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 fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in 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 lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t 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 don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
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 and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself 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 the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?
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 more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but 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.
Be subject therefore to God. 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. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Milé blanui, mifa konyi, eye mifa avi. Mina miaƒe nukoko nazu konyifafa, eye miaƒe dzidzɔkpɔkpɔ nazu blanuiléle.
Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Mibɔbɔ mia ɖokui na Aƒetɔ la, ekema ado mi ɖe dzi.
Humble yourselves 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.
Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against 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?
Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?
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.”
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city and spend a year there, trade, and make a 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.
Yet you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
15 Ke boŋ migblɔ be, “Nenye Aƒetɔ la ƒe lɔlɔ̃nu la, míanɔ agbe, eye míawɔ nu si kple ekemɛ.”
For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and 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 glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil.
17 eya ta ne ame aɖe nya nu nyui si wòle be wòawɔ, gake mewɔe o la, ewɔ nu vɔ̃.
To him therefore who knows to do good and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.
