Hiob 24
1 “Adɛn nti na Onyankopɔn nhyɛ bere mma atemmu? Adɛn nti na ɛsɛ sɛ wɔn a wonim no no hwɛ saa da no anim nanso ɛmma da?
“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
2 Nnipa yiyi abo a wɔde ato ɔhye; na wɔde nguankuw a wɔawia kɔ hɔ adidi.
Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
3 Wɔpam ayisaa mfurum na wogye akunafo anantwi sɛ awowaside.
They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 Wosum ahiafo fi kwan so na wɔhyɛ asase no so ahiafo ma wɔkɔtetɛw.
They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Sɛnea sare so mfurum yɛ no saa ara na ahiafo no yɛ wɔn adwuma de pɛ aduan; asase kesee no so na wonya aduan ma wɔn mma.
Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go to work foraging for food; the wasteland is food for their children.
6 Wɔboaboa mmoa aduan ano wɔ mfuw no so na wodi mpɛpɛ wɔ amumɔyɛfo bobe nturo mu.
They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Wonni ntama, na wɔda adagyaw anadwo; wonni hwee a wɔde kata wɔn ho wɔ awɔw mu.
Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
8 Mmepɔw so osu tɔ fɔw wɔn kyam na wɔtetare abotan no ho, efisɛ wonni nnae.
Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
9 Wɔtew ayisaa fi nufu ano; na wɔfa ohiani abotafowa de si ne ka anan mu.
The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 Wɔnenam adagyaw a wonni ntama; wɔsoa awi afiafi, nanso ɔkɔm de wɔn ara.
Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 Wokyi ngo wɔn adan mu; wotiatia nsakyiamoa mu, nanso osukɔm de wɔn.
They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
12 Wɔn a wɔrewuwu no apinisi fi kuropɔn no mu, na apirafo kra su pɛ mmoa. Nanso Onyankopɔn mfa bɔne nto obiara so.
From the city, men groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out, yet God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13 “Ebinom wɔ hɔ a wɔsɔre tia hann no, wɔn a wonnim nʼakwan anaasɛ wɔnnantew nʼatempɔn so no.
Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
14 Sɛ adekyee hann no kɔ a, owudifo no sɔre na okum ohiani ne mmɔborɔni; anadwo, mu owiawia ne ho sɛ ɔkorɔmfo.
When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
15 Ɔwaresɛefo twɛn bere a anim rebiribiri; ɔka se, ‘obiara renhu me,’ na ɔde nʼanim hintaw.
The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
16 Sum mu na nnipa bubu apon wura afi mu, na adekyee, wɔtoto wɔn ho apon mu; wɔne hann nni hwee yɛ.
In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
17 Sum kabii yɛ adekyee ma wɔn nyinaa; wɔne sum mu nneɛma a ɛyɛ hu fa nnamfo.
For to them, deep darkness is their morning; surely they are friends with the terrors of darkness!
18 “Nanso wɔte sɛ ahuru a ɛte nsu ani; wɔadome wɔn kyɛfa wɔ asase no so, enti obiara nkɔ bobe nturo no mu.
They are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards.
19 Sɛnea ɔhyew ne ɔpɛ hwim sukyerɛmma a anan kɔ no, saa ara na ɔda de wɔn a wɔayɛ bɔne kɔ ne no. (Sheol h7585)
As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 Awotwaa werɛ fi wɔn, na osunson di wɔn nam; nnipa bɔne de wɔnnkae wɔn bio na mmom wobubu te sɛ dua.
The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.
21 Wɔde ɔbea bonin a onni ba yɛ hanam, na wonhu akunafo mmɔbɔ.
They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
22 Onyankopɔn nam ne tumi so twe atumfo kɔ; ɛwɔ mu sɛ wonya asetena pa de, nanso wonni nkwa ho bɔhyɛ.
Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
23 Otumi ma wɔn tena ase asomdwoe mu, nanso nʼani wɔ wɔn akwan so.
He gives them a sense of security, but His eyes are on their ways.
24 Wɔma wɔn so bere tiaa bi, na afei wonni hɔ bio; wɔbrɛ wɔn ase boaboa wɔn ano sɛ nnipa nyinaa; wotwitwa wɔn gu te sɛ aburow ti.
They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.
25 “Sɛ eyi nte saa a, hena na obetumi agye me akyinnye na ama nea maka no ayɛ nsɛnhunu?”
If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
