Job 21
1 Then Job answered:
Na Hiob buae se,
2 “Listen carefully to my words; let this be your consolation to me.
Muntie me nsɛm no yiye. Momma eyi nyɛ awerɛkyekye a mode ma me.
3 Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.
Munnya ntoboase mma me bere a merekasa, na sɛ mekasa wie a, monkɔ so nni fɛw.
4 Is my complaint against a man? Then why should I not be impatient?
“Minwiinwii hyɛ onipa ana? Adɛn nti na ɛsɛ sɛ minya ntoboase?
5 Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
Monhwɛ me, na mo ho nnwiriw mo; momfa mo nsa nkata mo ano.
6 When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
Sɛ midwen eyi ho a, mebɔ hu; na me ho popo.
7 Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?
Adɛn nti na amumɔyɛfo tena nkwa mu? Wonyin kyɛ na wɔkɔ so di tumi.
8 Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes.
Wohu wɔn mma a atwa wɔn ho ahyia no nkɔso, wohu wɔn nenanom.
9 Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.
Ɔhaw nni wɔn afi mu, na ehu nni hɔ; Onyankopɔn asotwe mma wɔn so.
10 Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.
Wɔn anantwinini nnyɛ asaadwe; na wɔn anantwibere nwo a wɔmpɔn.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,
Wɔka wɔn mma bɔ mu te sɛ nguankuw; na emu mmotafowa no huruhuruw.
12 singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.
Wɔto nnwom wɔ akasae ne sanku so; na wɔde atɛntɛbɛn nnyigyei gye wɔn ani.
Wodi yiye wɔn nkwanna mu na wɔkɔ ɔdae mu asomdwoe mu. (Sheol h7585)
14 Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
Nanso wɔka kyerɛ Onyankopɔn se, ‘Fi yɛn so! Yɛmpɛ sɛ yehu wʼakwan.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
Hena ne otumfo no a ɛsɛ sɛ yɛsom no? Sɛ yɛbɔ no mpae a mfaso bɛn na yebenya?’
16 Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
Nanso wɔn nkɔso no nni wɔn nsam, enti metwe me ho fi amumɔyɛfo afotu ho.
17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?
“Nanso mpɛn ahe na wodum amumɔyɛfo kanea? Mpɛn ahe na amanehunu ba wɔn so, nea Onyankopɔn fi nʼabufuw mu de ba no?
18 Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
Mpɛn ahe na wɔyɛ sɛ sare wɔ mframa ano, te sɛ ntɛtɛ a mframaden bi apra wɔn?
19 It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.
Wɔka se, ‘Onyankopɔn kora onipa asotwe so de twɛn ne mma.’ Ɛsɛ sɛ ɔtwe onipa no ankasa aso ma ohu.
20 Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty.
Ma ɔno ankasa ani nhu ne sɛe; ma Otumfo abufuwhyew no nka nʼani.
21 For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out?
Dɛn na ɛfa wɔn ho fa wɔn abusuafo a woagyaw wɔn akyi no ho bere a asram a wɔatwa ama no aba awiei no?
22 Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?
“Obi betumi akyerɛ Onyankopɔn nyansa, wɔ bere a obu atitiriw mpo atɛn?
23 One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.
Obi wu wɔ bere a ɔwɔ ahoɔden ne ho tɔ no na nʼaso mu adwo no,
24 His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow.
na ne nipadua ayɛ frɔmfrɔm, na hon ahyɛ ne nnompe ma.
25 Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.
Ɔfoforo nso de ɔkra mu yawdi wu, a wanka asetena pa anhwɛ da.
26 But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.
Wosie wɔn nyinaa wɔ mfutuma koro mu, ma asunson nnunu wɔn nyinaa.
27 Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.
“Mahu mo adwene, ɔkwan a mobɛfa so afom me.
28 For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’
Moka se, ‘Onipa kɛse no fi wɔ he, ntamadan a omumɔyɛfo no tenaa mu no?’
29 Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports?
So mummmisaa wɔn a wotu kwan no asɛm da? Wɔn amanneɛbɔ mu nsɛm ho nhiaa mo
30 Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.
sɛ onipa bɔne nya ne ti didi mu amanehunu da, na wogye wɔn abufuwhyew da no ana?
31 Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?
Hena na ɔde ne suban si nʼanim? Hena na otua no nea wayɛ so ka?
32 He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
Wɔsoa no kɔ ɔda mu, na wɔwɛn nʼaboda.
33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows behind him, and those before him are without number.
Obon mu dɔte yɛ no dɛ; nnipa nyinaa di nʼakyi, na dɔm a wontumi nkan wɔn di nʼanim.
34 So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”
“Enti ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na mode mo nsɛnhunu bɛkyekye me werɛ? Mo mmuae nyɛ hwee sɛ atoro!”
