Hiob 24
1 “Adɛn enti na Onyankopɔn nhyɛ berɛ mma atemmuo? Adɛn enti na ɛsɛ sɛ wɔn a wɔnim noɔ no hwɛ saa da no anim ɛnso ɛmma da?
“Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment? Why may those who know Him never see His days?
2 Nnipa yiyi aboɔ a wɔde ato hyeɛ; na wɔde nnwankuo a wɔawia kɔ hɔ adidi.
Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
3 Wɔpam nwisiaa mfunumu na wɔgye akunafoɔ anantwie sɛ awowasideɛ.
They drive away the donkey of the fatherless and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4 Wɔsum ahiafoɔ firi ɛkwan so na wɔhyɛ asase no so ahiafoɔ ma wɔkɔtetɛ.
They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Ahiafoɔ no yɛ wɔn adwuma pɛ aduane te sɛ ɛserɛ so mfunumu no; asase wesee no so na wɔnya aduane 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 aduane ano wɔ mfuo no so na wɔdi mpɛpɛ wɔ amumuyɛfoɔ bobe nturo mu.
They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Wɔnni ntoma, na wɔda kwaterekwa; wɔnni hwee a wɔde kata wɔn ho wɔ awɔ mu.
Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
8 Mmepɔ so osutɔ fɔ wɔn twɔnn na wɔfomfam mmotan no ho ɛfiri sɛ wɔnni ahatasoɔ.
Drenched by mountain rains, they huddle against the rocks for want of shelter.
9 Wɔte awisiaa firi nufoɔ ano; na wɔfa ohiani abotafoa 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 adagya a wɔnni ntoma; wɔsoa ayuo afiafi, nanso ɛkɔm de wɔn ara.
Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 Wɔkyi ngo wɔn adan mu; wɔtiatia nsakyimena mu, nanso osukɔm de wɔn.
They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
12 Wɔn a wɔrewuwuo no apinisie firi kuropɔn no mu, na apirafoɔ 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 wɔnnim nʼakwan anaasɛ wɔnnante nʼatempɔn so.
Then there are those who rebel against the light, not knowing its ways or staying on its paths.
14 Sɛ adekyeɛ hann no kɔ a, owudifoɔ no sɔre na ɔkum ohiani ne mmɔborɔni; adesaeɛ mu, ɔwiawia ne ho sɛ ɔkorɔmfoɔ.
When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
15 Ɔwaresɛefoɔ twɛn ɛberɛ a adeɛ resa; ɔka sɛ, ‘obiara renhunu me,’ na ɔde nʼanim hinta.
The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.
16 Esum mu na nnipa bubu apono wura afie mu, na awiaberɛ mu no, wɔtoto wɔn ho ɛpono 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 Esum kabii yɛ adekyeɛ ma wɔn nyinaa; wɔne esum 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 ahuro a ɛtɛ nsuo ani; wɔadome wɔn kyɛfa wɔ asase no so, enti obiara nnkɔ 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 Sɛdeɛ ɔhyew ne ɔpɛ de sukyerɛmma a anane korɔ no, saa ara na damena de wɔn a wɔayɛ bɔne korɔ. (Sheol h7585)
As drought and heat consume the melting snow, so Sheol steals those who have sinned. (Sheol h7585)
20 Awotwaa werɛ firi wɔn, na ɔsonsono di wɔn nam; nnipa bɔne deɛ, wɔnnkae wɔn bio na mmom wɔbubu 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 ɔbaa bonini a ɔnni ba yɛ haboa, na wɔnhunu akunafoɔ mmɔbɔ.
They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
22 Onyankopɔn nam ne tumi so twe atumfoɔ kɔ; ɛwom sɛ wɔnya asetena pa deɛ, nanso wɔnni nkwa ho bɔhyɛ.
Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
23 Ɔtumi ma wɔn tena ase asomdwoeɛ 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 berɛ tiawa bi, na afei wɔnni hɔ bio; wɔbrɛ wɔn ase boaboa wɔn ano sɛ nnipa nyinaa; wɔtwitwa wɔn gu te sɛ aburoo 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 yei nte saa a, hwan na ɔbɛtumi agye me akyinnyeɛ na ama deɛ maka ayɛ nsɛnhunu?”
If this is not so, then who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”
