< Nehemiah 9 >

1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel came together, taking no food and putting haircloth and dust on their bodies.
Le ɣleti sia ke ƒe ŋkeke blaeve-vɔ-enelia gbe la, Israelviwo gava kpe ta. Azɔ la, wotsi nu dɔ, ta akpanya, eye wolɔ ke kɔ ɖe ta me.
2 And the seed of Israel made themselves separate from all the men of other nations, publicly requesting forgiveness for their sins and the wrongdoing of their fathers.
Israelviwo ɖe wo ɖokui ɖe aga tso amedzrowo gbɔ. Wotsi tsitre ɖe wo nɔƒewo, eye woʋu woawo ŋutɔ ƒe nu vɔ̃ kple wo fofowo ƒe nu tovowo wɔwɔ me.
3 And for a fourth part of the day, upright in their places, they were reading from the book of the law of their God; and for a fourth part of the day they were requesting forgiveness and worshipping the Lord their God.
Woxlẽ Seawo tso Yehowa, woƒe Mawu, ƒe Segbalẽ la me gaƒoƒo etɔ̃, eye wowɔ gaƒoƒo etɔ̃ bubu ŋu dɔ heʋu woƒe nu vɔ̃wo me hesubɔ Yehowa, woƒe Mawu la.
4 Then Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani took their places on the steps of the Levites, crying in a loud voice to the Lord their God.
Levitɔ aɖewo nɔ agba la dzi, eye wonɔ Yehowa kafum kple aseyetsohawo. Ame siawoe nye, Yesua, Bani, Kadmiel, Sebania, Buni, Serebia, Bani kple Kenani.
5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, Get up and give praise to the Lord your God for ever and ever. Praise be to your great name which is lifted up high over all blessing and praise.
Levitɔwo ƒe kplɔlawo gblɔ na ameawo be, “Mitsi tsitre miakafu Yehowa, miaƒe Mawu la, elabena eli tso mavɔ me yi mavɔ me. Mikafu eƒe ŋkɔ kɔkɔe la! Elolo sãa wu nu si míate ŋu abu kple ale si míate ŋu agblɔ!” Kplɔla siawoe nye Yesua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hasabneia, Serebia, Hodia, Sebania kple Petahia.
6 You are the Lord, even you only; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their armies, the earth and all things in it, the seas and everything in them; and you keep them from destruction: and the armies of heaven are your worshippers.
Ezra do gbe ɖa be, “O! Yehowa, wò ɖeka koe nye Mawu. Wòe wɔ dziƒo kple dziƒowo ƒe dziƒo, anyigba kple atsiaƒu kple nu siwo katã le wo me. Wòe kpɔa wo katã dzi, eye wòe mawudɔlawo katã subɔna.
7 You are the Lord, the God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;
“Wòe nye Yehowa Mawu, ame si tia Abram, eye nèkplɔe do goe tso Ur le Kaldea, eye nètrɔ ŋkɔ nɛ be Abraham.
8 You saw that his heart was true to you, and made an agreement with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite, even to give it to his seed, and you have done what you said; for righteousness is yours:
Esi wòwɔ nuteƒe na wò la, èbla nu kplii tegbee be yeatsɔ Kanaantɔwo, Hititɔwo, Amoritɔwo, Perizitɔwo, Yebusitɔwo kple Girgasitɔwo ƒe anyigba anae kple eƒe dzidzimeviwo tegbetegbe. Èwɔ wò ŋugbedodo dzi, elabena ènye nuteƒewɔla.
9 And you saw the trouble of our fathers in Egypt, and their cry came to your ears by the Red Sea;
“Èkpɔ mía tɔgbuiwo ƒe fukpekpe kple nuxaxa le Egipte, eye nèse woƒe ɣlidodo tso Ƒu Dzĩ la to.
10 And you did signs and wonders on Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land; for you saw how cruel they were to them. So you got yourself a name as it is today.
Èwɔ dzesi kple nukunu triakɔwo fia Fia Farao kple eƒe amewo, elabena ènya fu siwo Egiptetɔwo nɔ wo wɔm. Èxɔ ŋkɔ gã le nu gã siwo nèwɔ, eye womaŋlɔ wo be akpɔ o la ta.
