Job 12

1 Then Job said [to his three friends],

Pea naʻe tali ʻe Siope, ʻo ne pehē,

2 “You (talk as though/You think) [SAR] that you are the people [whom everyone should listen to], and that when you die, there will be no more wise people.

Ta ko kimoutolu pe ʻae kakai, pea ʻe mate mo kimoutolu ʻae poto.

3 But I have as much good sense as you do; I am (not less wise than/certainly as wise as [LIT]) you. Certainly everyone knows [RHQ] all that you have said.

Ka ʻoku ai hoku loto ʻo hangē pe ko kimoutolu; ʻoku ʻikai te u siʻi hifo au kiate kimoutolu: ʻio, ko hai ʻoku ʻikai ke ne ʻilo ki he ngaahi meʻa pehē ni?

4 My friends all laugh at me now. Previously I habitually requested God to help me, and he answered/helped me. I am righteous, a very godly man [DOU], but everyone laughs at me.

‌ʻOku ou tatau mo ha taha ʻoku taukaea ʻe hono kaungāʻapi, ʻo pehē, ʻoku ne ui ki he ʻOtua, pea ʻoku ne talia ia: ʻoku kata manukia ʻae tonuhia mo e angatonu.

5 Those [like you] who have no troubles make fun of me; they cause those [like me] who are already suffering to have more troubles.

‌ʻO hangē ko e maama kuo fakatukutukuʻi, ʻoku pehē ʻaia ʻoku meimei hekea hono vaʻe ʻi he mahalo ʻo ia ʻoku fiemālie.

6 Bandits live peacefully, and no one threatens those who cause God to become angry; their own strength is the god [that they worship].

‌ʻOku monūʻia ʻae ngaahi fale ʻoe kau kaihaʻa, pea ʻoku nofo fiemālie pē ʻakinautolu ʻoku fakahouhau ki he ʻOtua; ʻoku ʻatu lahi ʻe he ʻOtua ki honau nima.

7 “But ask the wild animals [what they know about God], and [if they could speak] they would teach you. [If you could] ask the birds, they would tell you.

“Kae fehuʻi eni ki he fanga manu, pea te nau akoʻi koe; mo e fanga manu ʻoe ʻatā, pea te nau tala kiate koe:

8 [If you could] ask the creatures [that crawl] on the ground, or the fish in the sea, they would tell you [about God].

Pea lea ki he fonua, pea te ne akoʻi koe: pea ʻe fakahā kiate koe ʻe he ngaahi ika ʻoe tahi.

9 All of them certainly know [RHQ] that it is Yahweh who has made them with his hands.

Ko hai ʻoku ʻikai te ne ʻilo ʻi he meʻa ni kotoa pē, ko e nima ʻo Sihova kuo ne fai eni?

10 He directs the lives of all living creatures; he gives breath to all [us] humans [to enable us to remain alive].

‌ʻAia ʻoku ʻi hono nima ʻae moʻui ʻae meʻa moʻui fulipē, mo e mānava ʻoe kakai kotoa pē.

11 And when we [SYN] hear what other people [like you] say, we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say [to determine what is good and what is bad], like we [SYN] taste food [to determine what is good and what is bad].

‌ʻIkai ʻoku ʻahiʻahiʻi ʻe he telinga ʻae ngaahi lea? Pea kamata ʻe he ngutu hono kai?

12 Old people are [often] very wise, and because of having lived many years, they understand much,

Pea ʻoku ʻiate ia ʻoku talu mei muʻa ʻae poto; pea ko e ʻilo ʻi he ngaahi ʻaho lahi.

13 but God is wise and very powerful; he has good sense and understands [everything].

“ʻOku ʻiate ia ʻae poto mo e mālohi, ʻoku ʻiate ia ʻae fakakaukau mo e ʻilo.

14 If he tears [something] down, no one can rebuild it; if he puts someone in prison, no one can open [the prison doors to allow that person to escape].

Vakai, ʻoku ne holoki hifo, pea ʻe ʻikai faʻa toe fokotuʻu ia: ʻoku ne tāpuni ki he tangata, pea ʻoku ʻikai ke faʻa matoʻo.

15 When he prevents rain from falling, everything dries up. When he causes a lot of rain to fall, [the result is that] there are floods.

Vakai, ʻoku ne taʻofi ki he ngaahi vai, pea matuʻu ia: ʻoku ne fekau atu foki ia, pea ʻoku fulihi ʻe ia ʻae fonua.

16 He is the one who is truly strong and wise; he rules over those who deceive others and those whom they deceive.

‌ʻOku ʻiate ia ʻae mālohi mo e poto, ʻoku ʻoʻona ʻae kākāʻia mo ia ʻoku kākā.

17 He [sometimes] causes [the king’s] officials to no longer be wise, and he causes judges to become foolish.

‌ʻOku ne taki pōpula ʻae kau fakakaukau, pea ne fakavaleʻi ʻae kau fakamaau.

18 He takes from kings the robes that they wear and puts loincloths around their waists, [causing them to become slaves].

Ko e haʻi ʻoe ngaahi tuʻi kuo ne vete, ka ne haʻihaʻi honau noʻotanga vala ʻaki ʻae haʻi.

19 He takes from priests the sacred clothes that they wear, [with the result that they no longer can do their work], and takes power from those who rule others.

‌ʻOku ne taki pōpula ʻae ngaahi houʻeiki, pea ʻoku ne lī ki lalo ʻae mālohi.

20 He [sometimes] causes those whom others trust to be unable to speak, and he causes old men to no longer have good sense.

‌ʻOku ne toʻo atu ʻae lea ʻae kau poto, pea toʻo mo e ʻilo ʻae mātuʻa.

21 He causes those who have authority to be despised, and he causes those who are powerful to no longer have any power/strength.

‌ʻOku ne lilingi ʻae manukia ki he ngaahi houʻeiki, pea ne vete ʻae noʻo ʻoe mālohi.

22 He causes things that are hidden in the darkness to be revealed.

‌ʻOku ne fakahā ʻae ngaahi meʻa lilo mei he fakapoʻuli, pea ne ʻomi ki he maama ʻae ʻata ʻoe mate.

23 He causes some nations to become very great, and [later] he destroys them; he causes the territory of some nations to become much larger, and [later] he causes them to be defeated and their people to be scattered.

‌ʻOku ne fakatokolahi ʻakinautolu ʻoku ne fakalahi ʻae ngaahi puleʻanga, pea toe fakasiʻisiʻi ia.

24 He causes [some] rulers to become foolish/stupid, and then he causes them to wander around, lost, in an barren desert.

‌ʻOku ne toʻo ʻo ʻave ʻae loto ʻoe ngaahi ʻeiki ʻoe kakai ʻo māmani, ʻo ne pule ke nau ʻalu fano ʻi ha toafa taʻehahala.

25 They grope around in the darkness, without any light, and he causes them to stagger like [SIM] people who are drunk.”

‌ʻOku nau tautaufā ʻi he poʻuli taʻehamaama, pea ʻoku ne pule ke nau fehēaki fano ʻo hangē ha konā.