Hiob 12
1 Na Hiob buae se,
Then Job said [to his three friends],
2 “Akyinnye nni ho, mo ne nnipa no na muwu a na nyansa asa!
“You (talk as though/You think) [SAR] that you are the people [whom everyone should listen to], and that when you die, there will be no more wise people.
3 Nanso mewɔ adwene sɛ mo ara monnsen me. Hena na onnim saa nneɛma yi nyinaa?
But I have as much good sense as you do; I am (not less wise than/certainly as wise as [LIT]) you. Certainly everyone knows [RHQ] all that you have said.
4 “Mayɛ aserewde ama me nnamfonom, mefrɛɛ Onyankopɔn na obuae, aserewde teta bi, nanso meteɛ na me ho nni asɛm.
My friends all laugh at me now. Previously I habitually requested God to help me, and he answered/helped me. I am righteous, a very godly man [DOU], but everyone laughs at me.
5 Nnipa a wɔn ho tɔ wɔn no bu amanehunu animtiaa sɛnea wobu wɔn a wɔn nan rewatiri no awiei animtiaa no.
Those [like you] who have no troubles make fun of me; they cause those [like me] who are already suffering to have more troubles.
6 Wɔmmfa wɔn nsa nka akorɔmfo ntamadan, na wɔn a woyi Onyankopɔn abufuw wɔ bammɔ na Onyankopɔn bɔ nea ɔde ma wɔn ho ban.
Bandits live peacefully, and no one threatens those who cause God to become angry; their own strength is the god [that they worship].
7 “Bisa mmoa no, na wɔbɛkyerɛ wo anaasɛ wim nnomaa no, na wɔbɛka akyerɛ wo
“But ask the wild animals [what they know about God], and [if they could speak] they would teach you. [If you could] ask the birds, they would tell you.
8 anaasɛ kasa kyerɛ asase, na ɛbɛkyerɛ wo, anaasɛ ma po mu mpataa nka nkyerɛ wo.
[If you could] ask the creatures [that crawl] on the ground, or the fish in the sea, they would tell you [about God].
9 Wɔn nyinaa mu hena na onnim sɛ Awurade nsa na ayɛ eyi.
All of them certainly know [RHQ] that it is Yahweh who has made them with his hands.
10 Ne nsam na abɔde nyinaa home wɔ ne adesamma nyinaa home.
He directs the lives of all living creatures; he gives breath to all [us] humans [to enable us to remain alive].
11 So aso nsɔ nsɛm nhwɛ sɛnea tɛkrɛma ka aduan hwɛ no ana?
And when we [SYN] hear what other people [like you] say, we [RHQ] think carefully about what they say [to determine what is good and what is bad], like we [SYN] taste food [to determine what is good and what is bad].
12 Wonnya nyansa mfi mpanyin nkyɛn, na ɛnyɛ onyinkyɛ na ɛde ntease ba ana?
Old people are [often] very wise, and because of having lived many years, they understand much,
13 “Nyansa ne tumi yɛ Onyankopɔn de; afotu ne ntease yɛ ne dea.
but God is wise and very powerful; he has good sense and understands [everything].
14 Nea obubu gu no, obiara rentumi nsi; nea ɔde no to afiase no, obiara rentumi nyi no.
If he tears [something] down, no one can rebuild it; if he puts someone in prison, no one can open [the prison doors to allow that person to escape].
15 Sɛ ɔma osu gyae tɔ a, asase no so yɛ wosee; sɛ ogyaa osutɔ mu a, ɛsɛe asase no.
When he prevents rain from falling, everything dries up. When he causes a lot of rain to fall, [the result is that] there are floods.
16 Ahoɔden ne nkonimdi yɛ ne de osisifo ne nea wosisi no no nso yɛ ne de.
He is the one who is truly strong and wise; he rules over those who deceive others and those whom they deceive.
17 Ɔpa afotufo ho ntama ma wɔkɔ na ɔma atemmufo yɛ nkwasea.
He [sometimes] causes [the king’s] officials to no longer be wise, and he causes judges to become foolish.
18 Ɔworɔw ahemfo nkyehama na ɔde abɔso bɔ wɔn asen.
He takes from kings the robes that they wear and puts loincloths around their waists, [causing them to become slaves].
19 Ɔpa asɔfo ho ntama, na otu nnipa a wɔn ase atim akyɛ gu.
He takes from priests the sacred clothes that they wear, [with the result that they no longer can do their work], and takes power from those who rule others.
20 Ɔka afotufo a wogye wɔn di no kasaboa hyɛ, na ogye mpanyimfo nhumu.
He [sometimes] causes those whom others trust to be unable to speak, and he causes old men to no longer have good sense.
21 Ɔde animguase gu atitiriw so na otintim gye ahoɔdenfo nsam akode.
He causes those who have authority to be despised, and he causes those who are powerful to no longer have any power/strength.
22 Ɔda sum mu nneɛma a ahintaw adi na ɔde sum kabii ba hann mu.
He causes things that are hidden in the darkness to be revealed.
23 Ɔyɛ aman akɛse, na ɔsɛe wɔn; ɔtrɛw aman mu, na ɔhwete wɔn mu.
He causes some nations to become very great, and [later] he destroys them; he causes the territory of some nations to become much larger, and [later] he causes them to be defeated and their people to be scattered.
24 Ogye wiase akannifo adwene fi wɔn nsam; na ɔma wokyinkyin asase wosee a ɔkwan nna so so.
He causes [some] rulers to become foolish/stupid, and then he causes them to wander around, lost, in an barren desert.
25 Wɔkeka wɔ sum mu a wonni kanea; na ɔma wɔtɔ ntintan sɛ asabowfo.”
They grope around in the darkness, without any light, and he causes them to stagger like [SIM] people who are drunk.”
