku ai ʻae hakeakiʻi;’ pea ʻe fakamoʻui ʻe ia ʻae angavaivai.

God humbles those who are proud, but he saves those who are downcast/discouraged.

30 ‌ʻE fakahaofi ʻe ia ʻae fonua motu ʻoe taʻeangahala: pea ʻoku hao ia ʻi he māʻoniʻoni ʻo ho nima.”

God rescues those who (are innocent/have not done things that are wrong), so he will rescue you if you (start doing things that are right/are not guilty [IDM] of doing things that are wrong).”