Job 4
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
Na Temanni Elifas buaa Hiob se,
2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied? Yet who can keep from speaking?
“Sɛ obi pɛ sɛ ɔne wo kasa a, worennya ntoboase ana? Hena na wobetumi aka nʼano ato mu?
3 Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
Dwene sɛnea wakyerɛkyerɛ nnipa bebree, sɛnea woahyɛ nsa a emu ayɛ mmerɛw no den.
4 Your words have steadied those who stumbled; you have braced the knees that were buckling.
Wo nsɛm ahyɛ wɔn a wɔahintiw no den; woahyɛ nkotodwe a ayɛ mmerɛw mu den.
5 But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary. It strikes you, and you are dismayed.
Na afei a ɔhaw aba no, wʼaba mu abu; adwira wo, na wo werɛ ahow.
6 Is your reverence not your confidence, and the uprightness of your ways your hope?
So ɛnsɛ sɛ wo nyamesuro yɛ wʼahotoso na wʼakwan a ɛho nni asɛm no yɛ wʼanidaso ana?
7 Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?
“Dwene ho: Wɔasɛe obi a ne ho nni asɛm pɛn ana? Ɛhefa na wɔsɛee obi a ɔyɛ pɛ?
8 As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
Sɛnea mahu no, wɔn a wofuntum bɔne ne wɔn a wodua ɔhaw no twa so aba.
9 By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
Onyankopɔn home ano, wɔsɛe; nʼabufuw turuw a wɔyera.
10 The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.
Gyata betumi abobɔ mu na wɔaworo so, nanso wɔabubu gyata akɛse no se.
11 The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
Gyata annya hanam a owu, na gyatabere mma no bɔ hwete.
12 Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.
“Wɔbɛkaa kokoamsɛm bi kyerɛɛ me na mʼaso tee no sɛ asomsɛm.
13 In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
Wɔ anadwo daeso basabasa mu, bere a nnipa adeda nnahɔɔ no,
14 fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder.
ehu ne nketenkete kyeree me ɛmaa me nnompe nyinaa wosowee.
15 Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled.
Honhom bi twaa mʼani so, na me ho nwi sɔre gyinae.
16 It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:
Egyinae, nanso, manhu nʼabɔsu. Biribi begyinaa mʼanim, na metee nne bɔkɔɔ bi a ɛrebisa se,
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?
‘Onipa desani betumi ateɛ asen Onyankopɔn? Na mpo ɔhoɔdenfo betumi ayɛ kronkron asen ne Yɛfo ana?
18 If God puts no trust in His servants, and He charges His angels with error,
Sɛ Onyankopɔn ntumi mfa ne ho nto nʼankasa asomfo so, sɛ ɔka nʼabɔfo mfomso kyerɛ wɔn a,
19 how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!
na nkantom wɔn a wɔtete dɔte afi mu, wɔn a wɔn fapem sisi mfutuma mu na wɔdwerɛw wɔn ntɛm so sen abubummaba!
20 They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever.
Efi anɔpahema kosi anwummere wobubu wɔn mu nketenkete; na wɔyera korakora a obiara nhu wɔn bio.
21 Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’
So wommiamia wɔn ntamadan ahama mu, a ɛno nti wowuwu a wonni nyansa ana?’
