1“Wobɛfrɛ a frɛ, na hena na obegye wo so?
Akronkronfo no mu hena nkyɛn na wobɛkɔ?
2Ahisɛm kum ɔkwasea,
na anibere kum atetekwaa.
3Mʼankasa mahu ɔkwasea a ɔrefefɛw,
nanso mpofirim, wɔdomee ne fi.
4Ne mma ne bammɔ ntam kwan ware,
wɔdwerɛw wɔn wɔ asennii a wonni ɔkamafo.
5Nea ɔkɔm de no no di ne nnɔbae,
na ɔfa fi nsɔe mu mpo,
na nea osukɔm de no no pere di nʼahode akyi.
6Ahokyere mpue mmfi dɔte mu
na ɔhaw nso mfifi mmfi fam.
7Nanso wɔwo nnipa to ɔhaw mu
mpɛn dodow a gyaframa turuw kɔ soro no.
8“Nanso sɛ ɛyɛ me a, anka meguan atoa Onyankopɔn;
na mede mʼasɛm ato nʼanim.
9Ɔyɛ anwonwade a wontumi nhwehwɛ mu,
ne nsɛnkyerɛnne a wontumi nkan ne dodow.
10Ɔtɔ osu gu asase so;
na ɔde kɔ wuram.
11Ɔde ahobrɛasefo si nea ɛkorɔn,
na ɔma wɔn a wodi awerɛhow nya asomdwoe.
12Ɔsɛe aniferefo nhyehyɛe,
ma wɔn nsa si fam.
13Ɔkyere anyansafo wɔ wɔn anifere mu,
na ɔbɔ anitewfo nhyehyɛe gu.
14Sum duru wɔn awia ketee;
na wɔkeka wɔ owigyinae mu te sɛ anadwo.
15Ogye ahiafo fi afoa a ɛhyɛ wɔn anom;
ogye wɔn fi ahoɔdenfo nkyehama mu.
16Enti ahiafo wɔ anidaso,
na ntɛnkyew ka nʼano to mu.
17“Nhyira ne onipa a Onyankopɔn teɛ no,
enti mmu Otumfo nteɛteɛ no animtiaa.
18Efisɛ ɔno na opira na ɔno ara akyekyere;
opira nanso ne nsa sa yare.
19Obegye wo afi ɔhaw ahorow asia mu;
ason so no, bɔne biara renka wo.
20Ɔkɔm ba a, obegye wo afi owu mu,
na ɔko mu nso, obegye wo afi afoa ano.
21Wɔbɛbɔ wo ho ban afi ntwirii ho
na sɛ ɔsɛe ba a ɛnsɛ sɛ wusuro.
22Wobɛserew ɔsɛe ne ɔkɔm;
na ɛnsɛ sɛ wusuro asase so mmoa.
23Wo ne afuw so abo bɛyɛ apam,
na emu nkekaboa nso ne wo bɛtena asomdwoe mu.
24Wubehu sɛ wo ntamadan wɔ bammɔ;
na sɛ wosese wʼahode a wubehu sɛ hwee nyeraa ɛ.
25Wubehu sɛ wo mma bɛyɛ bebree;
na wʼase bɛfɛe sɛ asase so sare.
26Wode ahoɔden bɛkɔ ɔda mu,
te sɛ afiafi a wɔaboa ano wɔ otwabere mu.
27“Yɛahwehwɛ eyi mu, na ɛyɛ nokware
ɛno nti tie na fa toto wʼabrabɔ ho.”
1‘Call if you will, but who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2Resentment kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.
3I myself have seen a fool taking root,
but suddenly his house was cursed.
4His children are far from safety,
crushed in court without a defender.
5The hungry consume his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
7Yet man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upwards.
8‘But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.
9He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
10He provides rain for the earth;
he sends water on the countryside.
11The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
13He catches the wise in their craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
14Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.
15He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
16So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.
17‘Blessed is the one whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.5:17 Hebrew Shaddai; here and throughout Job
18For he wounds, but he also binds up;
he injures, but his hands also heal.
19From six calamities he will rescue you;
in seven no harm will touch you.
20In famine he will deliver you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
21You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
and need not fear when destruction comes.
22You will laugh at destruction and famine,
and need not fear the wild animals.
23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24You will know that your tent is secure;
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.
25You will know that your children will be many,
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26You will come to the grave in full vigour,
like sheaves gathered in season.
27‘We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it and apply it to yourself.’
