2 Kings 19
1 When King Hezekiah heard what they reported, he tore his clothes and put on clothes made of rough cloth [because he was very distressed]. Then he went to the temple [to ask God what to do].
Esi Fia Hezekia se nya siawo la, edze eƒe awuwo, ta akpanya eye wòyi Yehowa ƒe gbedoxɔ me.
2 He summoned Eliakim and Shebna and the (older/most important) priests, who were also wearing clothes made of rough sackcloth, and told them to talk to me.
Egblɔ na Eliakim, Sebna kple nunɔla tsitsitɔ aɖewo be woata akpanya eye woayi Nyagblɔɖila Yesaya, Amoz ƒe vi gbɔ agblɔ nɛ be,
3 He said to them, “Tell this to Isaiah: ‘King Hezekiah says that we are having great distress/trouble now. [Other nations are causing] us to be insulted and disgraced. We are like [MET] a woman who is about to give birth to a child, but she does not have the strength that she needs to do it.
“Fia Hezekia be, ‘Egbee nye xaxagbe, amedzugbe kple vlodoamegbe. Ele abe ale si nyɔnu aɖe anɔ ku lém gake ŋusẽ mele eŋu wòasii adzi o la ene.
4 Perhaps Yahweh your God has heard everything that the official from Assyria said. Perhaps he knows that his boss/master, the king of Assyria, sent him to insult the all-powerful God, and that Yahweh will rebuke/punish him for what he said.’ And he requests that you pray for the few of us who are still alive [here in Jerusalem].”
Ɖewohĩ, Yehowa, wò Mawu la se ale si Asiriatɔwo ƒe aʋafia la tsi tsitre ɖe Mawu gbagbe la ŋu eye wòaka mo nɛ. Oo, do gbe ɖa ɖe mí ame ʋɛ siwo susɔ la ta.’”
5 When the messengers from Hezekiah came to Isaiah,
Esi Fia Hezekia ƒe ame dɔdɔwo va Yesaya gbɔ la,
6 Isaiah said to them, “[Go back to] your boss/master [and] tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: Those messengers from the king of Assyria have said evil things about me. But you should not be disturbed because of what they said.
Yesaya gblɔ na wo be, “Migblɔ na miaƒe aƒetɔ be, ‘Nu si Yehowa gblɔe nye esi: migavɔ̃ nu si miese, busunya siwo Asiria fia teviwo gblɔ ɖe ŋutinye la o.
7 Listen to this: I will cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor that will worry him, [that a foreign army is about to attack his country]. So he will return to his own country, and there I will cause him to be assassinated by [men using] swords.’”
Miɖo to afii: mele gbɔgbɔ aɖe de ge eme, ale be ne nutsotso aɖewo va ɖo egbɔ la, atrɔ ayi ɖe eya ŋutɔ ƒe anyigba dzi, eye le afi ma, mana wòatsi yi nu.’”
8 The official from Assyria found out that the King of Assyria [and his army] had left Lachish [city], and that they were attacking Libnah, [which is a nearby city]. So the official went there [to report to him what had happened in Jerusalem].
Esi aʋafia si le aʋakɔ siwo le gbea dzi dzi kpɔm la se bena, Asiria fia dzo le Lakis la, etrɔ dzo yi aƒe eye wòkpɔ fia la le aʋa wɔm kple Libna.
9 Soon after that, King Sennacherib received a report that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading his army, and was coming to attack them. So before King Sennacherib left Libnah [to fight against the army from Ethiopia], he sent other messengers to King Hezekiah with a letter.
Azɔ gbe va na Senakerib be, Tirhaka, Kus fia, si le Egipte ƒe dzigbeme lɔƒo la ho aʋa gbɔna edzi dze ge. Ke egadɔ amewo ɖo ɖe fia Hezekia gbɔ be woagblɔ nɛ be,
10 [In the letter] he wrote this to Hezekiah: “Do not allow your god on whom you are relying to deceive you by promising that [the city of] Jerusalem will not be captured by my army [MTY].
