Siope 29
1 Ka naʻe fai ai pe ʻe Siope ʻene lea mamafa, ʻo ne pehē,
Job also added to this, using figures of speech, and he said:
2 “Taumaiā kuo u tatau eni mo e ngaahi māhina kuo hili ange, ʻo hangē ko e ngaahi ʻaho naʻe maluʻi ai au ʻe he ʻOtua;
Who will grant to me that I might be as I was in former months, according to the days when God kept watch over me?
3 ʻI he kei ulo ʻa ʻene maama ki hoku ʻulu, pea u ʻalu mo ʻene maama ʻi he fakapoʻuli;
At that time, his lamp shined over my head, and by his light, I walked through the darkness.
4 ʻO hangē ko ʻeku nofo ʻi he ngaahi ʻaho ʻo ʻeku monūʻia, ʻi he fakataha ʻae kakai ʻoe ʻOtua ʻi hoku fale;
I was then just as in the days of my youth, when God was privately in my tabernacle.
5 ʻI he kei ʻiate au ʻae Māfimafi, pea ʻiate au mo ʻeku fānau;
At that time, the Almighty was with me and my children surrounded me.
6 ʻI he tafe ʻae pota ʻi hoku hala, pea lilingi mai ʻe he maka ʻae lolo lahi ʻaupito;
Then, I washed my feet with butter, and a boulder poured out rivers of oil for me.
7 ʻI heʻeku ʻalu atu ʻi he loto kolo ki he matapā, pea teuʻi hoku nofoʻanga ʻi he hala lahi!
When I went to the gate of the city, or to the main street, they prepared a chair for me.
8 Naʻe sio kiate au ʻae kau talavou, ʻonau toitoi: pea tutuʻu ki ʻolunga ʻae kau mātuʻa.
The youths saw me and hid themselves, and the elders, rising up, remained standing.
9 Naʻe taʻofi ʻe he ngaahi ʻeiki ʻenau alea, ʻo ʻai honau nima ki honau ngutu.
The leaders stopped talking, and they placed a finder over their mouth.
10 Naʻe longo pe ʻae houʻeiki, pea piki honau ʻelelo ki honau ʻoʻaoʻingutu.
The commanders subdued their voice, and their tongue adhered to their throat.
11 ʻI he ongoʻi au ʻe he telinga, ne ne tāpuakiʻi au; pea ʻi he mamata ʻae mata kiate au, naʻa ne fakamoʻoniʻi au:
The ear that heard me, blessed me, and the eye that saw me, gave testimony for me.
12 He naʻaku fakahaofia ʻae masiva naʻe tangi, ʻae tamai mate, mo ia naʻe ʻikai hano tokoni.
This was because I had freed the poor, who cried out, and the orphan, who had no helper.
13 Ko e tāpuaki ʻo ia naʻe meimei mate ne hoko kiate au: pea naʻaku fakafiefiaʻi ke hiva ʻae loto ʻoe fefine kuo mate hono husepāniti.
The blessing of him who would have been destroyed came upon me, and I consoled the heart of the widow.
14 Ne u ai ʻae māʻoniʻoni, pea ne ʻufiʻufi ʻaki au: naʻe tatau ʻeku fakamaau mo e pulupulu mo e pale.
I put on justice, and I clothed myself with my judgment, like a robe and a diadem.
15 Ko e mata au ki he kui, mo e vaʻe ki he ketu.
I was an eye for the blind and a foot for the lame.
16 Ko e tamai au ki he masiva: pea ko e meʻa naʻe ʻikai te u ʻiloʻi ne u kumi lahi ki ai.
I was the father of the poor; and if I lacked knowledge about any case, I investigated very diligently.
17 Naʻaku fesiʻi ʻae kouʻahe ʻoe fai kovi, ʻo toʻo ʻae meʻa faʻao mei hono nifo.
I crushed the jaws of the impious, and I took away prey from his teeth.
18 Pea u toki pehē, ‘Te u mate ʻi hoku pununga, pea te u fakalahi hoku ngaahi ʻaho ke hangē ko e ʻoneʻone.
And I said, “I will die in my little nest, and like a palm tree, I will multiply my days.
19 Naʻe mafola hoku aka ʻi he ngaahi veʻe vai, pea toka ʻae hahau ki hoku vaʻa ʻi he pō kotoa.
My root has been spread beside the waters, and the dew will remain with my harvest.
20 Ko hoku ongoongolelei naʻe maʻuiʻui pe, pea naʻe fakafoʻou ʻeku kaufana ʻi hoku nima.’
My glory will always be restored, and my bow will be restored to my hand.”
21 “Naʻe fakafanongo ʻae kakai kiate au, ʻo tatali, pea fakalongo pē ʻi heʻeku akonaki.
Those who heard me, expected vindication, and they listened closely in silence to my counsel.
22 Hili ʻeku lea naʻe ʻikai te nau tali; pea naʻe tō ʻeku lea kiate kinautolu.
To my words, they dared to add nothing, and my eloquence poured over them.
23 Pea naʻa nau tatali kiate au ʻo hangē ki he ʻuha: pea nau fakamanga lahi honau ngutu ʻo hangē ki he ʻuha mui.
They waited for me as for rain, and they opened their mouth as for belated rains.
24 Ne u kata kiate kinautolu, pea ʻikai te nau faʻa tui; pea ko e maama ʻo hoku mata naʻe ʻikai ke nau lī ki lalo.
If I had ever laughed at them, they would not have believed it, and the light of my face was not cast down towards the ground.
25 Naʻaku fili honau hala, ʻo nofo ko e ʻeiki, ne u nofo ʻo hangē ha tuʻi ʻi he kautau, pea hangē ha taha ʻoku ne fakafiemālieʻi ʻae kakai mamahi.
If I wished to go to them, I sat down first, and, though I sat like a king surrounded by an army, yet I was a comforter to those who mourned.
