1 فاجاب بلدد الشوحي وقال | 1 But Baldad the Suhite, responding, said: |
2 الى متى تقول هذا وتكون اقوال فيك ريحا شديدة. | 2 How long will you speak this way, so that the words of your mouth are like a changeable wind? |
3 هل الله يعوّج القضاء او القدير يعكس الحق. | 3 Does God supplant judgment, or does the Almighty subvert that which is just? |
4 اذ اخطأ اليه بنوك دفعهم الى يد معصيتهم. | 4 And if now your children have sinned against him, and he has dismissed them into the power of their iniquity, |
5 فان بكرت انت الى الله وتضرعت الى القدير. | 5 even so, you should arise early to God, so as to beseech the Almighty. |
6 ان كنت انت زكيا مستقيما فانه الآن يتنبه لك ويسلم مسكن برك. | 6 If you approach with purity and honesty, he will quickly be attentive to you, and a peaceful life will repay your righteousness, |
7 وان تكن اولاك صغيرة فآخرتك تكثر جدا | 7 so much so that, if your former things were small, your latter things would be multiplied greatly. |
8 اسأل القرون الاولى وتأكد مباحث آبائهم. | 8 For inquire of the earliest generation, and investigate diligently the history of the fathers, |
9 لاننا نحن من امس ولا نعلم لان ايامنا على الارض ظل. | 9 (of course, we are but of yesterday and are ignorant that our days on earth are like a shadow,) |
10 فهلا يعلمونك. يقولون لك ومن قلوبهم يخرجون اقوالا قائلين | 10 and they will teach you; they will speak with you and will offer you the eloquence of their hearts. |
11 هل ينمي البردي في غير الغمقة او تنبت الحلفاء بلا ماء. | 11 Can the marsh plant live without moisture? Or can sedges grow without water? |
12 وهو بعد في نضارته لم يقطع ييبس قبل كل العشب. | 12 When it is still in flower, and has not been pulled up by hand, it withers before all other plants. |
13 هكذا سبل كل الناسين الله ورجاء الفاجر يخيب | 13 Just so are the ways of all who forget God, and the hope of the hypocrite will perish. |
14 فينقطع اعتماده ومتكله بيت العنكبوت. | 14 His frenzy will not please him, and his faith will be like a spider’s web. |
15 يستند الى بيته فلا يثبت. يتمسك به فلا يقوم. | 15 He will lean on his house, and it will not stand; he will prop it up, but it will not rise. |
16 هو رطب تجاه الشمس وعلى جنته تنبت خراعيبه. | 16 He seems to have moisture before the sun arrives; and at sunrise, his sprout shoots forth. |
17 واصوله مشتبكة في الرجمة فترى محل الحجارة. | 17 His roots will crowd together over a heap of stones, and among the stones he will remain. |
18 ان اقتلعه من مكانه يجحده قائلا ما رايتك. | 18 If someone is devoured right beside him, he will deny him and will say: “I do not know you.” |
19 هذا هو فرح طريقه ومن التراب ينبت آخر | 19 For this is the benefit of his way, that others in turn may spring up from the earth. |
20 هوذا الله لا يرفض الكامل ولا يأخذ بيد فاعلي الشر. | 20 God will not discard the simple, nor will he extend his hand to the spiteful, |
21 عندما يملأ فاك ضحكا وشفتيك هتافا. | 21 even until your mouth is filled with laughter and your lips with rejoicing. |
22 يلبس مبغضوك خزيا. اما خيمة الاشرار فلا تكون | 22 Those who hate you, will be clothed with confusion, and the tabernacle of the impious will not continue. |