Brɛ Wo Ho Ase Ma Onyankopɔn
1Ɔko ne akasakasa a asi mo mu yi fi he? Efi mo ara mo akɔnnɔ a ɛne mo nipadua di asi no. 2Morepɛ nneɛma bi nanso morentumi nnya, ɛno nti moayɛ mo adwene sɛ mubedi awu. Mo ani abere denneennen rehwehwɛ nneɛma bi, nanso mo nsa nka, enti akasakasa ne ɔko nam so ba. Mo nsa renka nea morehwehwɛ no efisɛ mummisa Onyankopɔn. 3Na sɛ mubisa koraa nso a, mo nsa renka, efisɛ mowɔ adwemmɔne, sɛ ɛbɛyɛ a mode nea munya no begye mo ani.
4Nnipa a munni gyidi! Munnim sɛ, sɛ mofa wiase adamfo a,4.4 Wɔn a wonni honhom mu nokware, wɔn a wɔdɔ wiase kyɛn Onyankopɔn no (2 Mose 34.15) na wobehu. na moyɛ Onyankopɔn atamfo? Obiara a ɔpɛ sɛ ɔyɛ wiase adamfo no bɛyɛ Onyankopɔn tamfo. 5Mususuw sɛ Kyerɛwsɛm a ɛka se, “Ninkutwe ahyɛ honhom a Onyankopɔn de ahyɛ yɛn mu no ma” no wɔkaa no kwa ana? 6Nanso adom a Onyankopɔn dom yɛn no dɔɔso yiye. Na Kyerɛwsɛm no ka se,
“Onyankopɔn siw ahantanfo kwan,
na ɔdom ahobrɛasefo.”
7Enti momfa mo ho nhyɛ Onyankopɔn ase. Munsiw ɔbonsam kwan, na obeguan afi mo ho. 8Mommɛn Onyankopɔn, na ɔno nso bɛbɛn mo. Monhohoro mo nsa ho, mo nnebɔneyɛfo! Montew mo koma mu, mo a mo adwene yɛ ntanta! 9Munni awerɛhow, munsu, na muntwa agyaadwo; momma mo serew nnan osu, na mo anigye nnan awerɛhow. 10Mommrɛ mo ho ase mma Awurade, na ɔbɛma mo so.
Atemmu Ho Kɔkɔbɔ
11Me nuanom, munnnidi mo ho nseku. Obiara a ɔkasa tia ne nua anaa obu no atɛn no, kasa tia mmara no. Na sɛ wubu mmara no atɛn a, na ɛkyerɛ sɛ afei de, wunni mmara no so. 12Onyankopɔn nko na ɔma mmara na obu atɛn. Ɔno nko na ogye nkwa na ɔsɛe. Wone hena a wubu wo yɔnko atɛn?
Ahohoahoa Ho Kɔkɔbɔ
13Mo a moka se, “Nnɛ anaa ɔkyena yebetu kwan akɔ kurow bi so akodi afe akɔyɛ adwuma, apɛ sika” no, muntie me. 14Munnim nea ɛbɛto mo ɔkyena. Mote sɛ omununkum a ɛba bere tiaa bi na ɛyera. 15Asɛm a ɛsɛ sɛ moka ne se, “Sɛ Awurade pɛ a, yɛbɛyɛ eyi anaa eyi.” 16Nanso mprempren mohoahoa mo ho de mo nsa si mo bo. Saa ahohoahoa no nyinaa yɛ bɔne. 17Enti nea onim papa yɛ na ɔnyɛ no, ɛyɛ bɔne ma no.
Submit yourselves to God
1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4You adulterous people,4:4 An allusion to covenant unfaithfulness; see Hosea 3:1. don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us4:5 Or that the spirit he caused to dwell in us envies intensely; or that the Spirit he caused to dwell in us longs jealously? 6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
‘God opposes the proud
but shows favour to the humble.’4:6 Prov. 3:34
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister4:11 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family. or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbour?
Boasting about tomorrow
13Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ 16As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