“Migblɔ na Hezekia, Yuda fia be, ‘Mègana mawu si ŋu nèle ŋu ɖom ɖo la nable wò o,’ esi wògblɔ be, ‘Womatsɔ Yerusalem ade asi na Asiria fia o.’
11 You have certainly heard what the armies of the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries. Our armies have completely destroyed them. So, (do you think that you will escape?/do not think that your god will save you!) [RHQ]
Ènya nu siwo Asiria fia wɔ le afi sia afi si wòyi la nyuie; wogblẽ nu sia nu. Nu ka ta tɔwò ato vovo tso bubuawo tɔ gbɔ?
12 Did the gods of the nations that were about to be destroyed by the armies of the previous kings of Assyria rescue them? Did those gods rescue the people in the Gozan region and in Haran and Rezeph [cities in northern Syria] and the people of Eden who had been (deported/forced to go) to Tel-Assar [city]? None of the gods of those cities were able to rescue them.
Ɖe dukɔ bubuwo abe Gozan, Haran, Rezef kple Eden le Tel Asa ƒe anyigba ene ƒe mawuwo te ŋu ɖe woa? Asiria fia siwo do ŋgɔ nam la tsrɔ̃ wo katã!
13 What happened to the kings of Hamath and Arpad and Sepharvaim and Ivvah [cities] [RHQ]? [Most of them are dead, and the other people were deported]!”
Afi ka Hamat fia kple Arpad fia le? Nu kae wɔ Sefarvaim kple Hena kple Iva ƒe fiawo?”
14 Hezekiah took the letter that the messengers gave him, and he read it. Then he went up to the temple and spread out the letter in front of Yahweh.
Fia Hezekia xɔ agbalẽ la le ame dɔdɔwo si, xlẽe eye wòyi gbedoxɔ me be yeatsɔe aɖo Yehowa ŋkume.
15 Then Hezekiah prayed, “Yahweh, the God whom to whom we Israelis belong, you are seated on your throne above the [statues of] creatures with wings, [above the Sacred Chest]. Only you are truly God. You rule all the kingdoms on this earth. You are the one who created [everything on] the earth and [in] the sky.
Emegbe la, edo gbe ɖa na Yehowa be, “Yehowa, Israel ƒe Mawu, ame si nɔ kerubiwo dome, wò koe nye Mawu ɖe anyigbadzifiaɖuƒewo katã dzi. Wòe wɔ dziƒo kple anyigba.
16 So, Yahweh, please listen to what I am saying, and look [at what is happening]. And listen to what King Sennacherib has said to insult you, the all-powerful God.
O! Yehowa, ƒu to anyi, eye nàse nu. Ʋu wò ŋkuwo, eye nàkpɔ nu. Se nya siwo Senakerib tsɔ do vlo Mawu gbagbe lae ɖa.
17 “Yahweh, it is true that [the armies of] the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations, and ruined their land.
“Yehowa, enye nyateƒe be Asiria fia ɖu dukɔ siawo katã dzi
18 And they have thrown the idols of those nations into fires and burned them. But [that was not difficult to do, because] they were not gods. They were only statues made of wood and stone, idols that were shaped by humans, [and that is why they were destroyed easily].
eye wòtɔ dzo woƒe mawuwo elabena menye mawuwoe wonye o, ke boŋ ati kple kpee wonye. Amegbetɔ ƒe asinudɔwɔwɔwoe wonye.
19 So now, Yahweh our God, please rescue us from the power [MTY] [of the king of Assyria], in order that the people in all the kingdoms of the world will know that you, Yahweh, are the only one who is truly God.”
Ke azɔ, O! Yehowa, mía Mawu, ɖe mí tso eƒe asi me be fiaɖuƒe siwo katã le anyigba dzi la nanya be wò koe nye Yehowa.”
