Yakobo 4
1 Nu kae hea avuwɔwɔ kple dzrewɔwɔ vaa mia dome? Ɖe menye miaƒe dzimedidi siwo le aʋa wɔm le mia me lae oa?
Where do wars and contentions among you come from? Is it not from this: from your own desires, which battle within your members?
2 Miedia nu, gake miekpɔnɛ o, miewua ame, xɔa eƒe nuwo, gake nu si dim miele la masu mia si o. Miewɔa dzre, eye miewɔa avu hã, gake nuawo mesua mia si o, elabena miebiaa Mawu o.
You desire, and you do not have. You envy and you kill, and you are unable to obtain. You argue and you fight, and you do not have, because you do not ask.
3 Ne miebia la, miaƒe asi mesua edzi o, elabe miebia kple susu vɔ̃ɖi, miebia nu siwo miawɔ yakayaka na mía ɖokuiwo.
You ask and you do not receive, because you ask badly, so that you may use it toward your own desires.
4 Mi ahasiwɔlawo! Ɖe mienya be ne miedze xɔlɔ̃ xexea me la, ekema mielé fu Mawu oa? Ame sia ame si dze xɔlɔ̃ xexea me la nye Mawu ƒe futɔ.
You adulterers! Do you not know that the friendship of this world is hostile to God? Therefore, whoever has chosen to be a friend of this world has been made into an enemy of God.
5 Alo ɖe miesusu be dzodzroe mawunya gblɔ be gbɔgbɔ si wòde mía me la ʋãa ŋu veviea?
Or do you think that Scripture says in vain: “The spirit which lives within you desires unto envy?”
6 Ke ena amenuveve geɖe mí. Esia ta mawunya gblɔ be, “Mawu tsia tsitre ɖe dadalawo ŋu, ke evea ame siwo bɔbɔa wo ɖokui la nu.”
But he gives a greater grace. Therefore he says: “God resists the arrogant, but he gives grace to the humble.”
7 Eya ta mibɔbɔ mia ɖokuiwo ɖe Mawu te. Mitsi tsitre sesĩe ɖe Abosam ŋuti, ekema asi le mia nu.
Therefore, be subject to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Mite ɖe Mawu ŋu kpokploe, eye eya hã atsɔ ɖe mia gbɔ. Mi, nu vɔ̃ wɔlawo, miklɔ miaƒe asiwo, eye mi ame siwo nye dzi eve me susulawo la, miklɔ miaƒe dziwo me.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners! And purify your hearts, you duplicitous souls!
9 Milé blanui, mifa konyi, eye mifa avi. Mina miaƒe nukoko nazu konyifafa, eye miaƒe dzidzɔkpɔkpɔ nazu blanuiléle.
Be afflicted: mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your gladness into sorrow.
10 Mibɔbɔ mia ɖokui na Aƒetɔ la, ekema ado mi ɖe dzi.
Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Nɔviwo, migagblẽ mia nɔewo ŋu o, ame si gblẽ nɔvia ŋu alo drɔ̃ ʋɔnui la tsi tsitre ɖe se la ŋu hedrɔ̃ ʋɔnui. Ne èdrɔ̃ ʋɔnu se la la, mèle edzi wɔm o, ke boŋ ènɔ ʋɔnudrɔ̃zikpui dzi hele ʋɔnu drɔ̃m se la.
Brothers, do not choose to slander one another. Whoever slanders his brother, or whoever judges his brother, slanders the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 Senala kple ʋɔnudrɔ̃la ɖeka koe li, ame si tea ŋu ɖea ame, eye wotsrɔ̃a ame hã. Ke wò la, ame ka nènye be nàdrɔ̃ ʋɔnu hawòvi?
There is one lawgiver and one judge. He is able to destroy, and he is able to set free.
13 Azɔ la, miɖo to nyuie, mi ame siwo le gbɔgblɔm be, “Egbe alo etsɔ míayi du si alo ekemɛ me, anɔ anyi ƒe ɖeka, atsa asi, eye míakpɔ ga.”
But who are you to judge your neighbor? Consider this, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into that city, and certainly we will spend a year there, and we will do business, and we will make our profit,”
14 Nu ka ta? Elabena mienya nu si ava adzɔ etsɔ si gbɔna la gɔ̃ hã o. Nu ka miaƒe agbe nye? Miele abe afu si dona ɣeyiɣi kpui aɖe, eye wògabuna la ene.
consider that you do not know what will be tomorrow.
15 Ke boŋ migblɔ be, “Nenye Aƒetɔ la ƒe lɔlɔ̃nu la, míanɔ agbe, eye míawɔ nu si kple ekemɛ.”
For what is your life? It is a mist that appears for a brief time, and afterwards will vanish away. So what you ought to say is: “If the Lord wills,” or, “If we live,” we will do this or that.
16 Ke nu si miewɔna la nye dada kple ɖokuidodoɖedzi ƒuƒlu. Adegbeƒoƒo siawo tɔgbi katã nye nu vɔ̃,
But now you exult in your arrogance. All such exultation is wicked.
17 eya ta ne ame aɖe nya nu nyui si wòle be wòawɔ, gake mewɔe o la, ewɔ nu vɔ̃.
Therefore, he who knows that he ought to do a good thing, and does not do it, for him it is a sin.
