Job 16
1 Job replied [to Eliphaz and the others: ]
Hiob ɖo eŋu nɛ be,
2 “I have heard things like that before; all of you, [instead of helping me, ] are only causing me to feel more miserable.
“Mese nya siawo tɔgbi wòsɔ gbɔ, akɔfala gbɔlowo ko mi katã mienye!
3 Will your speeches, which are only hot air, never end [RHQ]? Eliphaz, what bothers/irritates you so much that you continue replying to me?
Miaƒe nuƒo legbe, gɔdɔ̃gɔdɔ̃awo mawu nu akpɔ oa? Nu kae le mia vem be miegale nyahehe dzi kokoko?
4 If it were you [three and not I] who were suffering, I could say the things that you are saying; I could make great speeches [to criticize/condemn you], and I could shake my head at you [to ridicule you].
Nenye miawoe le tenyeƒe la, nye hã maƒo nu abe miawo ke ene, agblɔ nyatinyatiwo ɖe mia ŋu eye maʋuʋu ta ɖe mia ŋu.
5 But, [unlike all of you, ] with what I said [MTY] I would encourage you and try to cause your pain to be less.
Maƒo nu ade dzi ƒo na mi eye akɔfanya siwo ado tso nunye la ana miaƒe dzi adze eme.
6 “But now, if I talk, my pain does not decrease, and if I am silent, my pain still certainly does not [RHQ] go away.
“Gake ne meƒo nu la, nye vevesesewo dzi maka ɖe kpɔtɔ o eye ne medzudzɔ hã la, veveseseawo medzona o.
7 God has now taken away all my strength, and he has destroyed my family.
O Mawu, vavãe èna mevɔ le eme keŋkeŋ eye nètsrɔ̃ nye aƒekɔ la katã.
8 He has shriveled me up, and people think that shows that I [am a sinner]. And people see that I am only skin and bones, and they think that proves that I [am guilty].
Èna meɖi ku, vɔ keŋ eye wòzu ɖaseɖiɖi, nye kuɖiɖi tsi tsitre hezu ɖasefo ɖe ŋunye.
9 Because God is very angry with me and hates me, [it is as though he is a wild animal that] [MET] has gnashed his teeth at me because he is my enemy.
Yehowa ƒom, hevuvum le eƒe dziku me eye wòɖu aɖukli ɖe ŋunye, nye ketɔ fɔ ŋku ɖaɖɛwo ɖe dzinye.
10 People gape/stare at me with their mouths open [to sneer at me]; they have struck me on the face/cheek to ridicule me, and they crowd around me to threaten me.
Amewo ke woƒe nuwo baa hedo ɣli ɖe tanye. Woƒo tome nam fewuɖutɔe eye wowɔ ɖeka ɖe ŋunye.
11 [It is as though] God has handed me over to ungodly people and turned me over to the wicked [DOU].
Mawu dem asi na ame vɔ̃ɖiwo eye wòkɔm ƒu gbe ɖe ŋutasẽlawo ƒe fego me.
12 Previously, I was living peacefully, but he crushed me; [it is as though] he grabbed my neck and smashed me to pieces. [It is as though] [MET] he set me up like a target;
Nuwo nɔ edzi dzem nam nyuie gake ekakam. Elé kɔʋume nam hegbãm gudugudugudu. Etsɔm wɔ ade si minyam wòle,
13 people are surrounding me [and shooting arrows at me]. His arrows pierce my kidneys and cause the bile [from my liver] to spill onto the ground, and God does not pity me at all.
eƒe aŋutrɔdalawo ɖe to ɖem. Eŋɔ nye ayikuwo nublanuimakpɔmakpɔtɔe eye wòna nye vevego gbã hekɔ ɖe anyigba.
14 [It is as though] [MET] I am a wall that he is breaking through; he rushes at me like [SIM] a soldier [attacking his enemies].
Eva ƒo ɖe dzinye enuenu eye wòlũ ɖe dzinye abe kalẽtɔ ene.
15 [“Because I am mourning, ] I wear pieces of rough cloth that I have sewed together, and I sit [here] in the dirt, very depressed/discouraged.
“Metɔ akpanya hetsyɔ na nye ŋutilã eye metsɔ nye mo de ke me.
16 My face is red because I have cried very much, and there are dark circles around my eyes.
Avifafa na nye mo biã dzẽe, vɔvɔli ƒo xlã nye ŋkuwo,
17 [All this has happened to me] even though I have not acted violently [toward anyone], and I [always] pray sincerely/honestly [to God].
evɔ nye asiwo mewɔ nu tovo aɖeke o eye nye gbedodoɖa hã dza hafi.
18 [When I die, ] I want the ground [APO] to [act as though I had been murdered and] cry out against those who killed me, and I do not want anyone to stop me while I am demanding [that God act justly toward] me.
“O, anyigba, mègatsyɔ nye ʋu dzi o eye ɖoɖoe megazi le nye ɣlidodo nu o!
19 But even now, [I know that] there is someone in heaven who will testify for me, and he will say that what I have done is right.
Azɔ gɔ̃ hã la, nye ɖasefo le dziƒo eye nye nyaxɔɖeakɔla le afi ma.
20 My [three] friends scorn/ridicule me, but my eyes are full of tears [while I cry out] to God.
Tanyeʋlila nye xɔ̃nye, esi nye ŋkuwo le aɖatsi ɖuɖum na Mawu.
21 I pray that [the] one [who knows what I have done] would come to plead with God for me like people plead for their friends.
Eɖea kuku na Mawu ɖe ame ta abe ale si ame ɖea kuku ɖe xɔlɔ̃a tae ene.
22 [I say this because] within a few years [I will die]; I will walk along the [to the grave] from which I will never return.”
“Ƒe ʋɛ aɖewo koe ava yi hafi madze mɔ ayi demagbɔnugbe.