11 By you the sea was parted before them, so that they went through the sea on dry land; and those who went after them went down into the deep, like a stone into great waters.
Èma atsiaƒu la ɖe akpa eve me, ale be wò amewo nate ŋu azɔ anyigba ƒuƒui dzi atso atsiaƒu la! Gake ètsrɔ̃ woƒe futɔwo ɖe atsiaƒu la ƒe gogloƒe. Wonyrɔ abe kpe ene ɖe atsiaƒu la me.
12 And you went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light on the way they were to go.
Ètsɔ lilikpo dodo kplɔ mía tɔgbuiwo le ŋkeke me, eye nèkplɔ wo kple dzosɔti le zã me, ale be woate ŋu akpɔ mɔ.
13 And you came down on Mount Sinai, and your voice came to them from heaven, giving them right decisions and true laws, good rules and orders:
“Èɖiɖi va Sinai to la dzi, èƒo nu kpli wo tso dziƒo, eye nèna Se kple ɖoɖo nyui siwo le eteƒe la wo.
14 And you gave them word of your holy Sabbath, and gave them orders and rules and a law, by the hand of Moses your servant:
Ède Se na wo tso Dzudzɔgbe kɔkɔe la ŋu, ède Seawo na wo to wò dɔla, Mose dzi be woawɔ wo katã dzi.
15 And you gave them bread from heaven when they were in need, and made water come out of the rock for their drink, and gave them orders to go in and take for their heritage the land which your hand had been lifted up to give them.
“Esi dɔ wu wo la, èna nuɖuɖu wo tso dziƒo, eye esi tsikɔ wu wo la, èna tsi wo tso agakpe la me. Èɖe gbe na wo be woayi aɖaxɔ anyigba si nèka atam be yeana wo.
16 But they and our fathers, in their pride, made their necks stiff, and gave no attention to your orders,
Ke mía tɔgbuiwo nye dadalawo kple kɔlialiatɔwo, eye wogbe toɖoɖo wò Seawo.
17 And would not do them, and gave no thought to the wonders you had done among them; but made their necks stiff, and turning away from you, made a captain over themselves to take them back to their prison in Egypt: but you are a God of forgiveness, full of grace and pity, slow to wrath and great in mercy, and you did not give them up.
“Wogbe wò Seawo dzi wɔwɔ, eye womebu nukunu siwo nèwɔ le wo dome o, ke boŋ wodze aglã, eye wotia kplɔla aɖe be wòakplɔ yewo atrɔ ayi kluvinyenye me le Egipte! Ke tsɔtsɔke ƒe Mawu kple amenuvela nènye. Mèdoa dɔmedzoe kabakaba o; lɔlɔ̃ kple nublanuikpɔkpɔ sɔ gbɔ le mewò, eya ta megble wo ɖi o,
18 Even when they had made for themselves an ox of metal, and said, This is your God who took you up out of Egypt, and had done so much to make you angry;
togbɔ be wowɔ sikanyivilegba, eye wogblɔ be ‘Esiae nye míaƒe mawu! Eyae kplɔ mi tso Egipte’ hã. Wowɔ nu vɔ̃ le mɔ geɖewo nu,
19 Even then, in your great mercy, you did not give them up in the waste land: the pillar of cloud still went before them by day, guiding them on their way, and the pillar of fire by night, to give them light, and make clear the way they were to go.
ke le wò amenuveve ƒe agbɔsɔsɔ ta la, mègble wo ɖi be woaku le gbedzi o! Alilĩkpododo la kplɔa wo yia ŋgɔe gbe sia gbe, eye dzosɔti la fiaa mɔ wo le zã me.
20 And you gave your good spirit to be their teacher, and did not keep back your manna from their mouths, and gave them water when they had need of it.
Èɖo wò Gbɔgbɔ nyui la ɖa be wòafia nu wo. Mèdzudzɔ mananana wo tso dziƒo o, mèdzudzɔ tsinana wo be wòatsi woƒe tsikɔwuame nu o.
