Jenjedzo ngekwe bupongwe
1 Nkololo wangu, bhulutana butjenjedu gwangu,
Teya zebe uhwe kuhwisisa kwangu,
2 kutindizo ugale una njele,
ne milomo iyo itjengete luzibo.
3 Ngobe milomo ye nkadzi we bamba inodotha butji,
ne ndebo iye inosodzoloka kupinda mafuta,
4 koga mu bupelo unobaba se nshashanyama,
unopitsha se thumo linotjeka ntha dzose.
5 Makumbo awe anoyenda ku lufu,
thambo dzidze dzotobela zila inoyenda ku gomba,
6 aana hanya ne zila inoyenda ku butjilo,
zila dzidze dzakamoneleka koga ngono aatoziba nge kwako.
7 Koga ngwenu, imwi bakololo, munditeedze,
kakale musithubukane ne matama e nlomo wangu.
8 Muzanile kule kwe nkadzi wakajalo,
kakale musitongo yenda pejo ne nkoba we ng'umba iye,
9 kuti musidwe mupa bamwe gudzo lenyu,
ne makole enyu kuna bana mimoyo mikukutu,
10 kuti musidwe motolegwa masimba ne bataya
ne fumwa yenyu ingadwa ikanojiwa ne bapoga,
11 kukoti mu bupelo gwe butjilo nthu ekogomela,
nyama ne mbili zwashakala,
12 ekoti, “Ndakabe ndakabenga kulayiwa tjini,
ne moyo wangu wakalingila pasi kutjemegwa!
13 Andizo teedza hwi le badiyi bangu,
kene kuteya zebe yangu ku balayi bangu.
14 Ndakabe ndabepejo ne kuloba,
pakati kwe gubungano.”
15 Ing'wa vula mu tshime lilo,
vula inodwilila mu tshime lilo woga.
16 Apa misenya iyo ingawungila pamwe ne pamwe,
misenya ye vula mu dzizila kene?
17 Ngaibe misenya inong'wiwa nawe koga,
usinga ishanganyila ne bataya.
18 Tshime lilo ngali kombolegwe,
kakale ushathile nkadzi we buzhuzha gugo,
19 se phala hadzi yakanaka ne ngululu hadzi mbuya.
Mazhamu awe ngaakugutshe nge shatho,
ugale wakagutshiwa ne ludo gugwe.
20 Nkololo wangu, ini ungatogwa mazwiwo ne bamba wali
ube ushathisiwa nge kun'gumbatila?
21 Ngobe zila dze nthu dzimu mesho a Yahwe,
ibo banobona zila dzidze dzose.
22 Jinyo le nthu lombhatshila,
kakale unobhatshigwa mu mishingo iye ye bubi.
23 Unobulawa nge kushaya kutjemegwa,
ngekwe bulengwe gugwe bukulu wakalashika.
1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: 2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3 ¶ For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them . 7 Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: 9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: 10 Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; 11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, 12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; 13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! 14 I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15 ¶ Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. 16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. 17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee. 18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. 19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. 20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
22 ¶ His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. 23 He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.