Hiob 4
1 Na Temanni Elifas buaa Hiob se,
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “Sɛ obi pɛ sɛ ɔne wo kasa a, worennya ntoboase ana? Hena na wobetumi aka nʼano ato mu?
“If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied? Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Dwene sɛnea wakyerɛkyerɛ nnipa bebree, sɛnea woahyɛ nsa a emu ayɛ mmerɛw no den.
Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
4 Wo nsɛm ahyɛ wɔn a wɔahintiw no den; woahyɛ nkotodwe a ayɛ mmerɛw mu den.
Your words have steadied those who stumbled; you have braced the knees that were buckling.
5 Na afei a ɔhaw aba no, wʼaba mu abu; adwira wo, na wo werɛ ahow.
But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary. It strikes you, and you are dismayed.
6 So ɛnsɛ sɛ wo nyamesuro yɛ wʼahotoso na wʼakwan a ɛho nni asɛm no yɛ wʼanidaso ana?
Is your reverence not your confidence, and the uprightness of your ways your hope?
7 “Dwene ho: Wɔasɛe obi a ne ho nni asɛm pɛn ana? Ɛhefa na wɔsɛee obi a ɔyɛ pɛ?
Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?
8 Sɛnea mahu no, wɔn a wofuntum bɔne ne wɔn a wodua ɔhaw no twa so aba.
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
9 Onyankopɔn home ano, wɔsɛe; nʼabufuw turuw a wɔyera.
By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
10 Gyata betumi abobɔ mu na wɔaworo so, nanso wɔabubu gyata akɛse no se.
The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 Gyata annya hanam a owu, na gyatabere mma no bɔ hwete.
The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12 “Wɔbɛkaa kokoamsɛm bi kyerɛɛ me na mʼaso tee no sɛ asomsɛm.
Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.
13 Wɔ anadwo daeso basabasa mu, bere a nnipa adeda nnahɔɔ no,
In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
14 ehu ne nketenkete kyeree me ɛmaa me nnompe nyinaa wosowee.
fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder.
15 Honhom bi twaa mʼani so, na me ho nwi sɔre gyinae.
Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled.
16 Egyinae, nanso, manhu nʼabɔsu. Biribi begyinaa mʼanim, na metee nne bɔkɔɔ bi a ɛrebisa se,
It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:
17 ‘Onipa desani betumi ateɛ asen Onyankopɔn? Na mpo ɔhoɔdenfo betumi ayɛ kronkron asen ne Yɛfo ana?
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?
18 Sɛ Onyankopɔn ntumi mfa ne ho nto nʼankasa asomfo so, sɛ ɔka nʼabɔfo mfomso kyerɛ wɔn a,
If God puts no trust in His servants, and He charges His angels with error,
19 na nkantom wɔn a wɔtete dɔte afi mu, wɔn a wɔn fapem sisi mfutuma mu na wɔdwerɛw wɔn ntɛm so sen abubummaba!
how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!
20 Efi anɔpahema kosi anwummere wobubu wɔn mu nketenkete; na wɔyera korakora a obiara nhu wɔn bio.
They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever.
21 So wommiamia wɔn ntamadan ahama mu, a ɛno nti wowuwu a wonni nyansa ana?’
Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’
