Siope 9
1 Pea naʻe toki tali ʻe Siope, ʻo ne pehē,
Then Job replied,
2 ʻOku ou ʻilo ʻoku pehē moʻoni ia ka ʻe tonuhia fēfē ʻae tangata ʻi he ʻao ʻoe ʻOtua?
“Yes, I certainly know that [much of] what you said is true. But (how can anyone say to God, ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it?’/no one can say to God ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it.’) [RHQ]
3 Kapau te na alea, mo ia, ʻe ʻikai te ne faʻa talia ʻe ia ha taha ʻi he meʻa ʻe afe.
If someone wanted to argue with God [about that], God could ask him 1,000 questions, and that person would not be able to answer any of them!
4 ʻOku poto ia ʻi loto, pea lahi ʻi he mālohi: ko hai kuo ne fakaangatuʻu ia kiate ia, pea monūʻia?
God is very wise [IDM] and very powerful; no one who has tried to challenge God has been able to win.
5 Ko ia ia ʻoku ne hiki ʻae ngaahi moʻunga, kae ʻikai ke nau ʻilo: ʻoku ne fulihi ia ʻi hono houhau.
He even moves mountains, without them (OR, anyone) knowing about it. When he is angry, he turns them upside down.
6 ʻOku ne luluʻi ʻae fonua mei hono potu, pea ʻoku ngalulululu hono ngaahi pou.
He sends earthquakes that shake the ground; he causes the pillars that support the earth to tremble.
7 ʻOku ne fekauʻi ʻae laʻā, pea ʻikai ʻalu hake ia; pea ne tāpuni hake ʻae ngaahi fetuʻu.
[Some days] he speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and [some nights] he prevents the stars from shining.
8 ʻOku ne folahi atu tokotaha pē ʻae ngaahi langi, pea ʻoku ne hāʻele ʻi he ngaahi peau ʻoe tahi.
He alone (stretched out/put in place) the sky; he alone puts his feet on the waves (OR, on the huge sea monster).
9 ʻOku ne ngaohi ʻa ʻAakitulio, mo Olioni, mo Peliatisi, pea mo e ngaahi potu ki he feituʻu tonga.
He put in their places [the clusters/groups of stars that are called] The Dipper/Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars in the southern sky.
10 ʻOku ne fai ʻae ngaahi meʻa lahi ʻo taʻefaʻaʻilo; ʻio, ko e ngaahi meʻa mana ʻoku taʻefaʻalaua.
Only he does great things that we cannot understand; he does more marvelous things than we are able to count.
11 Vakai, ʻoku hāʻele ia ʻi hoku tafaʻaki, ka ʻoku ʻikai te u mamata ki ai: ʻoku ne hāʻele atu foki ka ʻoku ʻikai te u ʻiloʻi ia.
He passes by where I am, but I do not see him; he moves further on, but I do not see him go.
12 Vakai, ʻoku ne toʻo atu, ko hai ʻe faʻa taʻofi ia? Ko hai ʻe pehē kiate ia, ‘Ko e hā ʻoku ke fai?’
If he [wants to] snatch something away, no one [RHQ] can hinder him; no one dares to ask him, ‘Why are you doing that?’ [RHQ]
13 “Kapau ʻe ʻikai taʻofi ʻe he ʻOtua ki hono houhau, ʻe mapelu ki lalo ʻiate ia ʻae kau tokoni fielahi.
God will not very easily stop being angry; he defeated [MTY] those who [tried to] help Rahab, [the great sea monster].
14 Kae fēfē ai ʻeku talia ia ʻeau, pea u fili ʻeku ngaahi lea ke alea mo ia?
“So, [if God took me to court], what could I say [MTY] to answer him?
15 ʻAia ʻe ʻikai te u talia, ʻoka ne u māʻoniʻoni, ka te u hū tāumaʻu ki hoku Fakamaau.
Even though I (would be innocent/would not have done what is wrong), I would not be able to answer him. All I could do would be to request God, my judge/accuser, to act mercifully toward me.
16 Ka ne u ui, pea talia ia; kae ʻikai te u tui kuo ne ongoʻi hoku leʻo.
If I summoned him to [come to the courtroom] and he said that he would come, I would not believe that he would pay attention to what I would say.
17 He ʻoku ne haʻaki au ʻaki ʻae afā, pea ne fakalahi ʻeku lavea taʻehanoʻuhinga.
He sends storms to batter me, and he bruises me many times (without any reason to do that/even though I am innocent).
18 ʻOku ʻikai tuku ʻe ia ke u mānava, ka ʻoku ne fakapito au ʻaki ʻae mamahi.
[It is as though] he will not let me get/catch my breath, because he causes me to suffer all the time.
