Hiob 21
1 Na Hiob buaa sɛ,
Then Job replied,
2 “Montie me nsɛm no yie. Momma yei nyɛ awerɛkyekyerɛ a mode ma me.
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Monnya ntoboaseɛ mma me ɛberɛ a merekasa, na sɛ mekasa wie a, monkɔso nni fɛ.
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 “Me nwiinwii hyɛ onipa anaa? Adɛn enti na ɛsɛ sɛ menya ntoboaseɛ?
“It is certainly not [RHQ] people against whom I am complaining, [but God] And it is certainly [RHQ] right for me to be impatient!
5 Monhwɛ me, na mo ho nnwiri mo; momfa mo nsa nkata mo ano.
Look at me! Does what you see not cause you to be appalled and to put your hands over your mouths [and say no more]?
6 Sɛ medwene yei ho a, mebɔ hu; na me ho popo.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 Adɛn enti na amumuyɛfoɔ tena nkwa mu? Wɔnyini kyɛ na wɔkɔ so di tumi.
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Wɔhunu wɔn mma a atwa wɔn ho ahyia no nkɔsoɔ, wɔhunu wɔn nananom.
They have their children around them, and they watch them while they [grow up and] start to live in their own houses, and they enjoy their grandchildren.
9 Ɔhaw nni wɔn afie na ehu nni hɔ; Onyankopɔn asotwe mma wɔn so.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 Wɔn anantwinini nyɛ akrawa; na wɔn anantwibereɛ wo a, wɔmpɔn.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 Wɔka wɔn mma bɔ mu te sɛ nnwankuo; na emu mmotafowa no hurihuri.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 Wɔto nnwom wɔ akasaeɛ ne sankuo so; na wɔde atɛntɛbɛn nnyegyeeɛ gye wɔn ani.
Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
Wicked people enjoy having good things all the time that they are alive, and they die quietly/peacefully and go down to the place of the dead. (Sheol h7585)
14 Nanso wɔka kyerɛ Onyankopɔn sɛ, ‘Firi yɛn so! Yɛmpɛ sɛ yɛhunu wʼakwan.
While they are alive, they say to God, ‘Do not bother us; we do not want to know how you want us to conduct our lives!
15 Hwan ne otumfoɔ no a ɛsɛ sɛ yɛsom no? Sɛ yɛbɔ no mpaeɛ a mfasoɔ bɛn na yɛbɛnya?’
Why do you, Almighty God, think that we should serve you? (What advantage do we get if we pray to you?/It is useless for us to pray to you.) [RHQ]’
16 Nanso, wɔn nkɔsoɔ no nni wɔn nsam, enti metwe me ho firi amumuyɛfoɔ afutuo ho.
Think about it: Wicked people think that it is because of what they have done that they have become prosperous, but I do not understand why they think like that.
17 “Nanso mpɛn ahe na wɔdum amumuyɛfoɔ kanea? Mpɛn ahe na amanehunu ba wɔn so, deɛ Onyankopɔn firi nʼabufuo mu de ba no?
(“How often does it happen that wicked people die [MET] before they are old?/Very seldom do wicked people die [MET] before they are old.) [RHQ] (Do they ever experience disasters?/They seldom experience disasters.) [RHQ] (Does God ever punish them because of being very angry with them?/God never punishes them because of being very angry with them.) [RHQ]
18 Mpɛn ahe na wɔyɛ sɛ ɛserɛ wɔ mframa ano, te sɛ ntɛtɛ a mframa den bi apra wɔn?
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 Wɔka sɛ, ‘Onyankopɔn kora onipa asotwe so de twɛn ne mma.’ Ɛsɛ sɛ ɔtwe ɔnipa no ankasa aso ma ɔhunu.
You say, ‘When people have committed sins, God waits and punishes their children because of those sins;’ but [I say that] God should punish those who sin, [not their children, ] in order that the sinners will know [that it is because of their own sins that they are being punished].
20 Ma wɔn ankasa ani nhunu wɔn sɛeɛ; ma Otumfoɔ abufuhyeɛ no nka wɔn ani.
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 Wɔn abusuafoɔ a wɔagya wɔn akyire no renya hwee nʼagyapadeɛ nyinaa bɛsɛe.
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 “Obi bɛtumi akyerɛ Onyankopɔn nyansa, wɔ ɛberɛ a ɔbu atitire mpo atɛn?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 Obi wu wɔ ɛberɛ a ɔwɔ ahoɔden; ne ho tɔ no na nʼaso mu adwo no,
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 na ne onipadua yɛ frɔmm, na ɛhon ahyɛ ne nnompe ma.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 Ɔfoforɔ nso de ɔkra mu yeadie wu, a wanka asetena pa anhwɛ da.
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Wɔsie wɔn nyinaa wɔ mfuturo korɔ mu, ma asonson korɔ no ara nuka wɔn.
But both rich and poor people die and are buried, and maggots eat their bodies. [Everyone dies, so it is clear that dying is not always the punishment for being wicked].
27 “Mahunu mo adwene, ɛkwan a mopɛ sɛ mobu me fɔ.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 Mopɛ sɛ moka kyerɛ me sɛdeɛ asikafoɔ ne amumuyɛfoɔ, wɔn bɔne enti, wɔhwere wɔn agyapadeɛ nyinaa.
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 Nanso mommisa wɔn a wɔtu kwan; wɔbɛka akyerɛ mo sɛ
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 onipa bɔne nya ne ti didi mu amanehunu da, na wɔgyaa no ma no dwane abufuhyeɛ da.
that wicked people usually do not suffer at the time when there are great disasters; that wicked people are the ones who are rescued when God is angry [and punishes people] [MTY]?
31 Hwan na ɔtumi kasa nʼanim? Hwan na ɔtua no deɛ wayɛ so ka?
There is no one [RHQ] who accuses wicked people, and there is no one who (pays them back/gives them the punishment that they deserve) for all the evil things that they have done.
32 Wɔsoa no kɔ damena mu, na wɔwɛn nʼaboda.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 Bɔnhwa mu dɔteɛ yɛ no dɛ; nnipa nyinaa di nʼakyi, na ɛdɔm a wɔntumi nkan wɔn di nʼanim.
A huge number [HYP] of people go to the grave site. Some go in front of the procession and some come behind. And the clods of dirt thrown on the graves of those wicked people who have died are like a nice blanket.
34 “Enti ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na mode mo nsɛnhunu akyekyere me werɛ? Mo mmuaeɛ nyɛ hwee sɛ atorɔ!”
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
