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].
Bere a ɔhene Hesekia tee eyinom no, osunsuan ne ntade mu, na ofuraa atweaatam, na ɔkɔɔ Awurade asɔredan mu.
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.
Na ɔsomaa Eliakim a ɔhwɛ ahemfi ntotoe so, Sebna, a ɔyɛ ɔkyerɛwfo ne asɔfo akunini a wɔn nyinaa furafura atweaatam, kɔɔ Amos babarima Odiyifo Yesaia nkyɛn.
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.
Wɔka kyerɛɛ no se, “Sɛnea ɔhene Hesekia ka ni: Saa da yi yɛ ɔhaw, animka ne animguase da. Ayɛ te sɛ nea mmofra awo du so, na ahoɔden a wɔde bɛwo wɔn nni hɔ.
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].”
Nanso ebia Awurade, mo Nyankopɔn ate sɛ Asiria nanmusini no regu Onyankopɔn teasefo no anim ase, na wɔbɛtwe nʼaso wɔ ne nsɛnkeka no ho. Enti bɔ mpae ma yɛn a yɛaka no!”
5 When the messengers from Hezekiah came to Isaiah,
Na ɔhene Hesekia mpanyimfo no kɔkaa ɔhene nkra no kyerɛɛ Yesaia,
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.
na Yesaia buae se, “Ka kyerɛ wo wura se, ‘Sɛnea Awurade se ni: Mma abususɛm a Asiriahene asomafo no ka tiaa me no nhaw wo.
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.’”
Muntie! Mede honhom bi rebɛhyɛ ne mu, sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a sɛ ɔte asɛm bi a ɔbɛsan akɔ ne man mu na hɔ na mɛma wɔde afoa akum no.’”
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].
Bere a ɔsahene no tee sɛ Asiriahene afi Lakis no, ɔsan nʼakyi kohuu sɛ ɔhene no ne Libna reko.
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.
Ankyɛ, ɔhene Sanaherib nyaa nkra se, Etiopiahene Tirhaka adi asraafo anim, rebɛko atia no. Na ansa na ɔbɛsan akohyia asraafo no, ɔde saa nkra yi maa sɛ wɔmfa nkɔma Hesekia wɔ Yerusalem.
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].
“Monka nkyerɛ Yudahene Hesekia se: Mma onyame a wode wo ho ato no so no nnaadaa mo nka se, ‘Wɔremfa Yerusalem mma Asiriahene.’
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]
Moate nea Asiria ahemfo ayɛ amanaman no nyinaa. Wɔasɛe wɔn pasaa. Na mo de, wobegye mo ana?
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.
Anyame a wɔwɔ aman a me nenanom sɛee wɔn no, aman te sɛ, Gosan, Haran, Resef ne Edenfo a na wɔwɔ Telasar no anyame gyee wɔn ana?
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]!”
Nsɛm bɛn na ɛtotoo Hamathene ne Arpadhene? Nsɛm bɛn nso na ɛtotoo Sefarwaim, Hena ne Iwa ahemfo?”
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.
Hesekia nsa kaa krataa a abɔfo no de bae no, ɔkenkanee. Afei ɔforo kɔɔ Awurade asɔredan no mu kɔtrɛw mu wɔ Awurade anim.
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.
Na Hesekia bɔɔ mpae kyerɛɛ Awurade se, “Asafo Awurade, Israel Nyankopɔn a wɔasi wo hene wɔ Kerubim ntam. Wo nko ara na woyɛ Onyankopɔn wɔ asase so ahenni nyinaa so. Wo na wobɔɔ ɔsoro ne asase.
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.
Brɛ wʼaso ase, Awurade, na tie! Bue wʼani, Awurade, na hwɛ. Tie nsɛm a Sanaherib asoma de abɛsopa Onyankopɔn teasefo no.
17 “Yahweh, it is true that [the armies of] the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations, and ruined their land.
“Awurade, ɛyɛ nokware sɛ Asiria ahemfo asɛe aman yi nyinaa, sɛnea nkra no ka no.
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].
Na wɔatow anyame a wɔwɔ saa aman yi so no agu gya mu, ahyew wɔn, efisɛ wɔnyɛ anyame, na mmom wɔyɛ nnua ne abo a nnipa de wɔn nsa ayɛ.
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.”
Afei, Awurade, yɛn Nyankopɔn, gye yɛn fi ne tumi ase, na ɛbɛma ahenni a ɛwɔ asase so nyinaa ahu sɛ wo nko ara, Awurade, na woyɛ Onyankopɔn.”
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.