19 Kapau te u lea ki he mālohi, vakai, ʻoku māfimafi ia: pe ki he fakamaau, ‘ko hai te ne fakamoʻoni kiate au?’
If I would try to (wrestle with/fight against) him, [there is no way that I could defeat him, ] [because] he is stronger than I am. If I would request him to appear in court, there is no one who could [RHQ] force him to go there.
20 Kapau te u fakatonuhiaʻi au, pea tā ʻe fakahalaʻi au ʻe hoku ngutu ʻoʻoku; pē te u pehē ʻoku ou haohaoa, ʻe fakamoʻoni ia ki heʻeku halaia.
Even though I was innocent, what I would say would cause him to say that I must be punished [MTY]; even though I had not done anything wrong, he would prove that I am guilty.
21 Neongo ʻa ʻeku haohaoa, ka ʻe ʻikai te u ʻilo ki hoku loto: te u fehiʻa ʻeau pē ki heʻeku moʻui.
“I have not done what is wrong, but that is not important. I despise continuing to remain alive.
22 “Ko e meʻa ni pē taha, ʻoku ou fakamoʻoni ki ai, ʻOku ne fakaʻauha ʻae haohaoa mo e angahala.
But it doesn’t matter, because God will get rid of [all of us, ] both those who are innocent and those who are wicked.
23 Kapau ʻe fakafokifā pē ʻae taaʻi ʻe he fakamamahi, ʻe kata ʻe ia ʻi he ʻahiʻahiʻi ʻoe taʻeangahala.
When people experience disaster and it causes them to suddenly die, God laughs at it, even if they are innocent.
24 Kuo tuku ʻae fonua ki he nima ʻoe angahala: ʻoku ne ʻufiʻufi ʻae mata ʻo hono kau fakamāu; ka ʻikai, pea kofaa, pe ko hai ia?
God has allowed wicked people to control [what happens in] the world. [It is as though] he has caused judges to be blindfolded, [with the result that they cannot judge fairly]. If it is not God who has put wicked people in control, who has done it?
25 “ʻOku vave eni ʻa hoku ngaahi ʻaho ʻi he tangata fekau: ʻoku puna atu ia, ʻoku ʻikai ʻilo ʻe ia ha lelei.
“My days go by very quickly, like a fast runner; [it is as though] they run away, and nothing good happens to me on those days.
26 Kuo mole ia ʻo hangē ko e ngaahi vaka ngaholo: ʻo hangē ko e ʻikale ʻoku fakavave ki he kai.
My life goes by very rapidly, like a boat made from reeds sailing swiftly, or like an eagle that swoops down to seize a small animal.
27 Kapau te u pehē, ‘Te u fakangaloʻi ʻa ʻeku mamahi, te u siʻaki ʻeku māfasia, ʻo fakafiemālieʻi au:’
If I smile and say [to God], ‘I will forget what I am complaining about; I will stop looking sad and try to be cheerful/happy,’
28 Tā te u ilifia ʻi heʻeku ngaahi mamahi fulipē, ʻoku ou ʻilo ʻe ʻikai te ke fakatonuhiaʻi au.
then I become afraid because of all that I am suffering, because I know that God does not consider that I am innocent.
29 Kapau ʻoku ou angakovi, pea tā ʻoku kei taʻeʻaonga pe ʻeku ngāue?
He will (condemn me/declare that I should be punished), so why should I keep trying in vain [to defend myself]?
30 He kapau te u kaukau au ʻi he vai ʻuha hinehina, ʻo ngaohi ke maʻa ʻaupito hoku nima;
If I washed myself with snow or cleansed my hands with lye/soap [to get rid of my guilt],
31 Ka te ke lī au ki he pelepela, pea ʻe fakaliliʻa kiate au ʻa hoku ngaahi kofu ʻoʻoku.
he would still throw me into a filthy pit; as a result [it would be as though] even my clothes would detest me.
32 He ʻoku ʻikai ko e tangata ia, ʻo hangē ko au, koeʻuhi ke u talia ia, pea kema fakataha ʻi he fakamaau.
“God is not a human, as I am, so there is no way that I could answer him [to prove that I am innocent] if we went together to have a trial [in a courtroom].
33 Pea ʻoku ʻikai ha tangata fakalelei ʻi homa vahaʻa, ke ne hili hono nima kiate kimaua fakatouʻosi.
There is no one to (mediate/hear us and decide who is right), no one who has authority over both of us [IDM].
34 Ke toʻo ʻe ia ʻene meʻa tā ʻiate au, pea ʻoua naʻa fakailifiaʻi au ʻe heʻene manavahē:
I wish/desire that he would stop punishing [MTY] me, and that he would not continue to terrify me.
35 Te u toki lea ai, ʻo taʻemanavahē kiate ia; ka ʻoku ʻikai te u pehē eni.
If he did that, I would declare [that I am innocent] without being afraid of him, because I know that I really have not [done what is wrong like God thinks that I have].”
