Job 38
1 Then Yahweh spoke to Job from inside a great windstorm. He said to him,
Afei, Awurade fi ahum mu buaa Hiob se,
2 “(Who are you to question what I plan to do?/You have no right/authority to question what I plan to do.) [RHQ] You are speaking ignorantly!
“Hena ne nea ɔde nsɛm a nimdeɛ nni mu kata me nhyehyɛe so?
3 I want to ask you [some] questions, so, just like men prepare themselves for a difficult task [MET], prepare to answer my questions.
Hyɛ wo ho den sɛ ɔbarima; mebisa wo nsɛm, na wubebua me.
4 (“Where were you/Were you there with me) [long ago] when I (laid the foundations of/created) the earth? Since you know so much, tell me [where you were at that time].
“Bere a metoo asase fapem no, na wowɔ he? Sɛ wote ase, ka ɛ.
5 Do you know how I decided how large the earth would be? Do you know who stretched a measuring tape around the earth? Surely [since you think that you know so much, ] you should know that!
Hena na osusuw ne tenten ne ne trɛw? Ampa ara wunim! Hena na ɔtwee susuhama faa ani?
6 What supports the pillars on which the earth rests? When the stars [that shine early] in the morning sang together, and someone put in place the stone that causes the earth to stay in its place, and all the angels shouted joyfully [when they saw that happening], who laid that cornerstone? [Did you?]
Dɛn so na egyina, anaa hena na ɔtoo ne tweatibo no,
bere a anɔpa nsoromma bɔɔ mu too dwom, na abɔfo nyinaa de anigye teɛɛ mu no?
8 “When the seas poured forth from inside the earth, who prevented the water from flooding over the land?
“Hena na ɔkaa po hyɛɛ apon akyi, bere a epue fii ɔyafunu mu,
9 It was I, [not you, ] who caused clouds to come over the seas and caused it to become very dark [under those clouds].
bere a mede omununkum yɛɛ nʼadurade na mede sum kabii kyekyeree no,
10 I set limits for the seas, and I put barriers [so that the water would not come over the land].
bere a metoo ɔhye maa no na misisii nʼapon ne nʼadaban,
11 [I pointed to the shore] and said to the water, ‘I permit you to come up to here, but I do not permit you to come any farther. Your powerful waves must stop there!’
bere a mekae se, ‘Ɛha ara na wubedu na worentra ha; ɛha na wʼahantan asorɔkye no bɛso no?’
12 “Job, have you [ever] commanded the morning [to begin]? Have you [ever] told the dawn to start a new day?
“So woahyɛ mmara ama adekyee da? Na woakyerɛ ahemadakye nso afa,
13 Have you [ever] told the dawn to spread out over the whole earth, with the result that wicked people run away from the light?
sɛ ɛnkɔka asase ano na ontu amumɔyɛfo mfi so?
14 When it becomes light after the dawn, the hills and the valleys become clear like the folds in a cloth.
Asase fa ne bɔbea sɛ dɔte a ɛhyɛ nsɔwano ase; na ɛsow tebea da wɔn ho adi te sɛ atade.
15 When it becomes daylight, the wicked do not have the darkness [that they like]; [in the daylight] they no longer are able to raise up their arms, ready to hurt people.
Wɔde amumɔyɛfo hann akame wɔn, na wɔn abasa a wɔama so no mu abu.
16 “[Job, ] have you traveled to the springs [in the bottom of the ocean] from which the water in the seas comes? Have you investigated/explored the very bottom of the oceans?
“So woapɛɛpɛɛ mu ahu nea po aniwa wɔ anaa woanantew ne bun mu pɛn?
17 Has someone shown you the gates to the place where dead people are, the gates to the place where it is very dark?
So wɔde owu apon akyerɛ wo? Woahu owu sunsuma apon ana?
18 Do you know how big the earth is? Tell me, if you know all these things!
Woate wiase a ɛda hɔ tamaa no ase ana? Sɛ wunim eyinom nyinaa a, ka kyerɛ me.
19 “Where is the road to the place where light comes from? And [can you tell me] where darkness lives?
“Ɔkwan bɛn na ɛkɔ hann atenae? Na ɛhe na sum te?
20 Can take me to its home? Do you know where the road is that goes there?
Wubetumi de wɔn akɔ wɔn sibea? Wunim akwan a ɛkɔ wɔn atenae?
21 I am sure that you know these things, because you [talk as though you] were born before the time when all things were created; you [must] be very old!
