< Job 7 >
1 “Isn't life for human beings like serving a sentence of hard labor? Don't their days pass like those of a hired laborer?
“Asase so som nyɛ den mma onipa ana? Ne nkwanna nte sɛ ɔpaani de?
2 Like some slave longing for a bit of shade, like a hired hand anxiously waiting for pay day,
Sɛnea akoa ani gyina anwummere sunsuma, anaasɛ ɔpaani ho pere no nʼakatua ho no,
3 I've been given months of emptiness and nights of misery.
saa ara na wɔatwa asram hunu ato me hɔ, ne anadwo a ɔhaw wɔ mu ama me.
4 When I go to bed I ask, ‘When shall I get up?’ But the night goes on and on, and I toss and turn until dawn.
Sɛ meda a, midwen bisa se, ‘Bere bɛn na ade bɛkye?’ Nanso anadwo twa mu nkakrankakra, na mepere kosi ahemadakye.
5 My body is covered with maggots and caked in dirt; my skin is cracked, with oozing sores.
Asunson ne aporɔporɔw afura me nipadua, me were atetew na ɛrefi nsu.
6 My days pass quicker than a weaver's shuttle and they come to an end without hope.
“Me nna kɔ ntɛm sen ɔnwemfo akurokurowa, na ɛkɔ awiei a anidaso biara nni mu.
7 Remember that my life is just a breath; I will not see happiness again.
Ao, Onyankopɔn, kae sɛ me nkwanna te sɛ ɔhome; na mʼani renhu anigye bio da.
8 Those watching me won't see me anymore; your eyes will be looking for me, but I will be gone.
Ani a ehu me mprempren no renhu me bio; mobɛhwehwɛ me, nanso na minni hɔ bio.
9 When a cloud disappears, it's gone, just as anyone who goes down to Sheol does not come back up. (Sheol )
Sɛnea omununkum yera na etu kɔ, saa ara na nea ɔkɔ ɔda mu no nsan mma bio. (Sheol )
10 They will never return home, and the people they knew will forget them.
Ɔrensan mma ne fi da biara da bio; nʼatenae renkae no bio.
11 So, no, I won't hold my tongue—I will speak in the agony of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
“Ɛno nti meremmua mʼano; mifi me honhom ahoyeraw mu akasa, mefi me kra ɔyaw mu anwiinwii.
12 Am I the sea or a sea monster that you have to guard me?
So meyɛ ɛpo anaa aboa kɛse a ɔwɔ bun mu, na mode me ahyɛ ɔwɛmfo nsa yi?
13 If I tell myself, ‘I'll feel better if I lie down in my bed,’ or ‘it will help me to lie down on my couch,’
Sɛ midwen sɛ minya awerɛkyekye wɔ me mpa so, na mʼakongua adwudwo mʼanwiinwii ano a,
14 then you scare me so much with dreams and terrify me with visions
ɛno mpo na wode adaeso yi me hu na wode anisoadehu hunahuna me,
15 that I would rather be strangled—I would rather die than become just a bag of bones.
ɛno nti mepɛ ɔsɛn ne owu, sen me nipadua yi.
16 I hate my life! I know I won't live long. Leave me alone because my life is just a breath.
Mimmu me nkwa; mentena ase afebɔɔ. Munnyaa me; na me nna nka hwee.
17 Why are human beings so important to you; why are you so concerned about them
“Ɔdesani ne hena a ne ho hia wo sɛɛ, na wʼani ku ne ho,
18 that you inspect them every morning and test them every moment? Won't you ever stop staring at me?
na wohwehwɛ ne mu anɔpa biara na wosɔ no hwɛ bere biara?
19 Won't you ever leave me alone long enough to catch my breath?
Worennyi wʼani mfi me so da, anaasɛ worennyaa me bere tiaa bi mpo ana?
20 What have I done wrong? What have I done to you, Watcher of Humanity? Why have you made me your target, so that I'm a burden even to myself?
Sɛ mayɛ bɔne a, dɛn na mayɛ wo, Ao adesamma so wɛmfo? Adɛn nti na watu wʼani asi me so? Mayɛ adesoa ama wo ana?
21 If so why don't you pardon my sins, and take away my guilt? Right now I'm going to lie down in the dust, and though you will look for me, I will be gone.”
Adɛn nti na wonkata me mmarato so na womfa me bɔne nkyɛ me? Ɛrenkyɛ biara, mɛda mfutuma mu. Wobɛhwehwɛ me nanso na minni hɔ bio.”