Nnwom 42
1 Koramma “maskil” dwom. Sɛnea ɔforote pere hwehwɛ nsuwansuwa no, saa ara na me kra pere hwehwɛ wo, me Nyankopɔn.
Deer pant, desiring to drink water from a stream [when there is a drought] (OR, [when they are being pursued by hunters].) In the same way [SIM], God, I need you very much.
2 Onyankopɔn ho sukɔm de me kra, Onyankopɔn teasefo no. Da bɛn na metumi akohyia Onyankopɔn?
I desire to have fellowship with [MET] you, the all-powerful God. [I wonder], “When will I be able to go [back to the temple in Israel] and worship in your presence again?”
3 Me nisu ayɛ mʼaduan awia ne anadwo, na da mu nyinaa nnipa bisa me se: “Wo Nyankopɔn wɔ he?”
Every day and every night I cry; [it is as though] the only thing I have to drink is my tears; and while I do that, my enemies are continually asking me, “Why does your god not [help you]?”
4 Saa nneɛma yi na mekae bere a mereka me koma mu nsɛm; sɛnea na midi asafokuw anim, na yɛde anigye nteɛteɛmu ne aseda nnwom nantew yuu bɔ mu kɔ Onyankopɔn fi wɔ afahyɛ da no.
I am very distressed [IDM] as I remember when I went with the crowd of people to the temple [in Jerusalem], leading them as we walked along; we were all shouting joyfully and singing to thank God [for what he had done]; we were a large group who were celebrating.
5 Me kra, adɛn, na woabotow? Adɛn na woayɛ basaa wɔ me mu saa? Fa wo ho to Onyankopɔn so, na mɛkɔ so ayi no ayɛ, mʼAgyenkwa ne me Nyankopɔn.
So [I say to] myself, “(Why am I sad and discouraged?/I should not be sad and discouraged!) [RHQ] I confidently expect God [to help me], and again I will praise him, my God, the one who saves me.”
6 Me kra abotow wɔ me mu, enti mɛkae wo fi Yordan asase so, Hermon mmepɔw so, fi Bepɔw Misar so.
[But now, Yahweh], I am very discouraged [IDM], so I think about you, even from where the Jordan [River] gushes out from the bottom of Hermon [Mountain] and from Mizar Mountain.
7 Ebun kɔ bun mu wɔ wo nsu a ɛworo gu no nnyigyei mu; wʼasorɔkye nyinaa abu afa me so.
But here, the great sorrow that I feel is like water that you send down [MET]; [it is like] a waterfall that tumbles down and floods over me.
8 Adekyee mu, Awurade kyerɛ nʼadɔe, adesae mu, ne dwom ba me nkyɛn, mpae a mebɔ srɛ me nkwa Nyankopɔn.
Yahweh shows me each day that he faithfully loves me, and each night I sing to him and pray to him, the God who causes me to live.
9 Mibisa Onyankopɔn, me Botan no se, “Adɛn nti na wo werɛ afi me? Adɛn nti na ɛsɛ sɛ menantenantew twa adwo, mʼatamfo nhyɛso nti?”
I say to God, [who is like] an [overhanging] rock [under which I can hide] [MET], “It seems that you have forgotten me. I (mourn/cry) constantly because my enemies act cruelly toward me” [RHQ].
10 Me nnompe te ɔdesani yawdi, mʼahohiahiafo ateetee nti, daa nyinaa wobisa me se, “Wo Nyankopɔn wɔ he?”
They make fun of me constantly; they continually ask, “Why does your god not help you?” [RHQ] And when they insult me [like that], [it is like] wounds that I feel even in my bones.
11 Me kra, adɛn, na woabotow? Adɛn na woayɛ basaa wɔ me mu saa? Fa wo ho to Onyankopɔn so, na mɛkɔ so ayi no ayɛ, mʼAgyenkwa ne me Nyankopɔn.
But [I think, ] “(Why am I sad and discouraged?/I should not be sad and discouraged!) [RHQ] I will confidently expect God [to help me], and I will praise him again, my God, the one who saves me.”