20 Then Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong, says: 'I have heard what you prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.
Tete Yesaya, Amoz ƒe vi ɖo du ɖe Hezekia be, “Ale Yehowa, Israel ƒe Mawu la gblɔe nye esi: Mese wò gbedodoɖa tso Senakerib, Asiria fia, ŋuti.
21 This is what I say to him: “The people of Jerusalem [MTY] despise you and make fun of you. They wag/shake their heads to mock you while you flee from here.
Esiae nye Yehowa ƒe nya si wògblɔ ɖi ɖe eŋuti: “‘Zion vinyɔnu si menya ŋutsu o la, do vlo wò eye wòɖu fewu le ŋutiwò. Yerusalem vinyɔnu ʋuʋu ta esi nèlé du tsɔ.
22 Who do you think that you are despising and ridiculing? Who do you think you were shouting at? Who do you think you were looking at very proudly/arrogantly? It was I, the holy God whom the Israelis worship.
Ame kae nèdzu hegblɔ busunya ɖe eŋuti? Ame ka ŋutie nèkɔ wò gbe dzi ɖo eye nètro ŋku kpɔe dadatɔe? Ɖe Israel ƒe kɔkɔetɔ la ŋutie!
23 The messengers that you sent made fun of me. You said, 'With my many chariots I have gone to the highest mountains, even to the highest mountains in Lebanon. We have cut down its tallest cedar trees and its nicest pine/cyprus trees. We have been to the most distant/remote peaks and to its dense forests.
Èdɔ wò dɔlawo be woali kɔ dzu ɖe Yehowa dzi. Ègblɔ be, “Metsɔ nye tasiaɖamwo lia towo tame eye mede keke Lebanon to kɔkɔwo tame. Melã sedati kɔkɔwo kple sesewuti nyuitɔwo ƒu anyi. Meɖo eƒe anyigba ƒe mlɔenu ke kple eƒe ave nyuitɔwo tame.
24 We have dug wells in other countries and drank water from them. And by marching through [MTY] the streams of Egypt, we dried them all up [HYP]!”’
Meɖe vudo ɖe dzronyigba dzi heno tsi le afi ma. Metsɔ nye afɔƒome fanya Egipte ale gbegbe be eƒe tɔsisiwo katã mie.”
25 [‘But I reply], “Have you never heard that long ago I determined [that those things would happen]? I planned it long ago, and now I have been causing it to happen. I planned that your army would have [the power to] capture many cities that were surrounded by high walls, and cause them to become piles of rubble.
“‘Mèsee do ŋgɔ oa? Megblɔ nu sia da ɖi tso blema ke. Mewɔ ɖoɖo ɖe eŋu tso gbe aɖe gbe ʋĩi; ke azɔ la, mena wòva eme be, du siwo ŋu woɖo gli sesẽwo ɖo la zu anyiglago.
26 The people who lived in those cities have no power, and as a result they became dismayed and discouraged. They are as frail as plants and grass in the fields, as frail as grass that grows on the roofs of houses and is scorched by the hot east wind.
Ŋusẽ vɔ le woƒe amewo ŋu eye vɔvɔ̃ kple ŋukpe lé wo. Ale wole abe gbe le gbedzi, gbe damawo kple gbe si mie ɖe xɔta eye ŋdɔ ɖui wòku hafi wòva tsi la ene.
27 “But I know [everything about you]. I know when you are in your house and when you go outside; I also know that you are (raging/speaking very angrily) against me.
“‘Ke menya afi si nèle, wò dodo kple gbɔgbɔ kple ale si nèdo dziku ɖe ŋutinye.
28 So, because you have raged against me, and because I have heard [MTY] you speak very proudly/arrogantly, [it will be as though] I will put a hook in your nose and an iron (bit/piece of metal) in your mouth [in order that I can lead you where I want you to go], and I will force you to return [to your own country] on the same road on which you came here, [without conquering Jerusalem].” '
Esi nèdo dɔmedzoe ɖe ŋutinye, eye wò amemabumabu va ɖo nye to me ta la, matsɔ nye lãɖeƒu ade ŋɔti me na wò, made numega nu me na wò, eye mana mɔ si nèto va la nàgato eya ke dzi adzo.’
