Job 14
1 “We humans are very frail. We live only a short time, and we experience a lot of trouble.
“Onipa a ɔbaa awo no no ne nna yɛ tiaa bi na ɔhaw dɔɔso wɔ mu.
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].
Ɔfefɛ te sɛ nhwiren na ɛtwintwam; ɔte sɛ sunsum a ɛretwam 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 abɛbu no atɛn anaa?
4 People are sinners from the time when they are born; who can cause them to be sinless? No one [RHQ]!
Hwan na ɔbɛtumi ayi deɛ ɛyɛ kronn afiri efi 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 nʼabosome dodoɔ ato hɔ na woahyɛ no ɛberɛ 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 firi ne so na ɔnyɛ deɛ ɔpɛ, kɔsi sɛ ɔbɛwie nʼadwuma sɛ ɔpaani.
7 If someone cuts a tree down, we hope that it will sprout again and grow new branches.
“Dua mpo anidasoɔ wɔ hɔ ma no: Sɛ wɔtwa a, ɛbɛfefɛ bio, na ne mman foforɔ no rempempan.
8 Its roots in the ground may be very old, and its stump may decay,
Ne nhini bɛtumi anyini akyɛre asase mu na ne dunsini nso awu wɔ dɔteɛ mu,
9 but if some water falls on it, it may bud/sprout and send up shoots like a young plant.
nanso, ɔnya nsuo a ɛfefɛ, na ɛyiyi mman sɛ dua a wɔatɛ.
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 deɛ ɛtwa toɔ a, na afei ɔnni hɔ bio.
11 Just like water evaporates from the ocean, or like a riverbed dries up,
Sɛdeɛ nsuo tu yera wɔ ɛpo mu no, anaa sɛdeɛ nsuka mu weɛ 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; ɛnkɔsi sɛ ɔsoro bɛtwam no, nnipa rensɔre na wɔrennyane wɔn mfiri 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 h7585)
“Sɛ anka wode me bɛsie damena mu de me ahinta kɔsi sɛ wʼabofuo bɛtwam! Sɛ anka wobɛhyɛ me berɛ na afei woakae me! (Sheol h7585)
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 anaa? Mʼaperedie nna mu nyinaa mɛtwɛn akɔsi sɛ me foforɔyɛ 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 mɛgye wo so; wʼani bɛgyina abɔdeɛ a wo nsa ayɛ.
16 You would take care of [MET] me, instead of watching me to see if I would sin.
Afei wobɛkan mʼanammɔntuo 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 kotokuo mu, na woakata mʼamumuyɛ so.
18 “But, just like mountains crumble and rocks fall down from a cliff,
“Nanso, sɛdeɛ mmepɔ so hohoro na ɛdwirie na abotan nso twe firi ne siberɛ 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].
sɛdeɛ nsuo yiyi aboɔ ho na osutɔ brane twe dɔteɛ kɔ no saa ara na wosɛe onipa anidasoɔ.
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.
Wotintim ne so prɛko pɛ, na ɔtwam kɔ; wosakyera ne nipasu na wogya 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 mmammarima animuonyam a, ɔnnim; na sɛ wɔbrɛ wɔn ase a, ɔnhunu.
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 wedeɛ mu yea na ɔteɛ na ɔno ara ne ho na ɔgyam.”