Ampa ara wunim, efisɛ na wɔawo wo dedaw. Woanyin yiye!
22 “Have you entered the place where I store the snow and the place where I keep the hail?
“Woakɔ sukyerɛmma adekoradan mu da anaa woahu mparuwbo adekoradan
23 I store the snow and the hail [in order that I can use them to help my people] when [they have] troubles, in times when [they are fighting] wars [DOU].
a makora so ama ahohia bere, ɔsa ne akodi nna?
24 And where is the road to the place from which I cause the lightning to flash? Where is the place from where the east wind begins to blow over all the earth?
Ɔkwan bɛn na ɛkɔ faako a anyinam fi ba, anaa faako a apuei mframa fi na ɛbɔ fa asase so?
25 Who created the channels in which the rain comes down from the sky? Who makes the roads for the thunder/lightning?
Hena na otwaa ɛka maa osuhweam, ne ɔkwan maa aprannaa mmubomu,
26 Who causes rain to fall in the desert, in places where no one lives?
sɛ ɛbɛtɔ agu asase a obiara nte so so, nweatam a obiara nni so,
27 Who sends the rain that gives moisture/water to areas where nothing has grown, with the result that grass begins to grow again?
na ama asase kesee a ɛda mpan afɔw na sare afifi wɔ so?
28 Does the rain have a father? Does the dew [also] have a father?
Osu wɔ agya ana? Hena na ɔyɛ agya ma obosu a ɛsosɔ?
29 And from whose womb does ice come [in the (winter/cold season)]? Who gives birth to the frost that comes down from the sky?
Hena yafunu mu na sukyerɛmma fi? Hena na ɔwoo sukyerɛmma mporoporowa fi soro
30 [In the winter, ] the water [freezes and] becomes hard, like a rock, and the surface of lakes becomes frozen.
bere a nsu kyen dan sɛ ɔbo, na bun ani kyen?
31 “[Job], can you fasten the chains that hold the stars together in clusters/groups in the sky?
“Wubetumi de hama akyekyere Akokɔbeatan ne ne mma? Wubetumi asan Nyankrɛnte hama ana?
32 Can you tell the stars when they should shine? Can you guide [the stars in the groups in the northern sky whose names are] the Big Bear and the Little Bear?
Wubetumi de anɔpa nsoromma aba wɔ ne bere mu anaasɛ wubetumi ayi sisi ne ne mma afi hɔ?
33 Do you know the laws that the stars must obey? Can you cause those same laws to rule [everything here] on the earth?
So wunim mmara a ɛfa ɔsoro ho? Wubetumi de Onyankopɔn ahenni aba asase so ana?
34 “Can you shout to the clouds and cause rain to pour down on you?
“Wubetumi ama wo nne adu omununkum so na wode nsu akata wo ho ana?
35 Can you cause flashes of lightning to come down and strike where you want it to strike? Do those flashes say to you, ‘Where do you want us to strike next?’
Wutumi ma anyinam twa? Wɔka kyerɛ wo se, ‘Yenni’ ana?
36 Who enables the clouds to know when they should cause rain to fall?
Hena na ɔde nyansa ma koma anaasɛ ɔde ntease hyɛ adwene mu?
37 And who is skilled/wise enough to be able to count the clouds? Who can tilt the jugs of water in the sky [to cause the rain to fall],
Hena na ɔwɔ nyansa a wɔde kan omununkum? Hena na obetumi akyea ɔsoro nsu nkotoku,
38 with the result that the dry ground becomes hard as the dry (clods/lumps of soil) [become wet and] stick together?
bere a mfutuma ayɛ den ama dɔte atɔwatɔw keka bɔ mu.
39 “When a lioness and her cubs crouch in their dens or hide in a thicket, [waiting for some animal to pass by that they can kill, ] can you find animals for a lioness to kill so that [she and] her cubs can [eat the meat and] not be hungry any more?
“Wokɔ ahayɛ ma gyatabere ma gyata didi mee
bere a wobutubutuw wɔn abon ano anaasɛ wɔtetɛw adɔtɔ ase?
41 Who provides dead animals for crows, when the baby crows are calling out to me [for food], [when they are so weak] because of their lack of food [that] they (stagger around/can hardly stand up) [in their nests]?”
Hena na ɔma kwaakwaadabi aduan bere a ne mma su frɛ Onyankopɔn na wonni aduan nti wokyinkyin?