21 Truly, for forty years you were their support in the waste land, and they were in need of nothing; their clothing did not get old or their feet become tired.
Èkpɔ wo dzi ƒe blaene le gbedzi, naneke mehiã wo le ɣeyiɣi ma me o. Woƒe awuwo mevuvu o, eye woƒe afɔwo hã mete o!
22 And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, making distribution to them in every part of the land: so they took for their heritage the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan.
“Èkpe ɖe wo ŋu woɖu fiaɖuƒe gãwo kple dukɔ geɖewo dzi, eye nèda wò amewo ɖe anyigba la ƒe dzogoe ɖe sia ɖe dzi. Woxɔ Fia Sixɔn, Amoritɔwo ƒe fia, si nɔ Hesbon kple Ɔg, Basan fia, ƒe anyigbawo.
23 And you made their children as great in number as the stars of heaven, and took them into the land, of which you had said to their fathers that they were to go in and take it for themselves.
Èna Israelviwo dzi sɔ gbɔ fũu abe dziƒoɣletiviwo ene, eye nèkplɔ wo va anyigba si ŋugbe nèdo na wo tɔgbuiwo la dzi.
24 So the children went in and took the land, and you overcame before them the people of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them up into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, so that they might do with them whatever it was their pleasure to do.
Èbɔbɔ dukɔ blibowo ɖe anyi le wo ŋgɔ, Kanaan fiawo kple woƒe amewo gɔ̃ hã zu ŋusẽmanɔŋutɔwo!
25 And they took walled towns and a fat land, and became the owners of houses full of all good things, water-holes cut in the rock, vine-gardens and olive-gardens and a wealth of fruit-trees: so they had food enough and became fat, and had joy in the good you gave them.
Wò amewo xɔ du gã siwo woglã la kple agbledenyigba nyuiwo. Woxɔ aƒe geɖe siwo me nu nyuiwo abe vudo, waingblewo, amitivewo kple kutsetseti geɖewo ene la le. Ale woɖu nu ɖi ƒo, eye wò yayrawo sɔ gbɔ ɖe wo dzi.
26 But they were hard-hearted, and went against your authority, turning their backs on your law, and putting to death your prophets, who gave witness against them with the purpose of turning them back again to you, and they did much to make you angry.
“Ke, togbɔ be nèwɔ esiawo katã na wo hã la, wosẽ to, eye wodze aglã ɖe ŋuwò. Woɖe asi le wò sewo ŋu, wowu nyagblɔɖila siwo gblɔ na wo be woatrɔ ava gbɔwò, eye wogawɔ nu vɔ̃ vɔ̃ɖi bubu geɖewo.
27 And so you gave them up into the hands of their haters who were cruel to them: and in the time of their trouble, when they made their prayer to you, you gave ear to them from heaven; and in your great mercy gave them saviours, who made them free from the hands of their haters.
Ale nètsɔ wo de asi na woƒe futɔwo. Ke le woƒe xaxaɣiwo me la, wodo ɣli na wò, èse woƒe ɣlidodo tso dziƒo, eye le wò amenuveve ta la, èɖo amewo ɖa be woaɖe wo tso woƒe futɔwo ƒe
28 But when they had rest, they did evil again before you: so you gave them into the hands of their haters, who had rule over them: but when they came back and made their prayer to you, you gave ear to them from heaven; again and again, in your mercy, you gave them salvation;
“Ke esi nuwo nɔ yiyim na wo nyuie ko la, wò amewo gatrɔ ɖe nu vɔ̃ wɔwɔ ŋu, eye nègana woƒe futɔwo gaɖu wo dzi. Ke ne wò amewo trɔ va gbɔwò, ɖe kuku na wò, bia wò kpekpeɖeŋu ko la, ègaɖoa to wo tso dziƒo, eye nèɖea wo to wò amenuveve gã la me!
29 And gave witness against them so that you might make them come back again to your law: but their hearts were lifted up, and they gave no attention to your orders and went against your decisions (which, if a man keeps them, will be life to him), and turning their backs on you, made their necks stiff and did not give ear.
