Bildad
1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2“How long will you say such things?
Your words are a blustering wind.
3Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
4When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
5But if you will seek God earnestly
and plead with the Almighty,
6if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore you to your prosperous state.
7Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous will your future be.
8“Ask the former generation
and find out what their ancestors learned,
9for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
and our days on earth are but a shadow.
10Will they not instruct you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?
11Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?
12While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.
13Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.
14What they trust in is fragile8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.;
what they rely on is a spider’s web.
15They lean on the web, but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.
16They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden;
17it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
18But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
19Surely its life withers away,
and8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that from the soil other plants grow.
20“Surely God does not reject one who is blameless
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”
Bildad Asɛnka A Edi Kan
1Na Suhini Bildad buae se:
2“Wobɛkɔ so aka saa nsɛm yi akosi da bɛn?
Wo nsɛm yɛ mframa huhuw.
3Onyankopɔn kyea atɛntrenee ana?
Otumfo kyea nea ɛteɛ ana?
4Bere a wo mma yɛɛ bɔne tiaa no no,
ogyaw wɔn maa wɔn bɔne so akatua.
5Nanso sɛ wode wʼani bɛto Onyankopɔn so
na woabɔ Otumfo no mpae,
6sɛ woyɛ kronkron, na woteɛ a,
wo nti, ɔbɛma ne ho so mprempren
na wama wo asi wo dedaw mu.
7Wo mfiase bɛyɛ nkakrankakra
na daakye woanya ama abu so.
8“Bisa awo ntoatoaso a atwa mu no,
na hwehwɛ nea wɔn agyanom hui,
9na wɔwoo yɛn nkyɛe na yennim hwee,
yɛn nna wɔ asase yi so te sɛ sunsuma.
10Wɔrenkyerɛkyerɛ wo na wɔrenka nkyerɛ wo ana?
Wɔremfi wɔn ntease mu nka nsɛm bi ana?
11So paparɔso betumi anyin akɔ soro wɔ baabi a ɛnyɛ ɔwora?
Demmire betumi afifi baabi a nsu nni ana?
12Bere a ɛrenyin a wontwae no,
ɛhyew ntɛm so sen sare.
13Saa na wɔn a wɔn werɛ fi Onyankopɔn no awiei te;
saa ara na wɔn a wonni nyamesu no anidaso nkosi hwee.
14Biribiara a nʼani da so no nni ahoɔden;
nea ɔde ne ho to so no yɛ ananse ntontan.
15Otweri ne ntontan, nanso ɛtetew;
oso mu dennen, nanso ɛnyɛ yie.
16Ɔte sɛ afifide a wogugu so nsu yiye a esi owia mu,
ɛtrɛtrɛw ne mman mu wɔ turo no so;
17Ne ntin nyin fa abotan ho,
na ɛhwehwɛ ɔkwan kɔ abo mu.
18Nanso sɛ wotu fi ne sibea a,
saa beae no nnim no bio na ɛka se, ‘Minhuu wo da.’
19Ampa ara ne nkwa twa mu,
na afifide foforo nyin asase no so.
20“Ampa ara Onyankopɔn mpo onipa a ne ho nni asɛm
na ɔnhyɛ amumɔyɛfo nsa mu den.
21Ɔbɛma woaserew bio,
na wode ahosɛpɛw ateɛteɛ mu.
22Wɔde aniwu befura wɔn a wɔtan wo,
na amumɔyɛfo ntamadan bɛsɛe.”
