Hiob 20
1 Tete Naamatitɔ, Zofar ɖo eŋu nɛ be,
Then Zophar replied,
2 “Nu siwo le fu ɖem na nye susue dɔm be maɖo eŋu na wò elabena metsi dzi le ɖokuinye me ŋutɔ.
“I am very perturbed about what you have said, so I want to reply very quickly.
3 Mese mokaname aɖe si ɖe bubu le ŋunye, eye nye gɔmesese de dzi ƒo nam be maɖo nyawo ŋu.
By saying these things you have insulted me, but I know how (OR, because I understand very much) I can reply to you.
4 “Meka ɖe edzi be ènya ale si wònɔ tso blema, tso ɣeyiɣi si ke wowɔ amegbetɔ da ɖe anyigba dzi be
“Do you not know that from long ago, ever since people were first put on the earth,
5 ame vɔ̃ɖiwo ƒe nukoko nu mesena yina o, eye Mawumavɔ̃lawo ƒe aseyetsotso nɔa anyi ɣeyiɣi kpui aɖe ko.
wicked people [like you] do not continue to rejoice for a long time, ungodly people are happy only for a (moment/very short time) [HYP]?
6 Togbɔ be eƒe dada yi ɖatɔ dziƒo, eƒe ta yi ɖatɔ lilikpowo ke hã la,
[Even] though their reputation/pride reaches up to the sky and their fame goes up as high as the clouds,
7 atsrɔ̃ gbidii abe eya ŋutɔ ƒe afɔdzi ene eye ame siwo kpɔe la agblɔ be, ‘Afi ka wòle?’
they will disappear forever, like their own dung, and those who knew them will ask, ‘(Where did they go/What happened to them)?’
8 Edzona dzona abe drɔ̃e ene, womagakpɔe o eye wòabu abe ŋutega si wokpɔ le zã me ene.
They will be forgotten like [SIM] a dream is, and they will exist no more. They will vanish, like visions [that people see] during the night.
9 Ŋku si kpɔe la magakpɔe akpɔ o, eye eƒe nɔƒe hã magakpɔe akpɔ o.
Those who saw those people previously will never see them again; even their families [MTY] will not see them any more.
10 Ele be viawo nawɔ ɖɔɖɔɖo anyo dɔ me na ame dahewo, eya ŋutɔ ƒe asiwo aɖe asi le eƒe kesinɔnuwo ŋu.
Their children will be forced to return the valuable things that those children stole from poor people [DOU].
11 Ɖekakpuimeŋusẽ dzodzoe si yɔ eƒe ƒuwo me la aku kplii ayi ke me.
Previously their bodies were young and strong, but they will die and [their bodies will] be buried in the ground.
12 “Togbɔ be nu vɔ̃ɖi vivi le eƒe nu me, eye wòɣlae ɖe eƒe aɖe te,
“Doing wicked things was like having sweet food in their mouths, and they wanted to continue to taste it.
13 togbɔ be mate ŋu aɖe asi le eŋu o eye wòbe ɖe nu me nɛ hã la,
And they did not want to stop doing those things,
14 eƒe nuɖuɖu ave le eƒe dɔ me, eye wòazu da ƒe aɖi le eƒe dɔgbowo me.
[but some day] the evil things that they enjoyed doing will become like food [that they swallow] [and which becomes] as bitter as snake venom.
15 Atu kesinɔnu siwo wòmi la aƒu gbe. Mawu ana eƒe dɔgbowo nadzɔ wo katã aƒo ɖi.
Wicked people will not continue to keep the money they have accumulated, like people do not keep the food that they vomit. God takes their wealth from them.
16 Eno da ƒe aɖi eye ƒli ƒe aɖi awui.
What wicked people do is [like] [MET] swallowing snake venom; it will kill them like [MET] the bite of a poisonous snake kills people.
17 Makpɔ gome le tɔʋu kple tɔsisi siwo me anyitsi kple notsi babla le sisim le la me o.
They will not remain alive to see abundant blessings [IDM] [from God], milk and olive oil and honey, that are [so abundant they are] like [MET] a stream that flows by.
18 Maɖu nu siwo ŋu wòdze agbagba le o, ke boŋ atsɔ wo ana eye maɖu viɖe si do tso eƒe asitsatsa hã me o
They will be forced to give back the things that they stole from the poor; they will not be able to continue to enjoy those things. They will not remain happy because of what they got from their businesses,
19 elabena ete ame dahewo ɖe to wozu hiãtɔwo eye wòxɔ aƒe siwo metu o.
because they oppressed poor people and refused to help them, and they took other people’s houses [by cheating them].
20 “Vavã makpɔ gbɔdzɔe le eƒe nudzodzrowo me o eye maɖe eɖokui to eƒe nunɔamesiwo dzi o.
“They were always greedy and never satisfied. They just keep dreaming about owning more and more things.
21 Naneke masusɔ nɛ esi wòavuvu o eƒe kesinɔnuwo matɔ ɖi o.
When they finished eating their food, there was never anything left over [because they had greedily eaten it all]; but now their prosperity will end.
22 Le eƒe nukpɔkpɔ gbogboawo dome la, xaxa ava edzi eye hiãtuame ƒe ŋusẽ katã ava edzi.
When they are extremely prosperous/wealthy, they will suddenly experience a lot of trouble. (Misery will strike them and crush them [PRS]/They will suffer very greatly).
23 Ne eƒe ƒodo yɔ nyuie la Mawu atrɔ eƒe dziku bibi akɔ ɖe edzi eye wòana eƒe dɔmedzoe nadza ɖe edzi.
When the wicked people are filling their stomachs, God will show that he is very angry with them and punish them; the punishment [that he gives them] will be like [MET] rain falling on them.
24 Togbɔ be esi le gayibɔlãnu nu hã la, akɔbliŋutrɔ ƒo ɖee.
They will try to escape from [being killed by] iron weapons, but arrows with bronze points will pierce them.
25 Eɖee do goe tso eƒe lãme eye wòho eƒe tsutsyɔeƒe le eƒe aklã me. Ŋɔdzi alée,
The arrows will [go completely through their bodies and] stick out of their backs; the shiny points of the arrows will have blood dripping from them, and those wicked people will be terrified.
26 eye viviti tsiɖitsiɖi le eƒe kesinɔnuwo lalam. Dzo si womeƒlɔ ɖo o la afiae eye wòabi nu si susɔ ɖe eƒe agbadɔ me la keŋkeŋkeŋ.
Their valuable possessions will all be destroyed; a fire that is not lit by humans, [but by God, ] will burn them up and also destroy the things that are left in their tents.
27 Dziƒo aɖe eƒe vodada ɖe go eye anyigba atso ɖe eŋu.
The [angels in] heaven [MTY] will reveal the sins that those wicked people have committed, and [people on] earth will stand up and testify against them.
28 Tsiɖɔɖɔ akplɔ eƒe aƒe adzoe eye le Mawu ƒe dɔmedzoeŋkeke la dzi la, tsi sisiwo akplɔe adzoe.
When God punishes [MTY] [people], all the possessions in the wicked people’s houses will be carried away by a flood.
29 Esia nye gomekpɔkpɔ si Mawu ɖo ɖi na ame vɔ̃ɖiwo, eye wònye domenyinu tso Mawu gbɔ na wo.”
That is what will happen to wicked people [like you]; that is what God has decided will happen to them.”