Èhea to na wo ale be nàtrɔ wo ɖe wò seawo ŋu. Ke, togbɔ be wò seawo dzi wɔwɔe naa agbe ame hã la, wò amewo nye dadalawo, eye womeɖo to o, ke boŋ woyi nu vɔ̃ wɔwɔ dzi.
30 Year after year you put up with them, and gave witness against them by your spirit through your prophets: still they did not give ear: and so you gave them up into the hands of the peoples of the lands.
Ègbɔ dzi ɖi na wo ƒe geɖewo, eye to wò Gbɔgbɔ dzi la, èna nyagblɔɖilawo ƒo nu na wo be woadzudzɔ nu vɔ̃ wɔwɔ, ke womeɖo to wo o. Ale nègana dukɔ siwo subɔa trɔ̃wo la gaɖu wo dzi.
31 Even then, in your great mercy, you did not put an end to them completely, or give them up; for you are a God of grace and mercy.
Ke le wò amenuveve sɔ gbɔ la ta la, mètsrɔ̃ wo keŋkeŋ alo gble wo ɖi o. Mawu amenuvetɔ kple dɔmenyotɔ gãe nènye!
32 And now, our God, the great, the strong, the God who is to be feared, who keeps faith and mercy, let not all this trouble seem small to you, which has come on us, and on our kings and our rulers and on our priests and our prophets and our fathers and on all your people from the time of the kings of Assyria till this day.
“Eya ta, azɔ la, Oo, Mawu gã, si ŋu ŋɔdzi le, wò ame si wɔa wò lɔlɔ̃ kple amenuveve ƒe ŋugbedodo dzi la, mègana fukpekpe siwo katã va mía dzi la, naɖi nu tsɛ aɖeke le wò ŋkume o. Fukpekpe geɖewo va míawo ŋutɔ, míaƒe fiawo, fiaviwo, nyagblɔɖilawo kple tɔgbuiwo dzi ɣeyiɣi si Asiria fia ɖu mía dzi zi gbãtɔ va se ɖe egbe.
33 But still, you have been in the right in everything which has come on us; you have been true to us, but we have done evil:
Tɔwò dzɔ ɣe sia ɣi si nèhe to na mí. Míewɔ nu vɔ̃ ale gbegbe be nu si dze mí la koe nèwɔ mí.
34 And our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or given attention to your orders and your witness, with which you gave witness against them.
Míaƒe fiawo, dumegãwo, nunɔlawo kple mía tɔgbuiwo mewɔ wò sewo dzi o, eye womeɖo to wò nuxlɔ̃amenyawo o.
35 For they have not been your servants in their kingdom, and in all the good things you gave them, and in the great and fat land you gave them, and they have not been turned away from their evil-doing.
Togbɔ be èwɔ nukunu geɖewo na wo, eye nèkɔ wò amenuveve ɖe wo dzi fũu hã la, womesubɔ wò o. Èna anyigba gã aɖe si nyoa nu la wo, gake wogbe asiɖeɖe le woƒe mɔ vɔ̃wo ŋu.
36 Now, today, we are servants, and as for the land which you gave to our fathers, so that the produce of it and the good might be theirs, see, we are servants in it:
“Ale míeganye kluviwo le afii, le anyigba si dzi nu nyuiwo bɔ ɖo fũu la dzi! Míeganye kluviwo le nu nyui gbogbo siawo dome!
37 And it gives much increase to the kings whom you have put over us because of our sins: and they have power over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great trouble.
Anyigba sia dzi nuku nyuiwo va yi fia siwo nèna woɖu mía dzi le míaƒe nu vɔ̃wo ta la ƒe asime. Wokpɔ ŋusẽ ɖe míaƒe ŋutilã kple míaƒe lãwo dzi. Míesubɔa wo abe ale si wodi ene, eye míezu nublanuitɔ gãwo.”
38 And because of all this we are making an agreement in good faith, and putting it in writing; and our rulers, our Levites, and our priests are putting their names to it.
“Le esiawo katã ta la, míegale ŋugbe dom be míasubɔ Aƒetɔ la, eya ta mí kple míaƒe dumegãwo kple Levitɔwo kple nunɔlawo míele asi dem nubabla sia te.”

< Nehemiah 9 >