Hiob 14
1 “Nnipa a ɔbea awo wɔn nna yɛ tiaa bi na ɔhaw ahyɛ mu mma.
Life is short and full of trouble,
2 Ɔfefɛw te sɛ nhwiren na etwintwam; ɔte sɛ sunsuma a ɛretwa mu akɔ, ɔntena hɔ nkyɛ.
like a flower that blooms and withers, like a passing shadow that soon disappears.
3 Woma wʼani kɔ saa onipa yi so? Wode no bɛba wʼanim abebu no atɛn ana?
Do you even notice me, God, and why do you have to drag me to court?
4 Hena na obetumi ayi nea ɛyɛ kronkron afi fi mu? Obiara nni hɔ.
Who can bring something clean of what is unclean? No one.
5 Woahyehyɛ onipa nkwa nna; woahyɛ nʼasram dodow ato hɔ na woahyɛ no bere a ɔrentumi ntra.
You have determined how long we shall live—the number of months, a time limit on our lives.
6 Enti yi wʼani fi ne so na ɔnyɛ nea ɔpɛ, kosi sɛ obewie nʼadwuma sɛ ɔpaani.
So leave us alone and give us some peace—so like a laborer we could enjoy a few hours of rest at the end of the day.
7 “Dua mpo anidaso wɔ hɔ ma no: Sɛ wotwa a, ɛbɛfefɛw bio, na ne mman foforo no rempenpan.
Even a tree that's cut down has the hope of sprouting again, of sending up shoots and continuing to live.
8 Ne ntin betumi anyin akyɛ asase mu na ne dunsin nso awu wɔ dɔte mu,
Even though its roots grow old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground,
9 nanso, onya nsu a ɛfefɛw, na eyiyi mman sɛ dua a wɔatɛw.
just a trickle of water will make it bud and grow branches like a young plant.
10 Nanso sɛ nnipa wu a wɔde no hyɛ fam; ɔhome nea etwa to a, na afei onni hɔ bio.
But human beings die, their strength dwindles away; they perish, and where are they then?
11 Sɛnea nsu tu yera wɔ po mu no, anaa sɛnea suka mu yowee no,
Like water evaporating from a lake and a river that dries up and disappears,
12 saa ara na onipa tɔ fam na ɔnsɔre bio; enkosi sɛ ɔsoro betwa mu no, nnipa rensɔre na wɔrennyan wɔn mfi wɔn nna mu.
so human beings lie down and don't get up again. Until the heavens cease to exist they will not awake from their sleep.
13 “Sɛ anka wode me besie ɔda mu de me ahintaw kosi sɛ wʼabufuw betwa mu! Sɛ anka wobɛhyɛ me bere na afei woakae me! (Sheol h7585)
I wish you would hide me in Sheol; conceal me there until your anger is gone. Set a definite time for me there, and remember me! (Sheol h7585)
14 Sɛ onipa wu a ɔbɛba nkwa mu bio ana? Mʼaperedi nna mu nyinaa mɛtwɛn akosi sɛ me foforoyɛ bɛba.
Will the dead live again? Then I would have hope through all my time of trouble until my release comes.
15 Wobɛfrɛ na megye wo so; wʼani begyina abɔde a wo nsa ayɛ.
You would call and I would answer you; you would long for me, the being that you made.
16 Afei wobɛkan mʼanammɔntu na worenni me bɔne akyi.
Then you would look after me and wouldn't be watching me to see if I sinned.
17 Wɔbɛsɔ me bɔne ano wɔ kotoku mu, na woakata mʼamumɔyɛ so.
My sins would be sealed up in a bag and you would cover my guilt.
18 “Nanso sɛnea mmepɔw so hohoro na ɛpompono na ɔbotan nso twe fi ne sibea no,
But just as the mountains crumble and fall, and the rocks tumble down;
19 sɛnea nsu yiyi abo ho na osuhweam twe dɔte kɔ no saa ara na wosɛe onipa anidaso.
as water wears away the stones, as floods wash away the soil, so you destroy the hope people have.
20 Wutintim ne so prɛko pɛ, na otwa mu kɔ; wosakra ne nipasu na wugya no kwan.
You continually overpower them and they pass away; you distort their faces in death and send them away.
21 Sɛ wɔhyɛ ne mmabarima anuonyam a, onnim; na sɛ wɔbrɛ wɔn ase a, onhu.
Their children may become important or fall from their positions, but they don't know or see any of this.
22 Ɔno ara were mu yaw na ɔtee na ɔno ara ne ho na ogyam.”
As people die they only know their own pain and are sad for themselves.”