Na Amos babarima Yesaia de saa nkra yi kɔmaa Hesekia se, “Sɛɛ na Awurade, Israel Nyankopɔn se: Esiane sɛ woabɔ me mpae afa Asiriahene Sanaherib ho nti,
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.
eyi ne asɛm a Awurade aka atia no: “‘Ɔbabeabun Sion sopa wo, na ɔserew wo. Ɔbabea Yerusalem di wo ho fɛw, na ɔwosow ne ti bere a woreguan.
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.
Hena na wugye di sɛ woyeyaw no, di ne ho fɛw nso? Hena na womaa wo nne so tiaa no na wohwɛɛ no ahantan so? Ɛyɛ Israel ɔkronkronni no!
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.
Wonam wʼasomafo so adi Awurade ho fɛw. Na woaka se, “Me nteaseɛnam dodow nti maforo mmepɔw atenten. Yiw Lebanon mmepɔw a ɛwoware pa ara no. Matwitwa ne sida dua atenten no, ne nʼapepaw a ɛyɛ fɛ no agu fam. Madu ne mmepɔw a ɛwɔ akyirikyiri no so, ne ne kwaeberentuw mu.
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]!”’
Matutu mmura wɔ ahɔho nsase bebree so de ne nsu pa no adwudwo me ho. Mpo, mepaee Misraim nsubɔnten mu sɛnea mʼakofo betumi atwa!”
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.
“‘Na Montee ɛ? Bere tenten a atwam, na mehyɛ too hɔ. Bere bi a atwam no na medwenee ho; afei mama aba mu sɛ, moadan ɔman a mosɛe nkuropɔn a wɔabɔ ho ban.
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.
Wɔn nkurɔfo a tumi afi wɔn nsa no ho adwiriw wɔn, na animguase aka wɔn. Wɔte sɛ afuw so nnua, ne afifide foforo a ɛyɛ mmrɛw. Wɔte sɛ sare a efifi ɔdan atifi a ɛhyew ansa na anyin.
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.
“‘Nanso minim nea wote bere a woba ne bere a wokɔ ne sɛnea wo bo huru tia me.
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].” '
Na esiane sɛ wo bo huru tia me na wʼahantan adu mʼasom nti, mede me darewa bɛhyɛ wo hwenem, na mede akwankyerɛ dade ahyɛ wʼanom, mɛma wo afa ɔkwan a wofaa so bae no so asan wʼakyi.’
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.
“Eyi na ɛbɛyɛ nsɛnkyerɛnne ama wo, Hesekia: “Saa afe yi wubedi nea ɛno ankasa fifii. Afe a ɛto so abien no, wubedi nea efi mu ba. Nanso afe a ɛto so abiɛsa no de, wo ara dua na twa, yɛ bobe nturo na di so aba.
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].
Bio, nkae bi a ofi Yuda fi begye ntin wɔ fam na wasow aba wɔ soro.
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.
Na nkae bi befi Yerusalem aba, na nkae dɔm afi Bepɔw Sion so. Asafo Awurade pɛ mu na eyi bɛyɛ.
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].
“Eyi ne asɛm a Awurade ka fa Asiriahene ho: “Ɔrenhyɛn saa kuropɔn yi mu na ɔrentow bɛmma wɔ ha. Ɔremfa nkatabo mmegyina kuropɔn no akyi na ɔrensi pie ntua nʼano.
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!
Ɔhene no kwan a ɔfaa so bae no ara so na ɔbɛsan afa akɔ nʼankasa man mu. Awurade ka se, ɔrenwura saa kurow yi mu.
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.'”
Esiane mʼankasa mʼanuonyam ne mʼakoa Dawid nti, mɛbɔ ho ban.”
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!
Saa anadwo no, Awurade bɔfo kɔɔ Asiria nsraban mu, kokum Asiria asraafo no mpem ɔha aduɔwɔtwe anum. Asiriafo a wɔkae no nyan anɔpa no, wohuu sɛ afunu gugu mmɔnten so baabiara.
36 Then King Sennacherib left and went home to Nineveh, [the capital of Assyria].
Na Asiriahene Sanaherib gyaee ɔko no, kɔɔ nʼankasa nʼasase so. Ɔkɔtenaa nʼahenkurow Ninewe mu.
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.
Da koro bi a ɔresom wɔ ne nyame Nisrok abosonnan mu no, ne mmabarima Adramelek ne Sareser de wɔn afoa kokum no. Woguan fii hɔ kɔtenaa Ararat asase so, na ne babarima foforo Esarhadon bedii nʼade sɛ Asiriahene.
