Hiob 9
1 Hiob ɖo eŋu nɛ gblɔ be,
Then Job replied,
2 “Vavã menya be esia nye nyateƒe, gake aleke amegbetɔ kodzogbea anɔ dzɔdzɔe le Mawu ŋkumee?
“Yes, I certainly know that [much of] what you said is true. But (how can anyone say to God, ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it?’/no one can say to God ‘I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong) and prove it.’) [RHQ]
3 Togbɔ be anye ame ƒe didi be yeahe nya kplii hã la, mate ŋu aɖo nya ɖeka pɛ hã ŋu nɛ le nya akpe dome o.
If someone wanted to argue with God [about that], God could ask him 1,000 questions, and that person would not be able to answer any of them!
4 Eƒe nunya de to, eƒe ŋusẽ keke ta, ame kae tso ɖe eŋu kpɔ gbe abixɔxɔ?
God is very wise [IDM] and very powerful; no one who has tried to challenge God has been able to win.
5 Emli towo ɖa gake womenya o eye wòtrɔ wo bu anyi le eƒe dziku me.
He even moves mountains, without them (OR, anyone) knowing about it. When he is angry, he turns them upside down.
6 Eʋuʋu anyigba le enɔƒe eye wòna eƒe sɔtiwo ʋuʋu kpekpekpe.
He sends earthquakes that shake the ground; he causes the pillars that support the earth to tremble.
7 Eƒoa nu na ɣe eye meklẽna o, etsɔa nu xea ɣletiviwo ŋkume ale be womeklẽna o.
[Some days] he speaks to the sun, and it does not rise, and [some nights] he prevents the stars from shining.
8 Eya ɖekae keke dziƒowo me eye wòzɔa ƒutsotsoewo dzi.
He alone (stretched out/put in place) the sky; he alone puts his feet on the waves (OR, on the huge sea monster).
9 Eyae wɔ ɣletivi siwo woyɔna be, Avutɔ, Koklovinɔ kple Atifieŋu kple dzieheɣletiviwo.
He put in their places [the clusters/groups of stars that are called] The Dipper/Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars in the southern sky.
10 Ewɔ nu dzɔtsu siwo me dzodzro meli o eye wòwɔ nukunu siwo mele xexlẽme o.
Only he does great things that we cannot understand; he does more marvelous things than we are able to count.
11 Ne eva to ŋunye yi la, nyemate ŋu akpɔe o, ne etso eme va yi la, nyemate ŋu adze sii o.
He passes by where I am, but I do not see him; he moves further on, but I do not see him go.
12 Ne exɔ nu le ame si sesẽtɔe la, ame kae ate ŋu aɖo asi edzi? Ame kae ate ŋu agblɔ nɛ be, ‘Nu kae nye ema wɔm nèle?’
If he [wants to] snatch something away, no one [RHQ] can hinder him; no one dares to ask him, ‘Why are you doing that?’ [RHQ]
13 Mawu meɖoa asi eƒe dziku dzi o, Rahab ƒe aʋakɔwo gɔ̃ hã bɔbɔ ɖe eƒe afɔ te.
God will not very easily stop being angry; he defeated [MTY] those who [tried to] help Rahab, [the great sea monster].
14 “Eya ta aleke nye ya mate ŋu aɖe ɖeklemie? Afi ka makpɔ nyawo le atsɔ ahe nya kplii?
“So, [if God took me to court], what could I say [MTY] to answer him?
15 Togbɔ be nyemedze agɔ o hã la, nyemate ŋu aɖo nya ŋu nɛ o. Kuku ko mate ŋu aɖe na nye Ʋɔnudrɔ̃la be wòakpɔ nublanui nam.
Even though I (would be innocent/would not have done what is wrong), I would not be able to answer him. All I could do would be to request God, my judge/accuser, to act mercifully toward me.
16 Ne meyɔe eye wòtɔ nam gɔ̃ hã la, nyemebu be aɖo tom o.
If I summoned him to [come to the courtroom] and he said that he would come, I would not believe that he would pay attention to what I would say.
17 Atsɔ ahomya agbãm gudugudu eye wòadzi nye abiwo ɖe edzi dzodzro.
He sends storms to batter me, and he bruises me many times (without any reason to do that/even though I am innocent).
18 Maɖe mɔ nam be magakpɔ gbɔdzɔe o, ke boŋ ana vevesese nakpɔ ŋusẽ ɖe dzinye.
[It is as though] he will not let me get/catch my breath, because he causes me to suffer all the time.
