< Job 14 >
1 “We humans are very frail. We live only a short time, and we experience a lot of trouble.
“Nnipa a ɔbea awo wɔn nna yɛ tiaa bi na ɔhaw ahyɛ mu mma.
2 We disappear quickly, like flowers that grow from the ground quickly and then wither and die [SIM]. We are like shadows that disappear [when the sun stops shining].
Ɔfefɛw te sɛ nhwiren na etwintwam; ɔte sɛ sunsuma a ɛretwa mu akɔ, ɔntena hɔ nkyɛ.
3 [Yahweh, ] why do you keep watching me [to see if I am doing something that is wrong] [RHQ]? Are you wanting to take me to court to judge me?
Woma wʼani kɔ saa onipa yi so? Wode no bɛba wʼanim abebu no atɛn ana?
4 People are sinners from the time when they are born; who can cause them to be sinless? No one [RHQ]!
Hena na obetumi ayi nea ɛyɛ kronkron afi fi mu? Obiara nni hɔ.
5 You have decided how long our lives will be. You have decided how many months we will live, and we cannot live more months than the (limit/number of months) that you have decided.
Woahyehyɛ onipa nkwa nna; woahyɛ nʼasram dodow ato hɔ na woahyɛ no bere a ɔrentumi ntra.
6 So please stop examining us, and allow us to be alone, until/while we finish our time [here on earth], like a man finishes his work [at the end of the day].
Enti yi wʼani fi ne so na ɔnyɛ nea ɔpɛ, kosi sɛ obewie nʼadwuma sɛ ɔpaani.
7 If someone cuts a tree down, we hope that it will sprout again and grow new branches.
“Dua mpo anidaso wɔ hɔ ma no: Sɛ wotwa a, ɛbɛfefɛw bio, na ne mman foforo no rempenpan.
8 Its roots in the ground may be very old, and its stump may decay,
Ne ntin betumi anyin akyɛ asase mu na ne dunsin nso awu wɔ dɔte mu,
9 but if some water falls on it, it may bud/sprout and send up shoots like a young plant.
nanso, onya nsu a ɛfefɛw, na eyiyi mman sɛ dua a wɔatɛw.
10 But when we people lose all our strength and die, we stop breathing and then we are gone [forever].
Nanso sɛ nnipa wu a wɔde no hyɛ fam; ɔhome nea etwa to a, na afei onni hɔ bio.
11 Just like water evaporates from the ocean, or like a riverbed dries up,
Sɛnea nsu tu yera wɔ po mu no, anaa sɛnea suka mu yowee no,
12 people [lie down and die and] do not get up again. Until the heavens disappear, people who die [EUP] do not wake up, and no one can wake them up.
saa ara na onipa tɔ fam na ɔnsɔre bio; enkosi sɛ ɔsoro betwa mu no, nnipa rensɔre na wɔrennyan wɔn mfi wɔn nna mu.
13 [“Yahweh, ] I wish that you would put me safely in the place of the dead and forget about me until you are no longer angry with me. I wish that you would decide how much time I would spend there, and then remember [that] I [am there]. (Sheol )
“Sɛ anka wode me besie ɔda mu de me ahintaw kosi sɛ wʼabufuw betwa mu! Sɛ anka wobɛhyɛ me bere na afei woakae me! (Sheol )
14 When we humans die, we will certainly not live again [RHQ]. If [I knew that] we would live again, I would wait patiently, and I would wait for you to release me [from my sufferings].
Sɛ onipa wu a ɔbɛba nkwa mu bio ana? Mʼaperedi nna mu nyinaa mɛtwɛn akosi sɛ me foforoyɛ bɛba.
15 You would call me, and I would answer. You would be eager to see me, one of the creatures that you had made.
Wobɛfrɛ na megye wo so; wʼani begyina abɔde a wo nsa ayɛ.
16 You would take care of [MET] me, instead of watching me to see if I would sin.
Afei wobɛkan mʼanammɔntu na worenni me bɔne akyi.
17 [It is as though the record of] my sins would be sealed in a small bag, and you would cover them up.
Wɔbɛsɔ me bɔne ano wɔ kotoku mu, na woakata mʼamumɔyɛ so.
18 “But, just like mountains crumble and rocks fall down from a cliff,
“Nanso sɛnea mmepɔw so hohoro na ɛpompono na ɔbotan nso twe fi ne sibea no,
19 and just like water slowly wears away the stones, and just like floods wash away soil, [you eventually destroy us]; you do not allow us to continue to (hope/confidently expect) [that we will keep on living].
sɛnea nsu yiyi abo ho na osuhweam twe dɔte kɔ no saa ara na wosɛe onipa anidaso.
20 You always defeat us, and then we die [EUP]. You cause our faces to look ugly after we die, and you send us away.
Wutintim ne so prɛko pɛ, na otwa mu kɔ; wosakra ne nipasu na wugya no kwan.
21 [When we die] we do not know if our sons will grow up and [do things that will cause them to] be honored. And if they become disgraced, we do not see that, [either].
Sɛ wɔhyɛ ne mmabarima anuonyam a, onnim; na sɛ wɔbrɛ wɔn ase a, onhu.
22 We will feel our own pains; we will not feel anything else; we will be sorry for ourselves, not for anyone else.”
Ɔno ara were mu yaw na ɔtee na ɔno ara ne ho na ogyam.”