29 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “This is what will happen to prove [that I am telling the truth]: This year and next year you [and your people] will be able to harvest only (wild grain/grain that grows without having been planted). But the following year, you [Israelis] will be able to plant grain and harvest it, and to plant vineyards and eat the grapes that you harvest.
“Esia anye dzesi na wò, Oo Hezekia: “Ƒe sia me la, miaɖu nuku siwo mie le wo ɖokui si, ne ƒe trɔ la, miagaɖu esiwo susɔ. Ke le ƒe etɔ̃lia me la, miaƒã nu, miaxa nu, miade waingble eye miaɖu eme kutsetsewo.
30 The people [MTY] in Judah who remain alive will prosper and have many children; they will be like plants whose roots go deep down into the ground and which produce much [MET].
Ava eme be ame siwo susɔ na Yuda ƒe aƒe la woato ke, eye woatse ku.
31 There will be many people in Jerusalem [DOU] who will survive, because Yahweh, the commander of the armies of angels in heaven, wants [PRS] it to happen.
Elabena ame aɖewo asusɔ tso Yerusalem nɔlawo dome eye ame siwo tsi agbe la ado tso Zion to la dzi. “Yehowa Ŋusẽkatãtɔ ƒe didi vevie ana esia nava eme.
32 So this is what Yahweh, says about the king of Assyria: ‘His armies will not enter this city; they will not even shoot any arrows into it! His soldiers will not march outside the city gates carrying shields, and they will not even build high mounds of dirt against [the city walls] [to enable them to attack the city].
“Eya ta ale Yehowa gblɔ ɖe Asiria fia ŋue nye esi: “‘Mage ɖe du sia me alo ada aŋutrɔ ɖeka pɛ le afi sia o. Mava afi sia kple eƒe akpoxɔnu alo aƒu kpo ɖe du sia ŋuti o.
33 Their king will return to his own country on the same road on which he came here. He will not enter this city! [That will happen because] I, Yahweh have said it!
Mɔ si wòto va la, eya ke dzie wòato adzo. Mage ɖe du sia me akpɔ gbeɖe o. Yehowae gblɔe.
34 I will defend this city and prevent it from being destroyed. I will do this for the sake of my own reputation and because of what I promised to King David, who served me well.'”
Maʋli du sia ta eye maɖe du sia le nye ŋutɔ nye ŋkɔ kple nye dɔla, David ta.’”
35 That night, an angel from Yahweh went out to where the army of Assyria had put up their tents, and killed 185,000 of their soldiers! When the rest of their soldiers woke up the next morning, they saw that there were corpses everywhere!
Emegbe Yehowa ƒe dɔla yi ɖe Asiriatɔwo ƒe aʋasaɖa la me hewu ame akpe alafa ɖeka blaenyi-vɔ-atɔ̃. Esi amewo fɔ ŋdi la, kpɔ ɖa ame kukuwo sɔŋ koe wokpɔ.
36 Then King Sennacherib left and went home to Nineveh, [the capital of Assyria].
Ale Asiria fia, Senakerib kaka asaɖa la eye wòho dzo. Etrɔ yi Ninive eye wònɔ afi ma.
37 One day, when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. Then they escaped and went to [the] Ararat [region, northwest of Nineveh]. And another of Sennacherib's sons, Esarhaddon, became the king of Assyria.
Gbe ɖeka esi wònɔ gbe dom ɖa le eƒe mawu, Nisrɔk ƒe gbedoxɔ me la, Via ŋutsu eve, Adramelek kple Sarezer, wowui kple yi hesi yi Ararat eye via Esarhadon ɖu fia ɖe eteƒe.