19 Ne ŋusẽ ƒe nya wònye la, kpɔ ɖa, ŋusẽtɔe wònye! Ke ne enye ʋɔnudɔdrɔ̃ ƒe nya la, ame kae akplɔe ayi ʋɔnui?
If I would try to (wrestle with/fight against) him, [there is no way that I could defeat him, ] [because] he is stronger than I am. If I would request him to appear in court, there is no one who could [RHQ] force him to go there.
20 Ne nyemeɖi fɔ o gɔ̃ hã la, nye nu abu fɔm, eye ne nyemedze agɔ o hã la, abu fɔm.
Even though I was innocent, what I would say would cause him to say that I must be punished [MTY]; even though I had not done anything wrong, he would prove that I am guilty.
21 “Togbɔ be nyemeɖi fɔ o hã la, nyemetsɔ ɖeke le eme na ɖokuinye o eye medo vlo nye ŋutɔ nye agbe.
“I have not done what is wrong, but that is not important. I despise continuing to remain alive.
22 Wo katã le ɖeka eya ta megblɔ be, ‘Etsrɔ̃a ame maɖifɔ kple ame vɔ̃ɖi la siaa.’
But it doesn’t matter, because God will get rid of [all of us, ] both those who are innocent and those who are wicked.
23 Ne ameƒoti he ku vɛ kpata la, eɖea alɔme le ame maɖifɔ ƒe mɔkpɔkpɔ bubu ŋuti.
When people experience disaster and it causes them to suddenly die, God laughs at it, even if they are innocent.
24 Ne anyigba aɖe ge ɖe ame vɔ̃ɖi ƒe asi me la, ekema etsyɔa nu mo na eƒe ʋɔnudrɔ̃lawo. Ne menye eyae o ɖe, ekema ame kae?
God has allowed wicked people to control [what happens in] the world. [It is as though] he has caused judges to be blindfolded, [with the result that they cannot judge fairly]. If it is not God who has put wicked people in control, who has done it?
25 “Nye ŋkekewo le du ɖim wu duƒula, wodzo dzo kabakaba dzidzɔ aɖeke manɔmee.
“My days go by very quickly, like a fast runner; [it is as though] they run away, and nothing good happens to me on those days.
26 Wozɔ mii va yi abe aƒlaʋuwo ene eye abe hɔ̃woe de agba anyi be yewoaƒo nu le anyigba ene.
My life goes by very rapidly, like a boat made from reeds sailing swiftly, or like an eagle that swoops down to seize a small animal.
27 Ne megblɔ be, ‘Maŋlɔ nye konyifafa be eye madzudzɔ adãɖoɖo, aɖo nukomo la,’
If I smile and say [to God], ‘I will forget what I am complaining about; I will stop looking sad and try to be cheerful/happy,’
28 ekema nye fukpekpewo katã doa ŋɔdzi nam elabena menyae be màbum fɔmaɖilae o.
then I become afraid because of all that I am suffering, because I know that God does not consider that I am innocent.
29 Esi wobum fɔɖilae xoxo ɖe, nu ka tae maganɔ ʋiʋlim dzodzro?
He will (condemn me/declare that I should be punished), so why should I keep trying in vain [to defend myself]?
30 Ne mele tsi kple tsiledzalẽ eye metsɔ nunyadzalẽ klɔ asi gɔ̃ hã la,
If I washed myself with snow or cleansed my hands with lye/soap [to get rid of my guilt],
31 aganyrɔm ɖe anyiʋe me, ale be manyɔ ŋu na nye awuwo gɔ̃ hã.
he would still throw me into a filthy pit; as a result [it would be as though] even my clothes would detest me.
32 “Menye amee wònye abe nye ene ne maɖo nya ŋu nɛ, be makplɔe ayi ʋɔnui ahe nya kplii o.
“God is not a human, as I am, so there is no way that I could answer him [to prove that I am innocent] if we went together to have a trial [in a courtroom].
33 Ne ame aɖe ɖe wòli aƒo nu le mía dome, ada asi ɖe mí ame evea dzi
There is no one to (mediate/hear us and decide who is right), no one who has authority over both of us [IDM].
34 ame si aɖe Mawu ƒe ameƒoti ɖa le ŋutinye, ale be eƒe ŋɔdzi magado vɔvɔ̃ nam o la, ne anyo.
I wish/desire that he would stop punishing [MTY] me, and that he would not continue to terrify me.
35 Ekema maƒo nu na eya amea mavɔmavɔ̃e, gake abe ale si wòle nam fifia ene la, nyemate ŋui o.”
If he did that, I would declare [that I am innocent] without being afraid of him, because I know that I really have not [done what is wrong like God thinks that I have].”
